Memorable Hockey
I’m starting to think that there’s some sort of conversation of hockey momentum that I must share between my three favorite teams: the youth Devils, the Tigers, and the NHL Devils. As the Tigers clawed, the Devils thawed, and our youth Devils skated furiously into the semi-finals of our season-ending tournament, only to lose on a strange goal. But if a season is the net sum of its ups and downs, and we remember the positive momentum turns and joys into future years, it’s a good season. Our youth season included a silver medal, a trip to the NJYHL playoffs and a bronze medal, and a chance to play some outstanding teams, some old friends, and some new rivals. It ended with a loss, as most seasons do for everyone but league champions, but it was outstanding hockey.
Right now, I’m not getting the same outstanding feeling from the old Black and Red. I’m sorely tempted to punt on playoff tickets for the first two rounds, and send the money to the Friends of Princeton Hockey, the Princeton University Band Endowment Fund, and to support our NJ DareDevils program. Then again, if the Devils continue to sink to the natural lair of their mascot, I won’t be spending much money on spring time hockey anyway.
Seasons that end with a loss are part of sports; ask any of the 64 NCAA basketball teams that aren’t cutting down the nets on the first Monday in April. But all of those players, coaches, and pep bands will take those memories with them, recalling them whenever they hear the strains of “One Shining Moment” for years to come. The lack of something memorable is what is troubling me most about the big Devils this year: Parise is having a good year, Marty extended his record for 40-win seasons, but nothing else has etched itself into the back of my head. The new arena is fun, but I’m not going to relive memories of eating buffalo chicken fingers a dozen years from now. I remember The Streak, and Elias’ playoff performance in 2000, and even Jason Arnott beating Florida in overtime in the last game of the 99-00 regular season as we celebrated Bubba’s birthday in the stands.
What I want is something by which to remember the last 8 games of the season. Not to much to ask, is it?