Author: Al Daniel
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Still waiting for a women’s Ice Breaker
The Mercyhurst Lakers, a program with established name recognition trying to replenish its competitiveness, starts its 2017-18 campaign in Wisconsin Sept. 28 and 29. The team that beat the Badgers for the 2017 national title, Clarkson, kicks off its defense against the time-honored Northeastern program that same opening weekend. If only there were a way…
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Fall full of Mighty Ducks nostalgia ahead
When Teemu Selanne joined Paul Kariya to copilot the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, their subsequent success reminded everyone that the name does not make the team. Purists whose youth preceded Generation X had grunted at a gimmicky brand in a “nontraditional hockey market.” For its first three seasons, Disney’s NHL franchise was shadowed by its theatrical…
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Bertagna, hockey’s role in stemming societal venom
Who better than Joe Bertagna, college hockey’s quintessential establishment figure, to diligently articulate a call for perspective? Anything his sport can do for positive real-world outreach cannot sink in soon enough. As the current chair of his sport’s rules committee, Bertagna offered one nugget to that effect in a June 20 statement on rule changes. A…
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Greatest rejected NHL team names
One could all but fill a duplicate league with NHL team nicknames that have never come to fruition, but could be taken seriously if they did. Many newfangled or relocated franchises have passed over a radiant opportunity to honor a unique attribute of their market. Another one missed a chance to take the name of…
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Poehler, Ferrell answer 13-year-old ‘what-if’ in The House
Finally, Amy Poehler has a co-star movie billing with Will Ferrell, a fellow Saturday Night Live alum whose precedent she helped to pick up and sustain early in this century. In a 2013 interview with Vulture.com’s Denise Martin, Poehler herself said, “Will Ferrell’s really the most talented person in the world. He’s like a comedy…
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Goucher talks RI sports scene’s past, present, future
Dave Goucher is on the all-time roster of Pawtucket Red Sox announcers in much the same way David Ortiz is on the all-time roster of Pawtucket Red Sox players. Both men had cemented their place in the top echelon of their respective fields when they came for a cameo performance at the home of Boston…
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The best TV/movie actor to attend every men’s WCHA school
Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment of a six-part series in which a Pucks and Rec writer will select the top contemporary entertainment alum from each school in a Division I hockey conference. The 10 institutions that comprise the men’s WCHA make up this week’s edition. All filmography and award information is courtesy of…
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1986-87 BU Terriers: A team of delayed legend
With every passing development bearing the imprint of Jack Parker, it makes more sense to organize an impromptu 30-year reunion of the 1986-87 Boston University hockey team. Wait, what? Those Terriers went a so-so 19-15-3, and failed to defend their first-ever Hockey East postseason title. They were the seventh of nine installments who failed to…
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Blackadder begat Love Actually, House, M.D. and much more
When most Americans tuned in to the anticipated Red Nose Day Actually special last month, it is a safe bet most merely thought back to their fond memories of its theatrical 2003 predecessor. Those who recalled Rowan Atkinson’s role as the jewelry clerk Rufus may have secondarily spilled the name “Bean” in their buildup chat.…
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The best TV/movie actor to attend every NCHC school
Editor’s note: This is the fourth installment of a six-part series in which a Pucks and Rec writer will select the top contemporary entertainment alum from each school in a Division I hockey conference. The eight institutions that comprise the NCHC make up this week’s edition. All filmography and award information is courtesy of the Internet…