Life lessons learned while covering 116 (out of 119) Boston University hockey games in 19 rinks over the past three years, watching the Terriers go 61-38-17:
Hockey is easily the most difficult team sport from a mental perspective. A team’s frustrated attitude simply doesn’t kill a whole baseball season. And you win 11 straight ballgames with good pitching, not with the buzz of confidence.
There are about 100 different types of people who can coach a hockey team successfully. There’s the gruff Dick Umile, who always has his New Hampshire team tough. There’s the straightforward, polite Tim Whitehead, who’s quietly brought Maine to great success in his years there. And of course, there’s Jerry York and Jack Parker, who are about as different as two guys can be, but are both brilliant at what they do best.
Sports Illustrated’s Steve Rushin is extremely tall, which I guess he needs to be with Rebecca Lobo as his wife.
BU and Northeastern people can shift from enemies to friends in seconds if you put on a Red Sox playoff game in a hockey rink. When David Ortiz slew the Anaheim Angels on Oct. 8, 2004, Terriers and Huskies high-fived in Dayton, Ohio.
After road games, Jack Parker orders his team pizza with chicken on it — gotta get your protein. On Jan. 17, 2003, after allowing Ben Eaves to score from his own end at Conte Forum, Sean Fields didn’t have a bite.
Brendan Shanahan, of the Detroit Red Wings, is capable of taking 10 straight passes and one-timing all of them directly into the top corner of the net, clanging each one off the post first. If you ask me, that’s just showing off.
Hockey — just like life — is a game of bounces, but it’s true that those who work hard always get more bounces. It was Woody Allen who said, “90 percent of success is just showing up.” He clearly wasn’t a hockey guy, because that line doesn’t apply on the ice.
The cardinal rule of press box etiquette — “no cheering” — often does not apply if you are on the home team’s staff.
Hockey players are generally much more effective at explaining reasons for success than failure. If they are losing, common reasons include poor passing, lack of determination and general failure to score goals. But players often either fail to recognize this, or fail to admit it. When they are passing well, outskating the competition and playing great defense, they have no problem articulating it.
Coaches are exactly the opposite.
Hockey parents are a hearty bunch. The Zancanaros came out just about every weekend from Michigan, shuttling around New England to see two sons. I am pretty certain that Matt Radoslovich’s parents did not miss a game in four years, driving up from New Jersey each time. The MacArthurs and the Lalibertes also logged thousands of miles. There are plenty others I’m missing, but in general, the commitment is beyond impressive.
The bigger the game, the bigger the buffet.
Parker keeps it extremely warm in the coaches’ dressing room. He rarely shows it, but the man can also be extremely warm.
I have no idea where I’ll be or who I’ll be covering in a month, but I know one thing: It won’t be as good as Agganis Arena and BU hockey. Although the pay will certainly be better.
The greatest part about hockey is not the amazing goal or the thunderous hit or the swoosh of the skates or the bizarrely soothing sound of Jim Prior’s voice — though all of these things are wonderful. But the reason hockey, and specifically college hockey, has become my favorite sport over the past four years is community. I’ve met many friends through hockey in the stands or in the press box, and shared some of my greatest moments of college with hockey friends. When I was in Minneapolis in early January 2004, BU’s Friends of Hockey knew my three companions and I had driven from Boston, and they donated the leftover Buffalo wings to us for the ride home. Two lessons were learned: It’s not smart to eat Buffalo wings at 7 a.m., and the people around BU hockey are great ones. I feel lucky to have been a part of it.
With that in mind, the final words that will be printed under my name in this newspaper will not be mine but those of Jack Falla, a professor here and a hockey writer who not only gets the sport and the English language, but who taught me that sports are so great because of the bonds they create between people. Anyway, thanks for reading, best of luck to all of you and keep in mind Falla’s advice for life: Keep your head up. Keep your stick on the ice. And just try to get the ball past the next first down marker.