Bruins bonus

Thanks to Chris, one of Hockey Bay's ablest hounds, we added a couple of autographs from Hall of Famer Gerry Cheevers moments before going into Thursday's game between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Cheevers, the former Bruins goalie known for his stitch-marked mask, was in town for an in-game signing session and was making his way to the St. Pete Times Forum. After being tipped off to Cheevers' presence and proximity, as well as being loaned a Sharpie (I'd put away my hounding bag for the night), we caught up with him along a walkway.

Sitting on a bench by himself, as groups of hockey fans walked past in wonder who was this man signing autographs, Cheevers signed Colin's 2010 Winter Classic Tim Thomas replica jersey, above, as well as on the spoked-B logo of my Bruins Vintage Hockey series jersey.

Classic move

For the most part, Colin likes to draw a logo any time he works one of his team sheets for a visiting NHL team. This time, though, we tried something a little different -- a wallpaper image of the team's jersey from the 2010 Winter Classic.

Seeing that 21 Bruins players, including Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, Marc Savard and Tim Thomas, as well as head coach Claude Julien all signed it Wednesday, I'd say it served its purpose.

Game winner

From where we were sitting, in Hockey Bay rather than Beantown, we were wicked pumped when Boston's Marco Sturm scored the game-winning goal in overtime at the 2010 Winter Classic in Fenway Park.

Though we'd gathered from other players, from the Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, it didn't seem right that we didn't have one from the game's hero. Well, Sturm took care of that Wednesday.

Quality time

Given how our schedules can limit our time together, I truly look forward to Colin's vacations during the school year. It gives us time to hang out, goof off and, most importantly, spend time together.

This past holiday break, which lasted two weeks, was no different. We bought Momma her birthday presents. He had cinnamon buns and lingonberry juice from Ikea. We went looking for trains. He went skating. We played street hockey. I got a fat lip.

Being the hockey hounds that we are, though, we also spent a quite a few days pounding the pavement supplementing the autograph collection. All told, we added 180 autographs, including one special puck, in four trips for five teams within eight days.

Here are some of the highlights:

~ Montreal's Carey Price, Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk and Tampa Bay's Alex Tanguay adding to the Threads collection;
~ Loading up on 2010 Winter Classic pucks from the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers;
~ Snagging signed sticks from Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and James van Riemsdyk; and
~ Colin getting 70 autographs on team sheets for Montreal, Boston, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

It appears, too, that we weren't alone in hounding over the holidays. An overwhelming majority (as in nearly 3 to 1) told us, through Hound Central 5.0's latest poll, that hounding would, indeed, be a part of their holiday break:

Question: Will you hound over the holiday break?

Yes: 29 votes out of 39 cast (74.4 percent)
No: 10 votes (25.6 percent)

Puck No. 2,000

Enough with the suspense, right? After a week of writing about it, and leaving faithful Hound Central 5.0 readers hanging for the past few hours, you're now looking at the 2,000th autographed puck of the collection.

Much to our amazement, the Hockey Gods aligned the planets, setting in place the opportunity for Colin to get the milestone puck from his best NHL buddy and favorite player: Boston's Patrice Bergeron.

Though I know I should've captured the actual moment, the memory of witnessing this interaction is indelibly ingrained in my mind:

Patrice comes walking toward us, a smile growing on his face as he recognizes his little buddy. I hand Colin, wearing his Bergeron jersey, the two pucks -- one for the 2010 Winter Classic and this Canada souvenir puck -- we had for Patrice.

"Hey, buddy," Patrice says, "How have you been?"

"Hi, Patrice," Colin says. "I'm good. Can you sign these pucks, please? If you do, we'll have 2,000 for the collection."

Of course, as he always has, Patrice signs whatever Colin asks of him. The Winter Classic puck, one of four we got signed by Bruins players, was No. 1,999. The Canada puck was next.

"Oh, my God," Patrice says. "That's a lot of pucks."

Then, as I'm chiding myself for not grabbing the camera to record the occasion, Patrice and Colin walk away, side by side, heading toward the rink. Patrice asks Colin about his hockey season. I stay a few steps back, letting them have their moment.

The torch, I'm proud to say, has officially been passed.

For the record, though, here's the annual picture of Colin and Patrice, taken after the Bruins' morning skate, moments after Colin gave him an autographed puck.

In the ballpark

Given that the 2010 Winter Classic, featuring the Philadelphia Flyers meeting the Boston Bruins, takes place Friday at venerable Fenway Park, it made perfect sense yesterday to add a few Bruins players to the mix:

Top row: Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci
Bottom row: Marc Savard and Tim Thomas

My only regret is that I didn't buy more of these pucks.

A couple of chuckles

Beyond hitting a certain milestone, yesterday's hounding adventure with the Boston Bruins yielded two humorous memories:

~ Colin lost an edge while trying to stop in front of Boston's Mark Recchi. It seems, the Goofy Dude, in his quest to be the first one to get Recchi's autograph, sprinted across wet grass to reach his spot. Unfortunately, when he went to stop, his feet went out from underneath him. He came to a sliding stop -- right in front of Recchi. Unfazed and unhurt, Colin popped up (he's a hockey player after all) and asks "Will you sign my team sheet, please?"

~ Even funnier, from my standpoint, was when a couple of clueless dealers, getting Boston Bruins to sign baseball bats (you know, the Winter Classic is in Fenway Park on Friday), asked two members of the Tampa Bay Lightning -- Blair Jones and Mike Lundin -- to sign the bats. Much to the delight of Hockey Bay's hounds, Jones and Lundin obliged.

Sunday morning homily XIII

Looking back on the 2009 calendar year, it's safe to say that, once again, hockey played a major role in our lives. From attending NHL games to ramping up another blog to watching Colin grow as a hockey player, hardly a week went by -- even during the summer -- when hockey wasn't a part of the picture.

Want to know something? I wouldn't change a thing. Well, on second thought, maybe a few instances:

~ I wish the Tampa Bay Lightning were much more competitive. It's difficult wrapping one's arms around a team that is so maddeningly inconsistent. Too many times, after yelling myself hoarse with encouragements to play more aggressively and stop playing a perimeter offense (Sound familiar, Rick Tocchet?), I've left the St. Pete Times Forum well beyond frustrated.

~ Despite my intentions, working this blog continues to be more of a job than a hobby. And, really, after five years, I'm running out of things to pass along. Thankfully, though, Moody and Al, Hound Central 5.0's top-shelf correspondents, have stepped up, offering different voices and perspectives. Without them, and the faithful readers who stop by, I would've pulled the plug after Hound Central 4.0. For that, I'll continually offer my gratitude.

~ More than anything else, though, it's my inability, based solely on my work schedule, to take a bigger role in Colin's hockey career. It goes far beyond missing too many practices and games, too. Like most other hockey dads, I've love to become a youth hockey coach, learning through USA Hockey training how to instill not just my knowledge, but my passion for the game.

Calculated move

It's a fairly significant week, as far as we're concerned, because we'll reach, barring an unforeseen calamity, another milestone -- 2,000 autographed pucks. With only eight pucks remaining, we'll cross the latest threshold with either the Boston Bruins or Montreal Canadiens.

But, really, our hope is that it happens Monday and it's Boston's Patrice Bergeron, who, all of you should know by now, is Colin's favorite NHL player, signs the milestone puck. We'll pass on other opportunities -- be they cards, photos or other pucks -- just to make it happen.

That's what I call extreme cherry-picking. And, no, I won't lose a wink of sleep over it.

5 Big Sigs

Beyond the obvious (see above), here's what we'll also try to add this week from a pair of Original Six teams:

~ Bruins goalie Tim Thomas on a 2010 Winter Classic and USA pucks as well as a pair of 8x10s;
~ Bruins captain Zdeno Chara on a 2010 Winter Classic and Slovakia pucks;
~ Bruins center Marc Savard on a 2010 Winter Classic puck;
~ Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov on a Quebec Citadelles puck; and
~ Montreal winger Mike Cammalleri on a Montreal Canadiens puck.

As long as it's a Bruins jersey

Though it wasn't the exact model that he wanted for Christmas, Colin was still pretty pumped that he got a Boston Bruins 2010 Winter Classic jersey, as well as a trio of Winter Classic pucks, among the many presents he opened this morning.

Though Daddy tried several times to order a Patrice Bergeron jersey, Colin says the Tim Thomas jersey will work just fine.

We'll see how it works Tuesday afternoon, when Colin takes part in a skate-and-shoot session at his home rink.

Nothing good comes easy

On a day when Christmas came early to a couple of kids and two fairly big-name players each signed a pair of pucks, it's hard not to be ecstatic over Wednesday's hounding trip for the Philadelphia Flyers. So much so, that rather than get some much-needed shut-eye before the unwrapping of presents begins, I couldn't wait to share the news.

Honestly, the hounding was, at best, a little rough. Thankfully, though, we used our inside access -- for likely the last time ever, though -- to significantly add to the quality and, to a lesser degree, the quantity of the collection.

Despite a large crowd of hounds, dealers and fans (nearly 40 people), an unfortunate incident and a team not happy with its performance, we were fortunate to add another 32 autographs, including eight pucks, to the collection:

Among those signing pucks were, from left, Daniel Carcillo, Scott Hartnell and James van Riemsdyk; and

Matt Carle, from left, Braydon Coburn and Ryan Parent, added these three of the 10 cards we got signed.

The highlights from a holiday vacation day of hounding:

~ Colin getting signed sticks from Jeff Carter and James van Riemsdyk;
~ Top Shelf items from Simon Gagne and Chris Pronger;
~ A dozen Flyers honoring Colin's requests to sign his team sheet; and
~ a photo gallery from the youngest hound in the stable.

Top Shelf: Simon Gagne

It's not too often that I score a pair of Top Shelfs from a single team, but I believe that getting Philadelphia Flyers left winger Simon Gagne to sign this pair of pucks, along with getting Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger to sign a pair, certainly fills the bill.

Sunday morning homily XII

Of all the weeks of the 2009-10 NHL season, the next two carry the biggest expectations. Sure, seeing that Christmas comes Friday plays a major role in my anticipation. More so, though, is that Colin, well into his hockey-hounding apprenticeship, has the next two weeks off as a holiday break.

Thanks to the NHL schedule makers, too, this vacation will afford ample opportunity for him to hone the craft. Four teams -- the Flyers, Thrashers, Bruins and Canadiens -- all travel to Hockey Bay before month's end. And, thankfully, I have most of those days off from work.

Even better, and I alluded to this last week, is we're nearing our next milestone in the collection -- 2,000 autographed pucks. With a little hard work and even more hustle -- two attributes that can make or break a hounding season -- we should top that mark sometime next week.

More than anything else, though, the next two weeks mean we'll get to spend more time together. Most weeks, our school and work schedules mean we only get to see each other for 10 or 15 minutes a day -- he's getting ready for school and I'm waking up from a another long night at the paper.

The time off will go far beyond Christmas morning and hockey-hounding. We'll have time to sit down and talk -- reinforcing his growing responsibilities at home, school and his hockey team -- as well as chill out. There will be games to play, slices of Fortunato's pizza to eat and, most importantly, strengthening the bonds between father and son.

Among the presents we'll open Christmas morning, the best I'll receive, beyond the one that Colin made for The Missus and me, will be the time spent together. It always has been and always will be.

It's my prayer, too, that all of you enjoy that as well.

Peace.

First batch

Hound Central 5.0 will publish this week its first installment of Your Turn, what we hope will become a regular feature of the blog where readers and fellow hounds share their stories of hockey hounding.

So far, four hockey hounds -- Jordan, BEV, Scott and Keith -- have taken the time to send in their stories. A tip of Hound Central 5.0's old, roughed up Cooper SK600 to them for their efforts. Now, if only a few more hounds, among the 40-plus who visit daily, would step up and follow suit.

As you can see, Hound Central 5.0 more than welcomes stories from other hounds. This season alone, Moody and Al, a pair of seasoned hockey-hounding veterans who swerve as Hound Central 5.0 correspondents, have filed many reports, each offering a different perspective.

In the remaining months of the 2009-10 campaign, I'd like to give as many hounds as I can a platform to share their stories.

If you have one, let me know.

5 Big Sigs

Like I said earlier, we'll ramp up this week, as well as get the entire family involved, when the Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers visit Hockey Bay during the first week of the holiday break.

Here's what we're hoping to add as we push toward 2,000 pucks:

~ Philly's James van Riemsdyk on a Flyers puck, as well as the University of New Hampshire hockey jersey;
~ Philly's Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards on 2010 Winter Classic pucks;
~ Philly's Chris Pronger on St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers pucks;
~ Atlanta's Nikolai Antropov on Thrashers and N.Y. Rangers pucks; and
~ Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk on a Thrashers souvenir puck.