Gainzo Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I was able to get the seat right next to you... seat 4 sec b now all I need to do is get out of work early that day Excellent. I want to know who is sitting in seat 1. Meet at the Brewery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Excellent. I want to know who is sitting in seat 1. Meet at the Brewery? hopefully a hot chick!!!! but probably will be another fat guy..... Yeah... Brewery it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 hopefully a hot chick!!!! but probably will be another fat guy..... Yeah... Brewery it is. Lowell is kicking the crap out of Quinnipiac tonight. 4-1 Lowell in the 3rd period. I'm sure you, me, & Joe will pick up all kinds of chicks in Lowell on the 14th. Then again, since I went to Lowell, I know better. I'll buy the beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Any Asian chicks around Lowell? Asian chicks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Any Asian chicks around Lowell? Asian chicks. Lowell has a large Cambodian population but I doubt the chicks are going to UMass-Lowell games. In other news BC crushed that crappy team from North Andover 4-1, while Lowell did the same to Quinnipiac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 UMass-Lowell will beat UNH 17-2 because I am there and I make everything awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 UMass-Lowell will beat UNH 17-2 because I am there and I make everything awesome. well.... I saw UMass get killed by BU 14-1 in a playoff game in 1996 so anything is possible..... and one of my favorite players get his knee destroyed in the game.... One of the biggest reasons i hate BU and Jack Parker. C0cksucker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 well.... I saw UMass get killed by BU 14-1 in a playoff game in 1996 so anything is possible..... and one of my favorite players get his knee destroyed in the game.... One of the biggest reasons i hate BU and Jack Parker. C0cksucker. Jack Parker is a douchebag as is BU hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 tonight i saw one of the craziest games I'll ever see... Prov/UMass Prov jumps out to early 2-0 lead in 1st. UMass answers with 3 before end of 1st... Prov comes out in 2nd and scores 2 quick goals to go up 4-3... UMass replaces goalie and scores two of their own to make it 5-4 when Prov replaces their goalie... Umass then runs up the score for a 9-4 final. Crappy defense. Crappy goaltenders. Crappy game. But 2pt for the Minutemen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share Posted November 3, 2008 USCHO/ CBS COLLEGE SPORTS RANKINGS AS OF NOV 3rd. http://www.uscho.com/rankings/ BC- 2nd BU- 3rd UNH- 5th Northeastern- 10th Vermont- 16th UMass- 19th Lowell- 29th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 USCHO/ CBS COLLEGE SPORTS RANKINGS AS OF NOV 3rd. http://www.uscho.com/rankings/ BC- 2nd BU- 3rd UNH- 5th Northeastern- 10th Vermont- 16th UMass- 19th Lowell- 29th How is UMass ranked 10 places higher than Lowell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 5, 2008 Author Share Posted November 5, 2008 How is UMass ranked 10 places higher than Lowell? I have no clue. They didnt play all that well friday against a sh!tty Providence team. USA TODAY POLL BC-2nd BU-3rd UNH-5th Northeastern- 10th UMass- 16th VT- 17th Lowell- 26th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 5, 2008 Share Posted November 5, 2008 I have no clue. They didnt play all that well friday against a sh!tty Providence team. USA TODAY POLL BC-2nd BU-3rd UNH-5th Northeastern- 10th UMass- 16th VT- 17th Lowell- 26th. Just like last year. UMass gets all the love while Lowell gets screwed over. Lowell will split with BU & UVM this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 7, 2008 Author Share Posted November 7, 2008 Ok boys and girls... time for another update... 1Northeastern- 4-1-1- 9pts 2Boston College- 3-1-0- 6pts New Hampshire--2-0-2-6pts 4Massachusetts-2-0-1-5pts 5Boston University--2-1-0- 6pts 6Mass.-Lowell -- 1-0-0- 2pts 7Maine -0-2-0-0pts Vermont -0-2-0-0pts Merrimack- 0-3-0-0pts Providence 0-4-0-0pts THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Friday: VT at Providence---- Somebody is getting their first points of the season tonight... My pick- Vt 4- Prov 2 BU at Lowell- This could be the beginning of a great season for Lowell. Is BU really as good as people think they are? This is a huge game. The crowd will be crazy tonight. The Brewery will be rocking before and after. My predicition- Lowell 3, BU 3 Notre Dame at BC- Rematch of last years championship game... too bad the football rivalry is better. BC once again defeats the Irish, this time 5-2. UNH at Minnesota- Wow. Big game. Minnesota is undefeated this year. UNH lost a clunker against St Lawrence. 4th in the nation Minny vs. 5th in the nation UNH. UNH needs to win to help its cause for the NCAA tourney. Minny needs to prove eastern hockey sucks. Minny wins 4-2. SAT: VT at Lowell- VT is probably well prepared for this game since they played a weak team in Prov on friday night. Lowell will probably have a letdown after BU on Friday. My predicition- VT upsets Lowell 4-1. UMass at Merrimack- Merrimack has good goaltending. Umass has good shooters. Umass should win this one easily, but Umass struggles against Mack from time to time. If they dont get too drunk Friday, Minutemen win 3-2. Notre Dame at Providence- Notre Dame needs a Non conference road win to help them. Too bad its against Providence and not BC. Notre Dame 6-2 Bentley at Northeastern- Is this really a fair game? Is Northeastern scheduling weak teams to build up their record? NU wins 6-0 UNH at Minny (again)- UNH and Dick Umile pull out a victory and claim the road trip was a success. UNH fans claim they will now be national champs. Rest of Hockey east laughs at them. UNH wins 4-1. SUNDAY- BC at Maine- Poor BC. Face Notre Dame on Friday in a tough game then have to go to Maine for a 4pm game on Sunday. Black Bears could steal a win here and help jumpstart their season. They wont. But they could. BC wins 5-1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 8, 2008 Author Share Posted November 8, 2008 Tough loss for Lowell tonight. Blow a 3-1 lead... got the lead with just over 5 min left and lose by 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 8, 2008 Share Posted November 8, 2008 Tough loss for Lowell tonight. Blow a 3-1 lead... got the lead with just over 5 min left and lose by 2. I knew Lowell was in trouble when Hutton didn't come out to start the 3rd. The go ahead goal with 15 seconds left sucked. I was surprised by the small crowd. Hope the crowd is bigger next Friday. Better late than never for Terriers By Rich McCall, Sun Correspondent Article Launched: 11/08/2008 06:38:02 AM EST LOWELL -- The UMass Lowell River Hawks lost a hard-fought battle with hockey east foe Boston University yesterday, falling 6-4 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell in front of a crowd of 4,613. The winning goal was scored with just 15 seconds left in the game. Boston University 6, UMass Lowell 4 The River Hawks got on the board first as defenseman Maury Edwards fired a shot from the point in traffic which found its way to the Terriers net, just under six minutes into the game. UML (3-3-0) controlled the puck and was playing very well as a team as they outplayed the No. 3 ranked Terriers (6-1-0) in both the offensive and defensive zones in the opening period. Just over six minutes into the 2nd period, the Terriers knotted the game at 1 when John McCarthy scored on a rebound after UML goalie Carter Hutton made the initial save. The River Hawks took the 2-1 lead as Mike Potacco capitalized on a rebound, beating Terriers goalie Kieran Millan over his blocker. Just 1:45 later, the River Hawks fired the puck around the boards where Scott Campbell stopped the puck and made an excellent pass out front where David Vallorani stood alone and beat Millan to take the 3-1 lead. The game was very physical from start to finish as the teams combined for 18 penalty minutes and had a few after whistle scuffles throughout the game. "These guys play a really physical game. We knew we would have to come out with some intensity to try to get a win," said Vallorani. Boston University scored on the powerplay, cutting the UML lead in half as Colin Wilson fired a shot from the point which deflected off the crossbar and into the UML net with 4:30 to go in the period. UML suffered a big hit when Hutton was pulled from the game with a sprained ankle at the end of the second period. He was replaced with freshman goalie T.J. Massie. The River Hawks held the 3-2 lead until halfway through the 3rd period when Vinny Saponari tied the game, beating Massie over his leg pad as he slid to his left. With 5:31 left to play, Potacco scored his second goal of the night, scoring on a rebound after a scramble in front of the Terriers net making it 4-3 River Hawks. UML held the lead until the Terriers knotted the game at 4 when Chris Higgins beat Massie after two quick passes in front of the River Hawk net. It looked like it was heading for overtime when the Terriers scored the game winner with 0:15 to play as Wilson scored his second goal of the night on a hard shot from top of the right circle to make it 5-4. The Terriers added another goal with less than a second to go to seal the 6-4 victory. "We played exactly the way we wanted to play and I thought we deserved better. We had some unfortunate adversity with our goalie spraining his ankle so we had to put a freshman in there at the start of the third," said UML head coach, Blaise MacDonald. "A couple of bouncing pucks and in front which made them, needless to say, very oppertunistic," added MacDonald. The River Hawks look to get back to their winning ways when they take on Vermont, tonight at 7 at the Tsongas Arena. http://www.lowellsun.com/college/ci_10934846 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 Rough weekend for the Lowell and Amherst teams. Lowell falls to VT. 3-1. UMass falls to Merrimack 3-1. Good thing I went to the bruins game instead. Notre Dame, coming off the upset of BC friday night, beat Providence 4-1. Northeastern over Bentley 4-1 UNH, after a tied game friday, gets smoked in the 3rd period saturday against Minnesota 6-2... they allowed 4 goals in the 3rd period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Rough weekend for the Lowell and Amherst teams. Lowell falls to VT. 3-1. UMass falls to Merrimack 3-1. Good thing I went to the bruins game instead. Notre Dame, coming off the upset of BC friday night, beat Providence 4-1. Northeastern over Bentley 4-1 UNH, after a tied game friday, gets smoked in the 3rd period saturday against Minnesota 6-2... they allowed 4 goals in the 3rd period. Lowell was never going to win tonight. No Hutton and the Vermont "trap" meant a loss. Nice to see BC and UMass lose as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 Ok boys and girls... time for another update... 1Northeastern- 4-1-1- 9pts 2Boston College- 3-1-0- 6pts New Hampshire--2-0-2-6pts 4Massachusetts-2-0-1-5pts 5Boston University--2-1-0- 6pts 6Mass.-Lowell -- 1-0-0- 2pts 7Maine -0-2-0-0pts Vermont -0-2-0-0pts Merrimack- 0-3-0-0pts Providence 0-4-0-0pts THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE: Friday: VT at Providence---- Somebody is getting their first points of the season tonight... My pick- Vt 4- Prov 2 BU at Lowell- This could be the beginning of a great season for Lowell. Is BU really as good as people think they are? This is a huge game. The crowd will be crazy tonight. The Brewery will be rocking before and after. My predicition- Lowell 3, BU 3 Notre Dame at BC- Rematch of last years championship game... too bad the football rivalry is better. BC once again defeats the Irish, this time 5-2. UNH at Minnesota- Wow. Big game. Minnesota is undefeated this year. UNH lost a clunker against St Lawrence. 4th in the nation Minny vs. 5th in the nation UNH. UNH needs to win to help its cause for the NCAA tourney. Minny needs to prove eastern hockey sucks. Minny wins 4-2. SAT: VT at Lowell- VT is probably well prepared for this game since they played a weak team in Prov on friday night. Lowell will probably have a letdown after BU on Friday. My predicition- VT upsets Lowell 4-1. UMass at Merrimack- Merrimack has good goaltending. Umass has good shooters. Umass should win this one easily, but Umass struggles against Mack from time to time. If they dont get too drunk Friday, Minutemen win 3-2. Notre Dame at Providence- Notre Dame needs a Non conference road win to help them. Too bad its against Providence and not BC. Notre Dame 6-2 Bentley at Northeastern- Is this really a fair game? Is Northeastern scheduling weak teams to build up their record? NU wins 6-0 UNH at Minny (again)- UNH and Dick Umile pull out a victory and claim the road trip was a success. UNH fans claim they will now be national champs. Rest of Hockey east laughs at them. UNH wins 4-1. SUNDAY- BC at Maine- Poor BC. Face Notre Dame on Friday in a tough game then have to go to Maine for a 4pm game on Sunday. Black Bears could steal a win here and help jumpstart their season. They wont. But they could. BC wins 5-1. I suck at predictions.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 15, 2008 Share Posted November 15, 2008 Last night proved that Hockey East is wide open this year for everyone except Providence. They are awful. Lowell smacks around UNH 8-3 and UNH implodes in the 3rd period trying to start fights and just being general douchebags. Myself, LBS & 124 were in attendance and I must say that the verbal abuse that LBS gave the UNH players in the penalty box was a thing of beauty. UMass smacks around BU 5-1 and their bogus #1 ranking goes up in smoke. Big game between the sister schools tonight as Lowell travels to Amherst to take on UMass. Other scores: Northeastern 5-3 over Vermont. Maine 3-2 over Providence. BC and Merrimack skate to a 5-5 tie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Last night proved that Hockey East is wide open this year for everyone except Providence. They are awful. Lowell smacks around UNH 8-3 and UNH implodes in the 3rd period trying to start fights and just being general douchebags. Myself, LBS & 124 were in attendance and I must say that the verbal abuse that LBS gave the UNH players in the penalty box was a thing of beauty. UMass smacks around BU 5-1 and their bogus #1 ranking goes up in smoke. Big game between the sister schools tonight as Lowell travels to Amherst to take on UMass. Other scores: Northeastern 5-3 over Vermont. Maine 3-2 over Providence. BC and Merrimack skate to a 5-5 tie. Lowell takes the game 2-0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 UMass sucks. Friggin drive 1hr 45 min each way to watch play like garbage and not even get a goal against a weak goalie.... Ass Hats. Well... congrats to Lowell. They played well this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 16, 2008 Author Share Posted November 16, 2008 Last night proved that Hockey East is wide open this year for everyone except Providence. They are awful. Lowell smacks around UNH 8-3 and UNH implodes in the 3rd period trying to start fights and just being general douchebags. Myself, LBS & 124 were in attendance and I must say that the verbal abuse that LBS gave the UNH players in the penalty box was a thing of beauty. UMass smacks around BU 5-1 and their bogus #1 ranking goes up in smoke. Big game between the sister schools tonight as Lowell travels to Amherst to take on UMass. Other scores: Northeastern 5-3 over Vermont. Maine 3-2 over Providence. BC and Merrimack skate to a 5-5 tie. I couldnt just be there and sit on my hands... Imagine how bad I would be if I was a Lowell fan... I had a great time.. especially since UNH lost. F#ck Umilie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 I couldnt just be there and sit on my hands... Imagine how bad I would be if I was a Lowell fan... I had a great time.. especially since UNH lost. F#ck Umilie! As did I. vanRiesen, or whatever his name is. I can still hear your voice rattling around in his head as you are calling him an arsehole and many other unkind words. BTW: The Lowell players, who were all freshman or sophomores at the time, haven't forgotten about the axe that the UMass Board of Trustees wanted to lay down on the program. I'm pretty much living proof of all things ULowell / UMass-Lowell. Our academics may blow, but don't mess with our hockey team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFSIKH Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 As did I. vanRiesen, or whatever his name is. I can still hear your voice rattling around in his head as you are calling him an arsehole and many other unkind words. BTW: The Lowell players, who were all freshman or sophomores at the time, haven't forgotten about the axe that the UMass Board of Trustees wanted to lay down on the program. I'm pretty much living proof of all things ULowell / UMass-Lowell. Our academics may blow, but don't mess with our hockey team! Yeah, that 5-4 juggernaut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 Yeah, that 5-4 juggernaut. I wasn't talking about how average Lowell is! I was commenting on the fact that the UMass Board of Trustees wanted to kill the program. Hockey is the only Division 1 sport at Lowell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 Latest Polls USCHO BU-2 BC-4 Northeastern-6 UNH-13 VT-15 UMass-16 Lowell-22 Maine-27 USATODAY BU-2 BC-4 Northeastern-5 UNH-13 UMass-16 Maine-19 VT-20 Lowell-22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 http://riverhawkhockey.blogspot.com/2008/11/saturday-thoughts-wait-that-didnt-feel.html Sunday, November 16, 2008 Saturday thoughts: Wait, that didn't FEEL like an Amherst win UMass Amherst fans, always the epitome of class, had this one chalked up as an easy W for their Minutemen. To illustrate this, here is an excerpt from a post by "persee" on UMass[Amherst]Hoops.com's hockey message board entitled "A saturday (sic) visit from the Sewerhawks (sic):" So it's our first matchup of the season against our ugly sister. I'm sure some of their fans are already writing the excuses about how they would've beaten us were Hutton healthy, and maybe a conspiracy theory about how we caused the injury somehow. I'll call it a 4-1 win, with a goal for Danny Hobbs. Aw man, you just barely missed on that score. Instead, Lowell got an ugly goal from Michael Budd, the first of his career, and Scott Campbell added a pretty insurance marker on the power play. That was more than enough. UMass Amherst never composed itself in the offensive zone by the wilder stretches of any imagination and couldn't pull off a tape-to-tape pass of any kind through the neutral zone as Lowell walked to an easy 2-0 shutout win. UMass Amherst, unlike last year's three games with Lowell, wasn't noticably bad. It wasn't anything. The Mass Attack (ha!) that terrorized three of its last four opponents to the tune of 19 goals was nowhere in evidence tonight. James Marcou? Barely noticeable. Cory Quirk? May as well have stayed in the dressing room. Alex Berry? Invisible apart from a shot he ripped off the crossbar late in the game. If this is the team we were supposed to be worried about, please accept our humblest apologies for not seeing it. It's hard to describe the total lack of presence the entire team had for the entirety of this game's dreary, sloppy 60 minutes. The ice surface was a mess, but we've come to expect that from the barely-renovated dump that is the Mullins Center. The puck was bouncing everywhere and players were slipping and sliding all over the ice. UMass Amherst fans are already using it as an excuse, which must surely be part of Lowell's Hutton Injury-related conspiracy in some way we've not yet figured out. Says "hatsoff:" ...they might have well have played in wellingtons as skates. Would have been a mess of slush even worse than they had to deal with. You could tell the kids were working their arses off, but couldn't get the puck or their skates to do a darn thing. Got it. So that's the reason you could have driven a Zamboni through the five-hole presented to Budd by Paul Dainton*? That's why the breakout was a disaster only for UMass Amherst while Lowell connected on home run passes all night, with far greater success than we're accustomed to seeing? That's why UMass Amherst managed just three shots on net in four power plays, and all those shots came on one two-minute advantage in the first, and Lowell somehow cobbled together six shots on three chances and, y'know, scored? Because if it is you could just drop us a note and let us know. We are curious to hear your thoughts (in much the same way Jane Goodall would be). UMass Amherst was once again victimized by its own pacificism. Lowell was having a hell of a time properly breaking the puck out for most of the first period and instead of actually capitalizing on this, the Minutemen were too busy dropping FIVE GUYS into the neutral zone and saying, "Please come to us since we don't know how to pressure in the attacking third." It was painful. We had to wonder if this was how they put 14 past Providence in one weekend or how they scored five against BU on Friday. Because if it's not, then why change a clearly successful gameplan? If it is, then how the hell did it happen? But in the end, both teams were ultimately fairly sloppy as a consequence of the poor ice conditions and the difference, as it so often does, came down to goaltending. Said "Dickie Dunn," whom we suspect you may know from a more well-known college hockey "news" outlet than UMass[Amherst]Hoops.com: It doesn't help that Nevin Hamilton is going to graduate and head straight to the over-30 leagues at North Star Forum in Westboro. So where's The Best Goalie in the Hockey East going after he graduates? We'd suggest he start pushing a broom around to get practice for the career paths presented by an "intended major" (read: undeclared due to general laziness) in psych, but we saw how he handled the puck tonight and don't know if he'd be up for it. Lowell took 24 shots and Dainton* stopped all but two of them. UMass Amherst took 22 shots and Nevin Hamilton stopped all of them. Note that there is no "but _____" in there. That's because Nevin Hamilton is just as good a goaltender as Dainton* is. Fact. The only difference is Hamilton doesn't have to pad his stats against UConn. That's what UMass Amherst is for. Oh, and before the game "UMass02" helpfully added: Lowell: The real ass of UMass. I watched part of the UVM vs. UML game the other week. I was not impressed. Just remember folks... for the eight UMass-Lowell fans, this is their big rivalry. Apart from the incredibly witty lead-in, how impressive do you think that was, then? Nevin Hamilton and Co. come into your barn the night after you beat the No. 1 team in the country and go to the trouble of bagging up a nice lunch for you. The main course: the turd sandwich your team made tonight. Enjoy it, kids. You'd do well to be able to consider us your main rival. You might have to settle for UConn. Four big points. Can't say the same for Scumherst. @ 12:21 AM Scattergories: Game wraps, Laughing at UMass, UMass 1 comments: Monty said... I love that they think we care that much about them. We've only lost the Alumni Cup to them once IIRC ... that's like the morons who used to say that Yankees/Red Sox was a rivalry while the Yanks were consistently winning the World Series. Note to UMass fans ... you have to win much more than you currently are against this particular team for it to be a rivalry. 8:23 PM Wow. For a fanbase that doesnt think there is much of a rivalry and they dont care about UMass, they sure are bitter towards them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 STANDINGS: 1-Northeastern-11pts 2-Boston College-9pts 3-Boston University-8pts 4-Massachusetts-7pts 5-Maine-6pts Mass.-Lowell-6pts New Hampshire-6pts 8-Vermont-5pts 9-Merrimack-3pts 10-Providence1pts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 http://lohud.com/article/20081119/SPORTS01/811190381/-1/SPORTS Thirteen years after being paralyzed, Travis Roy stays positive No matter how many goal posts he hit during his 11-game scoring slump to start this season, Chris Drury wasn't about to lament his misfortune. Thirteen years after watching his friend and former teammate Travis Roy paralyzed in a freak accident 11 seconds into his Boston University hockey career, the 32-year-old Ranger captain has long grasped the difference between real adversity and what he confronts in his $7 million-a-year job playing for the Rangers. While Drury concerns himself with re-igniting his team's power play tonight against the Vancouver Canucks, Roy will take the stage in his wheelchair at Rye High School to tell the story of a dream denied, and of his remarkable journey since. They are two friends who have taken divergent paths since that game against the University of North Dakota on Oct. 20, 1995. But like in their brief time as teammates, they've still managed to draw strength from one other. "Chris certainly wasn't someone to take things for granted beforehand, but there's a lot to be said that there's an alternative that could have happened," Roy said by phone yesterday. "It could have been anyone on that ice on Oct. 20, 1995. I think that has affected him, because he does have a lot of respect for the way I've moved on." Just how Roy has moved on will be the subject of his speeches today and tonight at Rye (the day session is for Rye students, the night is open to the public and free of charge). Like Drury, Roy was a prized college hockey recruit who had aspirations of national championships with the Terriers and then even a career in the NHL. But he never made it through his first shift, crashing awkwardly into the boards with Drury just a few strides away. A quadriplegic ever since, Roy still chooses to focus on what he's been given instead of what's been taken away. Since the accident, he's written a book, and now travels the country as a motivational speaker to raise money and awareness for victims of spinal cord injuries. "He's an inspiration to me and a lot of people just with what he deals with on a regular basis," Drury said. "He's very upbeat. He has his goals and is very independent. I can't imagine what he goes through. I don't think anybody could. But I don't think he could handle it better." At 33, Roy doesn't try to create the facade that his life is easy. Although he's regained some motion in his right arm, he says there are household tasks many people can do in minutes that can take him hours. Then there is his complicated relationship with hockey, the sport that was at the center of his universe for 20 years, and the one that is the source of his greatest heartbreak. "It's ridiculous how much I think about hockey and I enjoy watching the game," Roy said. "But there's always that bittersweet moment when I walk into the rink of, 'Boy, do I miss this.' " In many ways, Roy has said, his dream lives on through Drury, who has overcome his slow start to claim a share of the team lead in goals with seven. The soft-spoken center's entire athletic career has been storybook material, from leading his hometown, Trumbull, Conn., to the 1989 Little League World Series at age 13, to NCAA championships and Stanley Cups, to now captaining the team he rooted for as a boy. Even in achieving his own dreams, Roy is never far from his thoughts. For several years, Drury hosted a golf tournament to benefit Roy's foundation, and he continues to contribute to the foundation on his own. During the season, the two speak every few weeks, and get together when their schedules allow. "Chris has a pretty good perspective on things," Roy said. "If you can get him to talk, he can give you a depth other people can't. He's incredibly caring, and that was the thing with Chris: He asked questions right after my accident about how things were and what was hard. People were so afraid to ask those questions. But he wants to hear what you have to say." What's interesting about Drury, Roy said, is that he is the most competitive person he's ever met, but also one of the most humble - the type of hockey player who takes his job seriously, but not himself. Some of that is just Drury's nature. But some of it is the influence of a teammate who never made it past his first shift. "He's an amazing guy," Drury said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Wow. For a fanbase that doesnt think there is much of a rivalry and they dont care about UMass, they sure are bitter towards them. Are you talking about the UMass fanbase? Apart from you they insult Lowell any chance they get. We (I'm talking about me and everyone else who went to Lowell) never wanted to be part of the UMass system so this "ugly sister" and "they are UMass' anus" talk kind of fires us up. Rant over. How the fark is UNH ranked 13th? They are 1-3-2 over the last 5 games and gave up 16 goals last weekend. BTW: Here is van Riemsdyk's pic. No wonder he couldn't handle your heckling as he looks like a High School junior! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 Are you talking about the UMass fanbase? Apart from you they insult Lowell any chance they get. We (I'm talking about me and everyone else who went to Lowell) never wanted to be part of the UMass system so this "ugly sister" and "they are UMass' anus" talk kind of fires us up. Rant over. How the fark is UNH ranked 13th? They are 1-3-2 over the last 5 games and gave up 16 goals last weekend. BTW: Here is van Riemsdyk's pic. No wonder he couldn't handle your heckling as he looks like a High School junior! The clowns on umasshoops.com annoy me. Lowell has owned us (so has every other hockey east team ) yet they still trash them... I just find it funny that Lowell fans (outside of you) want to claim there is no rivalry, yet badmouth UMass every chance they get. I prefer letting the action take place on the ice. Both teams have an unimpressive recent history and a fanbase that is hot and cold. Now I feel like a bully since I was screaming at this little kid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 The clowns on umasshoops.com annoy me. Lowell has owned us (so has every other hockey east team ) yet they still trash them... I just find it funny that Lowell fans (outside of you) want to claim there is no rivalry, yet badmouth UMass every chance they get. I prefer letting the action take place on the ice. Both teams have an unimpressive recent history and a fanbase that is hot and cold. Now I feel like a bully since I was screaming at this little kid... That dudes RiverHawk blog is very good. He makes fun of all the HE teams and fans but gives credit where it is due. I'm thinking he is an old school ULowell fan. Like late '70's early '80's when Lowell was a Division 2 power. Hockey is all we have at Lowell and when some cretins at UMass give us crap we will respond. UMass got a free ride into Hockey East when the program was reinstated. There is no rivalry in my book but I want to see Lowell beat UMass every time they play. Who is your rival? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Bit Special Posted November 20, 2008 Author Share Posted November 20, 2008 That dudes RiverHawk blog is very good. He makes fun of all the HE teams and fans but gives credit where it is due. I'm thinking he is an old school ULowell fan. Like late '70's early '80's when Lowell was a Division 2 power. Hockey is all we have at Lowell and when some cretins at UMass give us crap we will respond. UMass got a free ride into Hockey East when the program was reinstated. There is no rivalry in my book but I want to see Lowell beat UMass every time they play. Who is your rival? I like his blog too, but I have a problem with some of the stuff he writes about UMass. Very little credit is ever given to them and he is always looking for a way to jab at them even when there is little truth or just an outright lie. Then tries to turn it around that Lowell doesnt care about UMass. If he or any lowell fan doesnt care about UMass, then why write sour grapes stuff? Seems a little hypocritical to me. We dont have one.... Merrimack? Every team we hate is hated worse by someone else.... we're just a joke of a team. The best thing that could happen is if we were rivals, but neither fan base cares enough about hockey. Its sad Im the biggest commenter on the riverhawks blog... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I like his blog too, but I have a problem with some of the stuff he writes about UMass. Very little credit is ever given to them and he is always looking for a way to jab at them even when there is little truth or just an outright lie. Then tries to turn it around that Lowell doesnt care about UMass. If he or any lowell fan doesnt care about UMass, then why write sour grapes stuff? Seems a little hypocritical to me. We dont have one.... Merrimack? Every team we hate is hated worse by someone else.... we're just a joke of a team. The best thing that could happen is if we were rivals, but neither fan base cares enough about hockey. Its sad Im the biggest commenter on the riverhawks blog... Don't even think about taking Merrimack away from Lowell as they were our biggest rival in not being the 8 seed back in the day (We all made the playoffs back then!). Are you going to Conte on Friday and Mullins on Saturday for the BC games? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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