2018 is here, and the Door 14 (or 15 depending on how closely some of you seem to watch us at games!) Hockey Podcast is back!
The guys are back together once again as they chew the fat over the festive period in the world of hockey.
We chat about the NIHL for the first time in ages, look across to the NHL and the All Star jerseys, charity jerseys, the top NHL jerseys of all time…jerseys, jerseys, jerseys! We also discuss the loss of another hockey legend and go through our Stars, look in the penalty box and also discuss some issues raised by you – the fan(s), including looking at our all-time greatest starting lineups!
As always, we’re bringing you the most recent highlights of the Belfast Giants, because after all…they’re our team!
The Giants faced the same two teams twice over two weeks, both away and at home, with the Capitals coming first at Murrayfield on December 23rd . There are no highlights available, but the game ended with a 6-3 win for the Giants.
The men in teal then traveled over, as they tend to do these days, to Glasgow (well, Renfrew) to face the Braehead Clan, where they fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat.
Finally, at long last and after a long away stint, the Giants came home to Belfast as a packed SSE Arena watched as the Giants took on both the Capitals and the Clan in back to back games on the 29th and 30th of December. The games were nervous affairs until the 3rd periods, where the Giants found the gas and pulled away from both opposing teams. The games ended 7-2 and 4-2 respectively.
Can you make heads or tails of the NIHL? if so…please let John know as he’s been tasked with finding out how this mental array of competitions works for the next podcast after failing miserably this time around!
The four-man-system finally makes it’s way to the SSE Arena this weekend…but John wasn’t too sure on how well it’s going to go with the double headers ahead of the Giants and the season long curse of ‘reputational’ penalties and bans from EIHL officials and DOPS.
Dave isn’t sold on all these one-off jerseys we see a lot of these days (although he’s happy enough when he wins them!). With the Giants having had their Christmas jerseys after the big day and the Blaze showing off some….interesting plans for Valentines day, is it all becoming too much for fans and taking away from teams’ brand images?
There was some heartwarming news from Nottingham this week however as they, the Blaze and all their fans showed what being part of the hockey family means by showing support for the family of six year old Daniel Harris who tragically passed away just days before Christmas, by dabbing en’ mass in a “Dab for Daniel”.
Stick tap from us at Door 14.
https://twitter.com/PanthersIHC/status/947437177549611008
We also want to give props to the entire Belfast Giants Organisation, the “A View From the Bridge” podcast, Laura Small and particularly Davy for the stellar work on the static bike during the Edinburgh game, raising money for the NI Children’s Hospice by cycling through the entire game, period breaks, blood delays and wonky refereeing calls and all.
It was warm, uncomfortable and awkward, and that was just when John revealed his lycra shorts! It was our pleasure to do our wee bit, and congrats on raising over £3000 for the charity.
Mark (@Pens87 on Twitter) asked us:
Winter Classic….run its course or still a spectacle in the NHL season?
— Pens67 (@HotdogPens67) January 3, 2018
So, we did our best to answer, and we all agree – YES! The Winter Classic still has a place in the game 10 years on, BUT – do all the others? Maybe not! What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
With NHL mega-spectacles in mind, it’s time to start the wind up to the NHL All Star Weekend!
This week saw the not only reveal the new jersey designs for the competition, but also the respective divisional captains. The lads discuss their love/hate relationship with the jersey designs (OK John = Love for one of them and Dave & Marty = Hate for them all!), and the fan-driven captain choices.
Get a load of these beauty threads courtesy of @adidashockey for the #NHLAllStar Game! pic.twitter.com/WF1LGbgf2p
— NHL (@NHL) January 4, 2018
And staying with jerseys, the NHL revealed one of their latest Centennial celebration “Top 25″s this week, this time charting the greatest jerseys ever to grace the league.
We wont lie…we sorely disagree!
Did they miss out any you think should have made the list? Let us know!
To start off Nockey News, we looked at the Canadian netminder Carter Hart, possibly one of the biggest creatures of habit in the game and how he’s worked with his habits, forcibly changed them and how other teams have tried to get into his head by interfering with them…sometimes to great success!
Look at this for an example of his superstitious nature and how others can take advantage!
This past week, the hockey world said its last goodbye to yet another legend of the game, as former Maple Leaf and Hall of Famer, Johnny Bower passed away.
The much loved former netminder passed away after a short battle with pneumonia and the Maple Leafs paid fitting tribute to “The China Wall’, by warming up in Bower #1 jerseys before their game against Tampa. You can view the heartwarming remembrance from the Air Canada Centre here.
As the buildup for the 2018 Winter Olympics enters its final month, Team USA announced the names of those (minus two netminders still to be chosen) who will travel to South Korea.
In the wake of the NHL embargo, some interesting names have come up, none more so than 39 year old captain Brian Gionta, who last represented the nation at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino. There are plenty other interesting names, including four young NCAA players, who will get their bite at the international apple.
This time around, there were only 3 stars to dish out with Aaron missing from the action.
John chose the return to home ice of the Giants to the SSE Arena in Belfast on Friday the 29th of December. Nothing flashy, but hometown hockey is hometown hockey! (see above for highlights from that game.
Dave stuck with what he knows too, and in a return to being positive about the Minnesota Wild, chose Matt Cullen as his star player, following a two goal game against the Florida Panthers.
Marty (much to only John’s surprise apparently) also went for a player, but instead chose away from his main teams, and went for the Bruins’ netminder Tuukka Rask following a stellar December, capped off by shutouts in the first and last games of the month, allowing only 13 goals from 290 shots over 11 games!
Most importantly however, we’re sure that given the chance, Aaron would have chosen the Door 14 Hockey Bubble Hockey team, who although they lost to a terrible 3-0 shutout at the SSE, put up a brave fight in kilts this past Saturday!
https://twitter.com/ellenjane89/status/947196517433126913
A quiet couple of weeks on the disciplinary front saw only a few incidents of note across both the NHL and the EIHL.
In the NHL, Patrick Maroon received a two game suspension for interference.
Meanwhile, in the EIHL, Guildford Flames’ Tomas Nechala received a five game ban for physically abusing the referee in their game against the Manchester Storm. Did he get off lightly with this one based on recent ‘New DOPS’ rulings?
After a ‘lively’ chat in the SSE with Mark (@Pens67 on Twitter), the gauntlet was laid down…name an all-time greatest starting lineup…we await the expected backlashes!
Keep your ear out for John’s panic at being asked for a replacement centreman!
Marty's All-Star Line
Dave's Starting Stars
John's Definitive Line
Let us know what you thought of this edition of the Door 14 Hockey Podcast via Twitter, Facebook or leave us a comment. Don’t forget to follow us while you’re at it and why not follow us on Instagram too!?
