Well, after a crazy Super Bowl game last weekend, and the official start of the 2018 Winter Olympic games over in South Korea earlier this week (incidentally, the hockey games there don't start until next week, NHL players or not), I returned to New Haven, CT, for a battle of two teams separated by only about 10 miles, give or take a few, depending on who you ask - Quinnipiac University, located just above New Haven, in Hamden, CT, and Yale University, Ivy League school, and, at least in recent years, perpetually on the wrong end of the aforementioned "cross-town" rivalry...
The anticipation started building even before the game this time, as, since Hamden and New Haven are so close to each other, more than a few Quinnipiac fans made the trip to the Yale campus, creating a "standing room-only" crowd just a day or so prior, as Yale put out a message on Twitter that the game ended up completely selling out (to the tune of approximately 3,500 people) earlier this past week!
Quinnipiac definitely controlled the action up through the first 10 minutes or so, which, as rivalry games tend to do, also featured tons of "scrums" after just about every whistle to stop play, along with many "offsetting" minor penalties (one or more penalties assessed to both teams at once), yet it was Yale that ended up opening up the scoring slightly past the halfway point, keeping things just close enough up until then, although Quinnipiac ended up dominating the remaining minutes, almost doubling Yale's shots-on-goal total by the end of the period, and, indeed, finding the first of quite a few tying goals throughout the game!
Quinnipiac took advantage of another Yale penalty early in the second period to take the lead, but, although Quinnipiac maintained its shot advantage for the next few minutes, Yale finally "awakened" after that, slowly but surely cutting into the shot deficit, and, eventually, scoring once again, drawing a few more "matching" penalties to remove various Quinnipiac players from the action for the usual two minutes, and doing so yet again in order to take a 3-2 lead into what would turn out to be an absolutely epic final period!
While the post-whistle "scrums" only continued in the final 20 minutes of the game, thankfully, the pacing of the penalties slowed to a crawl, allowing many breakaway opportunities for both teams, amazingly, none of which ended up resulting in goals, and, by then, Yale also ended up with more shots than Quinnipiac, although the final five minutes or so would see Quinnipiac return to the form in which it started the game (again, only to see Yale score the game's first goal), and just dominate the remainder of the game, taking a two-man advantage between its own empty-net situation, and the last of Yale's many penalties, taking practically all the shots then, with Yale basically reduced to just flipping the puck down wide of the empty Quinnipiac net for one icing call after another, and, after also hitting the crossbar/posts on what seemed like every other shot, Yale somehow managed to survive 1: the aforementioned dual empty-net/penalty situation against it; 2: all the crossbar/post/too high/wide shots that resulted; 3: a pair of broken sticks; 4: a challenge/video review of one of the many late Quinnipiac scoring chances (which got helped out by the local "MyNetworkTV" station, which, just like the longtime formerly "independent" broadcaster in the N.Y.C. metro area, also happens to be channel 9, broadcasting the game live, giving the officials quite a few cameras with which to review things throughout the game); after all of that, and then some, Yale somehow ended up taking the win by the same 3-2 score with which the third period had started, and had, again, somehow managed to hold up throughout those entire 20 minutes of the game!
Yale recap
New Haven Register recap
WTNH-TV (the broadcaster) highlights/recap
For Yale, that was the team's first win over Quinnipiac in general since the 2013 national championship game, over in Pittsburgh; the first win on either campus since 2011, and Yale's first win over Quinnipiac at home since the year before that (2010), including Quinnipiac defeating Yale in the 2013 ECAC Hockey conference tournament in Atlantic City, before Yale got the aforementioned shutout win in the national championship game, so while the games themselves might have always been "heated", the actual results in the rivalry were always "one-sided"!
The Yale band appeared, and, as was the case when Michigan State and Minnesota made the trip to MSG a few weekends ago (more on MSG later), the band got the vast majority of the "playing time" during stoppages (I'd say just about the same percentages as the other game), although the sound crew inside the rink seemed to almost be "spying" on the band, in a sense, since there seemed to be multiple instances throughout the night when some of the same songs would be played both by the band, and also "pre-recorded"...also, I'm glad to report, after last February, when Harvard defeated Yale to clinch the 2017 Ivy League hockey title, that the rink also seemed to "pump up the volume" on this tune, however slightly it might have done so!
I mentioned MSG - my next trip will be to Princeton to see the current team end its 2017-18 regular season against Union, and also see the 1998 and 2008 ECAC Hockey conference champion/NCAA tournament-reaching teams (in the case of the '98 team, the school's first-ever conference title), in what Princeton is calling "Champions' Weekend"; after that, though, I'll most likely try to get back to MSG for this year's FDNY-NYPD game, despite that game being scheduled for a 12 noon start time the second-to-last Saturday of March (3/24)!
...though the Carolina Hurricanes recently decided to "co-opt" the former Hartford Whalers' legacy in the "old" WHA/NHL:
https://deadspin.com/the-hurricanes-are-finally-ready-to-embrace-their-hartf-1822584414
...which, being too young to remember the Whalers' existence, yet just old enough to remember the very late 1990s and early 2000s, when the most recent NHL expansions occurred (not to mention Vegas), I still don't like, being that Connecticut basically only had the Whalers back then, in contrast to having college basketball and hockey with the likes of Quinnipiac/Sacred Heart/UConn/Yale/various other D3 colleges and universities, not to mention the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, playing out of the exact same building as the old Whalers, the Hartford Civic Center/XL Center, in downtown Hartford!
...also, just out of curiosity, I checked which current/recent NHL arenas were already open by the time the Hartford Whalers left for North Carolina in 1997, and found:
U.S.:
Anaheim, CA (Arrowhead Pond @ Anaheim -> Honda Center; opened 1993)
Boston, Mass. ("new" Boston Garden -> Shawmut Center -> Fleet Center -> TD Banknorth Garden -> TD Garden; opened 1995)
Buffalo, NY (Marine Midland Arena -> HSBC Arena -> First Niagara Center -> KeyBank Center; opened 1996)
Chicago, IL (United Center; opened 1994; no NHL games until 1995)
Manhattan, NY (Madison Square Garden; opened 1968/renovated 2011-13)
Nashville, TN (Nashville Arena, multiple times; Gaylord Entertainment Center -> Sommet Center -> Bridgestone Arena; opened 1996)
Philadelphia, PA (Corestates/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center (a building literally "owned-and-operated" by banks); opened 1996)
St. Louis, MO (Kiel/Savvis/Scottrade Center; opened 1994)
San Jose, CA (San Jose Arena -> Compaq Center @ San Jose -> HP Pavillion @ San Jose -> SAP Center; opened 1993)
Tampa, FL (Ice Palace -> St. Pete Times Forum -> Tampa Bay Times Forum -> Amalie Arena; opened 1996)
(recently closed: Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI (2017); Northlands Coliseum -> Edmonton Coliseum -> Skyreach Centre -> Rexall Place in Edmonton, AB (2016); Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hempstead/Uniondale, LI, NY (2015; future (temporary) NHL venue); Civic/Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA (2010)
Canada:
Calgary, AB (Olympic/Canadian Airlines/Pengrowth/Scotiabank Saddledome; opened 1983 to host figure skating and hockey events in the 1988 Calgary-hosted Winter Olympic Games; might get replaced soon)
Montreal, QC (Molson/Bell Centre; opened 1996)
Ottawa (Kanata), Ont. (Palladium -> Corel Centre -> Scotiabank Place -> Canadian Tire Centre; opened 1996)
Vancouver, B.C. (General Motors Place -> Rogers Arena; known as "Canada Hockey Place" during the 2010 Vancouver-hosted Winter Olympic Games, which occurs because the International Olympic Committee prohibits non-Olympic sponsors from sponsoring venues used during the Olympic Games)
https://deadspin.com/the-hurricanes-are-finally-ready-to-embrace-their-hartf-1822584414
...which, being too young to remember the Whalers' existence, yet just old enough to remember the very late 1990s and early 2000s, when the most recent NHL expansions occurred (not to mention Vegas), I still don't like, being that Connecticut basically only had the Whalers back then, in contrast to having college basketball and hockey with the likes of Quinnipiac/Sacred Heart/UConn/Yale/various other D3 colleges and universities, not to mention the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL, playing out of the exact same building as the old Whalers, the Hartford Civic Center/XL Center, in downtown Hartford!
...also, just out of curiosity, I checked which current/recent NHL arenas were already open by the time the Hartford Whalers left for North Carolina in 1997, and found:
U.S.:
Anaheim, CA (Arrowhead Pond @ Anaheim -> Honda Center; opened 1993)
Boston, Mass. ("new" Boston Garden -> Shawmut Center -> Fleet Center -> TD Banknorth Garden -> TD Garden; opened 1995)
Buffalo, NY (Marine Midland Arena -> HSBC Arena -> First Niagara Center -> KeyBank Center; opened 1996)
Chicago, IL (United Center; opened 1994; no NHL games until 1995)
Manhattan, NY (Madison Square Garden; opened 1968/renovated 2011-13)
Nashville, TN (Nashville Arena, multiple times; Gaylord Entertainment Center -> Sommet Center -> Bridgestone Arena; opened 1996)
Philadelphia, PA (Corestates/First Union/Wachovia/Wells Fargo Center (a building literally "owned-and-operated" by banks); opened 1996)
St. Louis, MO (Kiel/Savvis/Scottrade Center; opened 1994)
San Jose, CA (San Jose Arena -> Compaq Center @ San Jose -> HP Pavillion @ San Jose -> SAP Center; opened 1993)
Tampa, FL (Ice Palace -> St. Pete Times Forum -> Tampa Bay Times Forum -> Amalie Arena; opened 1996)
(recently closed: Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI (2017); Northlands Coliseum -> Edmonton Coliseum -> Skyreach Centre -> Rexall Place in Edmonton, AB (2016); Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Hempstead/Uniondale, LI, NY (2015; future (temporary) NHL venue); Civic/Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, PA (2010)
Canada:
Calgary, AB (Olympic/Canadian Airlines/Pengrowth/Scotiabank Saddledome; opened 1983 to host figure skating and hockey events in the 1988 Calgary-hosted Winter Olympic Games; might get replaced soon)
Montreal, QC (Molson/Bell Centre; opened 1996)
Ottawa (Kanata), Ont. (Palladium -> Corel Centre -> Scotiabank Place -> Canadian Tire Centre; opened 1996)
Vancouver, B.C. (General Motors Place -> Rogers Arena; known as "Canada Hockey Place" during the 2010 Vancouver-hosted Winter Olympic Games, which occurs because the International Olympic Committee prohibits non-Olympic sponsors from sponsoring venues used during the Olympic Games)
In retail news this time, first off, some sad news about a particular N.J.-based retailer:
...including, in fact, what amounts to the company's "flagship" location, right near headquarters; also, there'll be one less pair of bathrooms in Union Square once those stores get shuttered!
...next, Kmart happens to have a location on the Pacific island of Guam, which got spared from the utter bloodbath of closures within that retailer within the past decade or so, at least here on what they might call the "mainland":
...a Clearwater, FL, location, wasn't quite as lucky, however, suddenly putting somebody who operated the registers there for 40 years out of work!
http://www.tampabay.com/news/One-last-shift-After-45-years-together-a-Kmart-cashier-and-her-store-are-gone_164941234
...also, as of last weekend, the long-suffering Blockbuster Video (yes, that one) no longer exists within the "Lone Star State" of Texas:
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_bf409b7e-03d5-11e8-8dad-c74f654a99c3.html
...speaking of malls once again, now, there's a mall in Massena, NY, that recently got sold to a Montreal-based "REIT" (real estate investment trust) developer, the Shapiro Group, and, almost immediately after, lost its Bon-Ton "anchor" store, after that company announced its C11 bankruptcy restructuring efforts:
http://northcountrynow.com/news/massenas-st-lawrence-center-mall-sold-montreal-group-0190143
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/business/mall-retail.html?_r=0
...on that topic, one of the few remaining department stores in all of Alaska (specifically, a mall-based Sears location in Anchorage) is also set to shut down soon:
http://www.ktva.com/story/37196353/anchorage-sears-closing-this-spring
(along with Sears laying off 220 corporate positions, effective immediately:)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/31/sears-cutting-roughly-220-jobs-its-corporate-offices/1084180001/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycommoney-topstories
...also, in a follow-up on the story about the Macy*s location in Bangor, ME, being sold to a Miami-based real estate firm, well, it turns out the firm, LNR Partners, might start buying out the entire mall as early as next month, although the process will have to go through the Maine state courts:
https://bangordailynews.com/2018/01/18/business/bangor-mall-may-have-new-owner-by-march/
...in slightly more positive news, two Toys "R" Us locations originally "marked" for closure in Manchester and Waterbury, CT, are no longer on the company's "list", although two other nearby locations in the Hartford/New Haven, CT area, in Newington and North Haven, CT, are still there:
http://www.wfsb.com/story/37406351/two-toys-r-us-stores-no-longer-listed-as-closing?autostart=true
...also, as of last weekend, the long-suffering Blockbuster Video (yes, that one) no longer exists within the "Lone Star State" of Texas:
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/article_bf409b7e-03d5-11e8-8dad-c74f654a99c3.html
...speaking of malls once again, now, there's a mall in Massena, NY, that recently got sold to a Montreal-based "REIT" (real estate investment trust) developer, the Shapiro Group, and, almost immediately after, lost its Bon-Ton "anchor" store, after that company announced its C11 bankruptcy restructuring efforts:
http://northcountrynow.com/news/massenas-st-lawrence-center-mall-sold-montreal-group-0190143
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/24/business/mall-retail.html?_r=0
...on that topic, one of the few remaining department stores in all of Alaska (specifically, a mall-based Sears location in Anchorage) is also set to shut down soon:
http://www.ktva.com/story/37196353/anchorage-sears-closing-this-spring
(along with Sears laying off 220 corporate positions, effective immediately:)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/31/sears-cutting-roughly-220-jobs-its-corporate-offices/1084180001/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycommoney-topstories
...also, in a follow-up on the story about the Macy*s location in Bangor, ME, being sold to a Miami-based real estate firm, well, it turns out the firm, LNR Partners, might start buying out the entire mall as early as next month, although the process will have to go through the Maine state courts:
https://bangordailynews.com/2018/01/18/business/bangor-mall-may-have-new-owner-by-march/
...in slightly more positive news, two Toys "R" Us locations originally "marked" for closure in Manchester and Waterbury, CT, are no longer on the company's "list", although two other nearby locations in the Hartford/New Haven, CT area, in Newington and North Haven, CT, are still there:
http://www.wfsb.com/story/37406351/two-toys-r-us-stores-no-longer-listed-as-closing?autostart=true
https://csnews.com/back-future-amoco
...more retail updates, since I just plain can't help myself there:
...also, The Record (northern N.J.) put out a series recently about the future of malls in the so-called "retail capital" of Paramus, N.J., and, to a lesser extent, retail in general, around here, including news about a pair of soon-to-come vacancies at the Garden State Plaza, with Best Buy set to move to the Bergen Town Center outlet mall in the spring, and JCPenney set to completely close its location there around that same time!
https://www.northjersey.com/st
No comments:
Post a Comment