#TentHockey Updayyyyyyyte

                     One of the Bruins Warm Up Songs, Naturally I Love It.
       (Listen to it while reading, you might feel a strange sensation in your pants)

Hello Friends, Foes and other assorted gentle men and women.

This post is designed to bring you the news (always good, never bad) that surrounds your favourite beer league squad. The Event Company Tents.

A new season brings new expectations, high hopes and another reason to shower with men and smell like utter ass. Some new faces now populate the #TentHockey bench and locker room and I now want you to welcome them into your family, give them your beer and never say a bad word about them ever again or you will pay..... so with that being said, INTRODUCINNGGGGGGG

Tent Hockey Defensemen #9 Paul RUUSSSSOOOOOO.

Nickname: Erection

Coming off a star studded career as a Gloucester Fisherman and Bryant Bulldog, Erection has finally come back down to earth and plays with his fellow beer league friends. Erection is a SOLID SOLID SOLID player. A fast, offensive minded defenseman who will jump the rush with no hesitation. He's the ying to my yang really, as I am the defensively minded stalwart type. Even though he is as Cute as a button, Erection wears a full mask to protect his face not only from sticks and pucks, but from the very dashing fanbase we have grown accustomed to seeing in the stands. "That Number Nine, he sure will tickle your fancy."

Next Up (I dont know his number) Michael RUUSSSOOOOOO.

(Wait, are you guys brothers? I Got you guys good)

Speed and Stick-handling. Pretty much all there is to say really. Quiet guy but we know that his determination will never waver. Gets to the rink very early. His mind is clear of any inhibitors. Just wants to win and win bad. You can catch Michael cruising the streets of Gloucester in his white land yacht just soaking up the life of a #Tent. (What that life is, however, has yet to be determined.)

News and Notes:

- Gargoyle (Slave Name: Andrew Fulford) and Mikes Place need to work out an endorsement deal. Proud to have Mike's delicious cuisine on the bench with us. Always a special in-game treat.

- Norman Michael Macfarland may infact be the leagues most hated player. Nobody likes him, I swear. He may even have been referenced as "That Punk #6" once or twice.

- Folks times a tickin' for your last chance to see The Great Cam Scola play at the tank before he moves to Oklahoma in search of a higher paying contract. (Interesting note: All Tent Hockey players are STILL waiting for that elusive game check to hit the bank. Ownership must be refinancing or something.)

- The Showers at the Tank are FINALLY, and consistently hot. Give me one more reason to stay in the shower longer and I will take it.

- I dont have any goals, a few assists but still, what the fuck.

- Were 3-0 by the way. Talk to us in the playoffs, we kind of have a problem (Premature something or other I think its called) in that department.

Come support our team. Emily Avila does.

Bye.

Tent Hockey update/playoff special

Pending Unanimous Official Tent Hockey Anthem

Note: Please take this blog seriously, if possible. It helps.

The Event Company Tents have completed the first requirement of their journey..... don't finish last. For the second consecutive season, The Tents have accomplished that. First year teams usually don't have a shot. Posting a 10-5-0-1, which was good enough for second place by virtue of the very narrow advantage one has by tying a game rather than losing in overtime, the Tents are in good position heading into the Best of Five series against the Beer Mugs (two-time defending CAIHL champs, I'm sure you've seen their golf shirts). Gonna be a tough series against the veteran Mugs squad.

Its about time to get to know your favorite #TentHockey players. Their strengths, not their weaknesses because we don't like to discuss minor (sometimes major) details, and a general observation or two of the personality.

We start with Player/Coach/Captain Norman Michael MacFarland. The heartbeat of the team. Gets under the skin of opposing players with relative ease. Hard working and unselfish is a staple of his game, not much departure from his characteristics in life. Great hands. Great Vision. Surprisingly Competetive given his usually calm demeanor. Can sauce and snipe when he needs to. Grade: A+.

Second Player, Brian Doyle/Todd Brunson. (Sorry mates, half of my reading audience wont get through the whole article so I'm contractually obligated to put myself in the number two slot.) With Zero goals, Todd is the only player in the Tent Hockey organization without a goal. 1 goal shy of his career average. Sprinkle a few assists like (chocolate sprinkles) on a vanilla ice cream and you have a real nice treat, right? Ok so my offensive game is marginal at best, but there is another full half sheet of the ice that needs defending. Just really my dojo, the defensive zone. Active stick and good puck battler. Refuses to stand in front of slap shots (PTSD from puck to face) and must rely on his quick reflexes to bail him out. Todd Brunson supports the much maligned stat of +/- (Because his plus minus is usually high). But Credit for that must also go to his defensive partner.....Grade A+

Rob "Moose" Morrissey is a solid Puck Moving Defensemen who has almost zero trepidation of rushing the puck forward the Offensive Blueline. Steady as they Come. Solid shot, great awareness and big size to his advantage. Unfortunately, Moose decided to go cheap and get the severely tinted protective shield. Me might have to cut him some slack for that. Grade A+

Rory Kain  is our most skilled defenseman. He is an offensive threat as well as a sure handed puck handler in the defensive zone. Can play with finesse while also getting down and dirty when the time calls. Grade A+

My favorite player on the team, Austin Sousa has made a very strong impression with the team in his first year. Cant say enough about his transition back to defense. Solid on his stick, great positional player as he puts himself in the right position to make a play. Grade A+

Goaltender Derric Souza has turned heads with his lights out goaltending. Highlight reel saves all season. Cool, calm and collected game in and game out, Souza is not only part responsible for the Tents ascention in the standings, but also negotiated a deal with our sponsor. Grade A+

The rest of the forwards we begin with Rick Melanson. Rough around the edges at times not one person can deny his consistent offensive production. Team guy. Comes to the defense of his fallen teammates without hesitation. Solid slap shot with the ability to make the opponent pay for his mistakes. Dick Melanson will play a key role in the playoffs for the Tents. Grade A+

Next up we have Garrett "Jagr" Webb. Sporting number 68, Webb uses his size to to his advantage winning puck battles and getting shots on net. Always look for Webb streaking up the wing entering the offensive zone with speed. Grade A+

When Cameron Scola wants it, has the ability to make huge impact offensively. Potting some pretty goals after returning from offseason surgery. A few defensive plays away from becoming an all around guy. Predicting alot of production in the playoffs a la Mike Ryder in 2011. Grade A+

First line winger  Andrew Fulford goes to the  greasy-grimy areas of the ice to make plays. Tough customer who has no problem dropping the gloves. Scores goals at a clip not matched by many. His contract stipulates no Chicken Finger Cheese Steak Calzone will be eaten within 4 hours of opening faceoff. Grade A+

Sniper Brett Biondo has dazzled with his speed and hands. A one on one nightmare for opposing defensemen, Biondo is an offensive juggernaut. Grade A+

Last and Totally least Tom Salah  may be the most interesting and effective #Tent there is. Intensity drives him. He is the player that can set the tempo while keeping players engaged. I like Tom. The Ladies like Tom. and Tom likes Tom. Several time this season, Mr. Best Looking Underclassman has drilled fucking bullet one timers for statement goals. He makes this face after he scores these type of goals that would make a woman blush. My man. Grade A+

There you have it folks, if you made it this far, you are probably a player or one of our 11 fans. Thanks and have a nice day and come to our games and dont make fun of us (me) for caring way too much about a beer league hockey team that gets its tires pumped constantly. And if not shame on you.

P.S. Go Bruins/Giants.

Love,
Todd

Bored So I Am Posting an Update

February 27th, 2013

Sitting here, with my lofty aspirations of becoming a CPA, in a Biology class. Bored. So I am gonna rattle off some fun little factoids aboot the Boston Bruins Hockey Club, The Event Company Tents Hockey Club, and...uhhhh, hopefully something else that may or may not pop into my brain before the last presenter of Bacterial and Viral infections is finished wasting my time.

THE Boston Bruins.

The Ho-Hum: 12-2-2, 4 wins on a 5 game road trip, best pk in the league, depth up the ass, and a Struggling power play.

The Surprises: The First Line's return to dominance, Tuukka Rask embracing the full time gig with relative ease, Lack of games, Dougie Hamilton's quick start and equally surprising drop in playing time.

The Bad: Ticket Prices, Lack of production from the 3rd line and not really much else.

Cant hate the start from the Bruins. Not going goo goo gaga over this nice 16 game start to the abbreviated season. But I would be hard pressed to complain  when the Bruins are 1 point from being in the conference lead when they have 2-5 games in hand on everyone in the Eastern Conference. Lot of points accumulated prior to the every other night pace that will consume them for the balance of the schedule.

The Beez only two regulation losses have come against the East's last place team. Consider me puzzled because there is no real explanation for losing to a poor caliber team such as the Sabres.

Solid, Solid, Solid defense and goaltending so far. Apart from the occasional and inevitable defensive breakdowns (including the disaster of an effort against Buffalo, 7-4) the Bruins are winning tight games due to their presence in the Defensive zone. Tuukka has looked shaky from time to time but a 10-1-2 recond, 1.89 GAA, and .933 save percentage speak for themselves.

Chara's Goal....Money

Beyond the top two lines, the Bruins are getting sparce production from the 3rd. The 3rd line cant bury their chances and the 4th line gets paid to create pressure and beyond succeeding at that, there isnt much else sexy about their 5 on 5 game. Horton-Krejci-Lucic and Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand are putting the puck in the net while also keeping true to their defensive responsibilities.

Been to two games, two SOLID games. Going to two more (so far). Life is Good in all of my Bruins nerd-dom.

Hash Tag Tent Hockey

The best part of my week. Bar none. Pretending that a beer league on Sunday Nights in Gloucester is just as important as the NHL is A LOT of fun. The franchise has gone thru a transformation of sorts as our sponsor changed from the Rockport Mortgage Corporation to The Event Company. I'm proud to call myself a Tent. Wouldn't want to play for any other organization in the Cape Ann Industrial Hockey League. Player Coach Norman Michael MacFarland is a true leader on and off the ice with his constructive criticism and charming smile. The Biondo-Salah-Fulford trio, while being amongst the most unique humans I know, are on FIRE. 3 games where they accounted for all the offense.

Austin Sousa has made a seamless transition to Defense, Derric Souza is a stud between the pipes. And an 8-4-0-1 record, while needing to be better, has the Tents in prime playoff position with 3 games remaining against the Kings and Gulls(2x).

Todd Brunson's steadfast approach and solid defensive play have never wavered. Just like his penchant for not being able to score. A 4 game assist streak was snapped against the Gulls as Todd is still searching for his first goal. Preaching "Active Sticks," Mr. Brunson has seemingly put his stick in the right place more often than not in the defensive zone to disrupt passes and deflect shots safely out of play. Your welcome.

Shout out to a few #Tents that are not on the ice but are still apart of the Team....

Thanks to Shannon McCarthy for Live tweeting the Elks-Tents matchup on Saturday. Feeding into ego's the way she did without monetary compensation or getting the hour of her life back does not go unnoticed.

Finally, To Mr. @TeflonDonnyD....Thank you for your tweet in support of our organization and trying to connect us to non-traditional hockey fans.

Couldnt think of, or even tried to think of anything else to write about. Sahhhrrryyyyy. Posse out.

Todd Contributes to "CoachandPrevost"

Gentlemen,

It is an honor to share my sick obsession of the Bruins with people who love the game as much as I do. As you referenced before Coach, if you haven’t laced ‘em up you just don’t understand. The last couple months have been painful to bear as we watched out boys play in Europe and we couldn’t go to the Garden to watch the greatest game there is. But as much as it hurt us to deal with this lockout, I don’t think this will hurt the Bruins, in fact, it can only help them on the ice. This team is oozing with grizzled veterans who now know what it takes to win a cup. Not only do they have the championship pedigree, they have some serious skill. Seguin and Bergeron owned the Swiss league. Chara brought physicality to the KHL. Rask was able to post solid numbers in the 8 games he played in Europe. Not to mention several other Bruins who kept their game sharp while the suits battled it out in CBA negotiations. All that is behind us now as we have a shortened, 48 game sprint to the playoffs. In my humble opinion, the Bruins are in great shape. Tuukka Rask doesn’t have to play a full season as he tries to fill Tim Thomas’ shoes. Less grueling work that body needs to endure before the playoffs the better. Rask has all the ability to be the guy for Boston for years to come now he just needs to put in work. The core forwards are ALL back except for 1 spot on the third line that can be filled by numerous prospect options. Bourque, Knight, Spooner etc all have a chance to snag that spot with Caron hurt. With Seguin gelling with Bergeron and Marchand and Horton healthy, the top two lines should be up there with the top lines in the league.  On the back end, the exciting potential of Dougie Hamilton playing with the likes of Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuck Ference and Mcquaid is too tantalizing to dismiss.  Sure there will be a few hiccups in his transition to the NHL from the OHL but there is a bright future for Dougie as he will learn from the best.

The Bruins need to get physical and stay physical. The Northeast division rivals beefed up their physicality with the likes of Steve Ott going to Buffalo, and Brandon Prust going to Montreal . Toronto is stuck in the mudd until they can find a goaltender (Bobby Lu) and Ottawa can always provide a tough test. The Bruins will be seeing these teams a lot so get used to the division rivalries heating up.

Even though the lockout shortened the season, we will still be able to test our meddle against top notch teams like Philly Pittsburgh and the Rangers. All potential playoff opponents. Not having to travel cross country will also help the bruins fight off the fatigue of traveling often. God bless playing in the eastern conference.

If our boys in the black and gold can stay healthy, hit the ground running and avoid losing streaks, there is some serious potential for this team to get a high seed for the playoffs. With their chemistry, speed and physicality, they can bruise their way into facing a western conference team in June. 

Boy am I glad that hockey is back and I can wait to watch as much hockey as possible in the next four months. As well as contributing to what could be a great gig for Coach and Prevost. 

Go Bruins!

-Todd