Party Like It's 2007

It's taken a long, long time, but the Buffalo Sabres are rewarding their fans with an extended playoff run thanks to their win tonight in Game Six against the Boston Bruins, eliminating the Bruins from the playoffs. The Sabres were definitely the favoured team coming into the series, but the Bruins gave them trouble at times that Lindy Ruff and his coaching staff will need to address. What matters most tonight, though, is that the Buffalo Sabres will play in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2007!

You may be wondering who Buffalo defeated in 2007 to get to the second round, and I can tell you that, as the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, they defeated the eighth-seeded New York Islanders in five games. The Islanders won Game Two by a 3-2 score, but the Sabres took the other four by 4-1, 3-2, 4-2. and 4-3 scores. The Sabres jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game Five before the Islanders looked to rally in the third period. A Maxim Afinogenov goal at 6:38 of the third period proved to be the series-clinching goal.

I had joked about all the things that hadn't happened since the last time the Sabres clinched a playoff spot, but the Sabres erased 19 years of futility with their 4-1 win tonight. They will wait to see who they play after Tampa Bay won tonight to force a Game Seven against Montreal. Both teams would present another tough challenge.

Buffalo and Tampa Bay have never met in the playoffs, but Buffalo held a 3-0-1 record against the Lightning this season. Buffalo was 2-2-0 against Montreal in the regular season and is 17-18 all-time against Montreal in the playoffs with Buffalo sweeping Montreal in 1998 in their most recent meeting. In short, don't put a lot of value in playoff records. Personally, I think Buffalo would prefer Tampa Bay as the Sabres like to use their speed and skill to overwhelm slower teams, but the Lightning know how to win in the playoffs based on history.

This Sabres team, however, is also different than what has been seen over the last 19 years. Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson lead the way with seven points while Tuch has four goals. Peyton Krebs, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Dahlin, and Owen Power are right behind Tuch and Thompson, and goaltender Alex Lyon has elevated his game as well.

What should scare both Montreal and Tampa Bay is that the four of the six players listed above have scored all of their points at even-strength. Thompson has six of seven points at five-on-five and Dahlin has three points at even-strength as Buffalo's power-play efficiency is thw worst in the playoff so far. In short, the Sabres have some work to do in practice, but they're excelling at five-on-five play.

Buffalo is also finding ways to get to the net as they are third in shots per game at 31.7 per contest. They held Boston to just 25.2 shots per game, so they're getting shots, they have possession a lot of the time, and their +8 in goal differential is tied with the Minnesota Wild as the best in the playoffs so far. All signs seem to point to Buffalo holding an edge no matter whether they play Montreal or Tampa Bay.

Tonight, however, Buffalo can celebrate. Not only did they make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years, but they rewarded their faithful with a series win for the first time in 19 years. If they can make it through another round, they'll do what they haven't done since 2007 as well in appearing in the conference final.

All eyes should be on the prize, though, as Buffalo prepares for Montreal or Tampa Bay. One game at a time. Enjoy every moment.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 710

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, takes over another time slot tonight as the show begins at 5pm CT rather than our usual 5:30pm! We're going right through to 6:30, so it's 90 minutes of hockey chatter and Pledge-O-Rama chatter as we attempt to help UMFM hit the goal of $34,000 raised! it's a big show for both the station and for our hosts based on the topics they'll discuss tonight, so make sure you're ready for 90 minutes of fun tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:00pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason have three exit interviews they'll conduct as Ethan (Ottawa), Billy (Pittsburgh), and Harv (Los Angeles) will head back to the mainland from Survivor: NHL Playoffs island. Along with those interviews, our hosts will discuss the need for the NHL to figure out what a good goal is, Brady Tkachuk's problems in Ottawa, the Manitoba Moose getting set for the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Fort Wayne Komets and the Indy Fuel, the PWHL's playoff series, rule changes in the NCAA, the EIHL's Manchester Storm being homeless for a few days, and we'll go over all the information you need when it comes to donating to UMFM's Pledge-O-Rama! We'll give some stuff away, guests will drop in, we'll chat some hockey, and we'll raise some money tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:00pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will talk making donations, capital improvements, better reviews, running one's mouth, playoff series, rule changes, arena changes, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: April 30, 2026: Episode 710

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

We Can Use Your Support!

I have always felt that my blog is a place for my thoughts about hockey and random other things. I never wanted it to cost anything, I wasn't going to make anyone subscribe, and I certainly didn't feel like I had "premium content" that had to be behind a paywall. Even the extensions of this blog - the grassroots hockey coverage and the radio show - are all done without any demand for subscription fees because it wouldn't feel right asking anyone to pay for our goofy content.

I do believe deeply in the work that UMFM does as a campus and community radio station. Part of our CRTC license mandate is that we need to cover campus and community events which is why The Hockey Show is quick to volunteer when it comes to covering great community hockey events such as the Female World Sport School Challenge and the sledge hockey games we've had the honour of calling. In saying that, this will be the only time we ever ask for help.

UMFM's annual pledge drive known as Pledge-O-Rama started last Friday, and you may have heard Jason and I talking about it on The Hockey Show last week. Pledge-O-Rama is where UMFM asks its listeners for a little bit of cash in order to fund major projects, capital improvements, and infrastructure upgrades through donations to the station. All donations are tax deductible if one chooses a tax receipt or UMFM merchandise can be acquired for a donation. All donations, however, go into the major project account for UMFM's improvements. No donation is used for day-to-day operations.

Some of the improvements that UMFM listeners have helped bring to life include a new radio tower erected in downtown Winnipeg that has allowed us to expand our broadcast reach beyond Winnipeg's outer reaches, funds to purchase our mobile broadcast units that have been used a number of times by Jason and I, and upgrades to the technology in our server room that saw the quality of the UMFM online radio stream and the individual show recordings improve greatly. Needless to say, we are grateful for our amazing listeners!

So how much is UMFM seeking in this pledge drive?

It may sound like a lot, but the station is aiming to raise $34,000 before Friday at 8pm. That may sound like a lot, but the station has already raised over $22,300 over the first four days! That's an incredible total already, so thank you to everyone who has donated! If you're looking to make a donation and join the UMFM community, the online pledge form can be found here or you can give us a call at 204-474-6610 and we'll fill out the donation form for you!

What improvements are you planning with these funds?

As stated, Pledge-O-Rama funds will go into making UMFM even better, and this year's projects are pretty cool when it comes to UMFM's dedication to the University of Manitoba campus and the communities in and around Winnipeg and southern Manitoba. The funds raised during Pledge-O-Rama this year will be used for:

• A UMFM news department! UMFM is creating a dedicated news department that brings local, campus, and community-focused reporting to the UMFM airwaves. With local news coverage shrinking everyday, independent stations like UMFM are uniquely positioned to fill that gap. We aim to do that.
• DJ and Live Production training! UMFM is developing new training opportunities for anyone who wants to learn how to DJ or produce content — students, neighbours, friends, and anyone interested in radio or podcasting - and UMFM is expanding our live studio recording program so local and emerging artists have a professional space to record, perform, and share their work while learning the radio craft.
• A new memorial archive! Over the years, UMFM has lost hosts and contributors who helped shape the station into what it is today. We want to honour them properly by building a dedicated section of our website to pay tribute to those friends we've lost. They matter to us and to our listeners!
• A secured content hub for campus partners! This new website space will house content produced through a new joint project for collaborative work that reflects the connection between UMFM and the University of Manitoba.

Clearly, these projects would eat up a lot of the station's annual budget without the Pledge-O-Rama funds, so we are grateful, we are humbled, and we are appreciative of any and all support that one can give. I'll even add that if you're unable to donate any money, we're just as appreciative of people who call to tell us how much they enjoy the shows and hosts found on UMFM. That boost to the UMFM ego never hurts, and it's awesome to hear that we're doing well!

If you have the means, please donate what you can afford. A nickel makes a world of difference when it comes to these projects, and we'll thank you just the same as if you donated $1000. Again, I would never ask for any money for my own personal gain, so this will be the only time I'll ask for you to give anything other than your time when it comes to reading HBIC. I am more than grateful for anyone who stops here, and UMFM would love to earn your listenership!

As a special programming note, The Hockey Show will be on the air at 5pm CT tomorrow for 90 minutes as we wrestled away the half-hour before our show from the syndicated French music show. Jason and I will be going through the first exit interviews among the various fun we have planned, and we may even have a few show incentives you'll want win by making a donation! It could be worth your effort!

I'll have more details on The Hockey Show preview tomorrow, but UMFM's goal of $34,000 is entirely reachable thanks to listeners like you. If you've made your donation, thank you so much for supporting great radio. If you haven't or are planning to, please do so by clicking the link or calling us at 204-474-6610! Thank you for your support!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

TBC: Fabric Of The Game

Being that I am a hockey fan, I have a bit of a hockey jersey collection that features teams from a number of leagues. Most are customized with names and numbers on the back, but some are not as I have yet to make a commitment on those jerseys. In saying that, though, there's a pile of history and market research that goes into the logos and colours that a lot of people sweep aside because "it looks cool". Today, we dive into the history a little more as Teebz's Book Club is proud to review Fabric of the Game written by Chris Creamer and Todd Radom and published by Sports Publishing. Chris and Todd are big players in the world of sports logos and designs, so getting their takes on 32 NHL teams was something I had to read!

From his bio on the Sports Publishing website, "Chris Creamer is a writer, historian, and world-renowned expert on sports logos and uniforms based in the Toronto area. His passion for logos resulted in the creation of SportsLogos.Net, an ongoing 20+ year project dedicated to the history of team logos and uniforms. He has worked closely with the National Hockey League acting as a historical consultant for their centennial season celebration, written for NHL.com, the Buffalo News, and has been featured or quoted in several publications including The Hockey News, Washington Post, Toronto Star, and Sporting News."

Also from his bio on the Sports Publishing website, "Todd Radom is a graphic designer, sports branding expert, and writer. His work includes the official logos for Super Bowl XXXVIII, the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, the graphic identities of multiple Major League Baseball teams — including the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Angels — and league and team identity and branding for the BIG3 basketball league. He has provided commentary about sports logos and branding for ESPN, National Public Radio, and the New York Times. In addition, he has been profiled or quoted in numerous publications including the Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, and Sporting News. Radom is the author of Winning Ugly: A Visual History of Baseball's Most Unique Uniforms." Radom also contributed to Paul Lukas' Uni-Watch.

Being that I like jerseys and history, Fabric of the Game seemed like a perfect book for me as those two subjects intersected thanks to the knowledge possessed by authors Creamer and Radom. They delivered in a big way with good chunks of history added for each team, some excellent photographs depicting the logos and jerseys for each team, and other interesting tidbits of information that hockey historians will love. In short, Fabric of the Game delivers nicely on its subtitle of "The Stories Behind the NHL's Names, Logos, and Uniforms".

If there is a quibble, the history-loving side of me wanted more. I know that may not have been possible in order to prevent Fabric of the Game from turning into a set of encyclopedias, but there were small snippets that needed deeper analyses for some of the teams. The authors make reference to Seattle nearly being the landing spot for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their chapter on the Kraken, but that's not explored in any way. HBIC went down that path, but I was hoping for more interesting facts about this topic and others in the book.

Don't let that discourage you from reading Fabric of the Game, though. There are so many good pieces of information contained between the covers that it's worth the read, and the photographs of older NHL jerseys may have you asking why some teams changed designs at all. One of the fun facts that Creamer and Radom included in the book about each team are the names they almost chose, and the Columbus Blue Jackets almost had another name. They write,

"A Name the Team Contest, sponsored by the Central Ohio-based restaurant chain Wendy's, launched in July 1997, with more than ninety Columbus-area restaurants distributing entry blanks. Dave Thomas, the chain's ubiquitous founder and pitchman, watched 'Frostys' according to a Wendy's spokes-person, a joking tribute to their signature frozen dessert."

How funny would that have been has the Blue Jackets debuted as the Columbus Frostys? All jokes aside, the two names that came back from the NHL that were approved were Blue Jackets and Justice, and we know which option the franchise chose. Facts like this are littered throughout the book about team names, logos, and jersey design, making Fabric of the Game a great addition to a hockey fan's library.

Overall, Fabric of the Game has enough information and images on its 280 pages to satiate hockey jersey fans, hockey history fans, and hockey jersey history fans. Creamer and Radom don't go into 100 years of history for the Original Six teams, but they give you enough to understand how the team name was chosen, the designs worn and the history behind them, and how the logos came to be. Again, it's not an encyclopedic look at the teams, but it's a fantastic resource for hockey fans to have at their fingertips. Because of the history, photographs, and information on its pages, Fabric of the Game absolutely is deserving of the the Teebz's Book Club Seal of Approval!

Fabric of the Game was first printed in November 2020, so you should be able to find copies at libraries and local bookstores. Online retailers also have the book if you're seeking a copy. Everything contained within the book is easy to read without any concerns for parents of younger hockey fans if they were thinking about getting this book for a younger reader. Parents may end up with lots of questions about some of the older hockey topics, but Fabric of the Game is recommended reading for all hockey fans of all ages!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Call On The Ice Stands

With the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks battling into overtime last night, we saw the overtime game-winning goal scored by Anaheim called into question for a couple of reasons. Having watched the video over and over, I am convinced the NHL got the call right despite what Oilers fans and opinionated columnists think, but there seems to be a false consensus reached by those fans and columnists that the goal shouldn't be counted because Jarry's skate partially covered the puck. The problem with that reason is it's clearly wrong to the naked eye.

As shown in the image above, Oilers supporters aren't wrong in that Jarry's skate blade was covering the top of the puck. Because his skate covered both the goal line and the top of the puck, there was some question as to whether the puck fully crossed the line as the NHL requires "definitive proof" that a good goal had been scored.

Adding fuel to the fire was that none of the on-ice officials were in a position to see the goal when it was scored. They would confer after awarding Anaheim the goal, and I assume they came to an agreement there was no reason not to award the goal. Again, the image below shows where each official was standing when the goal was scored.

As we know, every goal scored in overtime gets reviewed, but this one needed to be called in by the on-ice officials. The Situation Room in Toronto would need "conclusive evidence" that the puck did not cross the line if they were to overturn the goal. This is from where all the controversy stems because the Situation Room ruled that the goal was good, the call on the ice would stand, and Anaheim would skate off with a 4-3 overtime victory in their pocket. All good, right?

Well, debate raged into the night on the Sportsnet broadcast, journalists and bloggers were already picking sides with their keyboards, and fans from both teams were already forming opinions on the goal, the NHL's handling of the goal, and any other conspiracies that were being imagined. However, it's clearly visible that the NHL got this call right despite the concerns because the puck's physical traits don't change throughout the entire game.

All hockey pucks used by the NHL are three inches in diameter. They are circles without any deformations that make them oblong or egg-shaped nor do they have any random protrusions that extend outside of their circumference. You can argue all you want about Jarry's skate obstructing the puck and goal line, but it seems pretty clear from the image to the right that the puck did cross the line entirely. Unless the puck developed some incredible irregularity after hitting Darnell Nurse's skate before sliding under Tristan Jarry, common sense and visual proof says that the NHL's Situation Room made the right call by upholding the "good goal" call made by the officials on the ice.

This argument that there isn't definitive proof that the puck crossed the line is the new "skate in the crease" controversy. It's very clear that the puck is across the line despite Jarry's skate obstructing the top of the puck, and most kindergarten students would tell you the puck crossed the line. If anyone wants to believe otherwise, that's baggage one will have to carry on one's own because Anaheim scored in overtime to win the game based on the visual evidence shown.

Of course, the NHL could simply pull its head out of the sand and start looking around when it comes to solving these kinds of problems. The Swiss National League solved this issue a while ago when they introduced a second, smaller line inside the net that's exactly the diameter of one regulation-sized puck away from the goal line. If any puck touches the second line, there is no controversy because it has to be a goal based on simple math and geometry. This two-line system has never failed in Switzerland when it comes to reviewing goals because the premise is simple: did the puck touch the second line at any point? If the answer is yes, the goal is awarded.

People will double-down on the idea that humans are falliable when it comes to judging whether a puck touched a line, but the system works. Reviews are quick and easy because it's a simple question to answer: did the puck touch the second line? If you want to blame human eyesight for a wrong call at that point, we might as well just stop playing the games and simulate them all through EA Sports' NHL video games. Athletes are people, officials are people, and people make mistakes. The goal here is to limit the number of mistakes by giving officials clear ways to determine if a goal is scored or not.

Whatever your feelings are towards the disputed goal, the fact remains that Anaheim leads 3-1 in their series over Edmonton with three chances to close out the series. You can say this goal changed the dynamics of the series which is debatable, but there are bigger problems that the Oilers need to address if they're going to make a third-straight Stanley Cup Final. One goal awarded correctly is not going to be the sole reason they're golfing earlier this year.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!