IceTime Background Contest

Time to be creative...
As you may or may not be aware the new version of IceTime allows you to use custom backgrounds for the main games view on the widget. I have added about 15 to a gallery located here on the site. Anyone can have their own available for use by simply mailing them here to the site, at which point they will be posted. (There is some more info available on the gallery page.)

Knowing that many of you out there are creative and good with graphics I thought it would be interesting to have a contest involving these custom backgrounds.

Basically all you have to do is create your own and send them to the site at: hockeywidgets@gmail.com with the subject line: Background Contest and you'll be entered. You can enter as many times as you like and all entries will be made available in the gallery for anyone to use.

The winner will receive: the customary jersey in the database, 20 requests fullfilled (within a reasonable amount of time...), and will also have their entry permanently added to the next update and all subsequent versions of the widget (which you will be given credit for). The winner will also receive an as of yet unreveiled (yet hockey related) gift all the way from up here in Europe's attic.

Contest Rules

As stated feel free to enter as often as you wish, however all entries will be reviewed before being posted to the gallery.

You must submit TWO (2) backgrounds for each entry, one for unplayed games and one for completed games. How you show the difference is up to you.

Copyrighted materials, unless you can prove you own them, are not allowed. This includes all logos and photos.

You can use any program you wish to create your background, however please make sure to save and send them in either .JPG of preferably .PNG format.

Include your name, if you would like it listed in the gallery, and a title for your background to be used.

You don't necessarily have to use the provided templates, however all backgrounds must be 189px wide, by 108px high.

The winner will be selected from all entries received based on: originality, creativity and overall look within the widget itself (in other words how it looks in use).

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

The contest will end on December 31st and the winner will be announced on January 1st.

You can use the following basic template to the right or the Photoshop template available by clicking here.

Good luck!

How insane was the WHA?

This insane...

I don't think I've ever seen footage that more accurately portrays just how insane the WHA was. From blue pucks to all glass boards, to Bill Goldthorpe (aka Ogie Ogilthorpe...) and fights that make the current NHL look like the Olympics. The following comes from MyHockeyTV.com a site dedicated to WHA videos. It's actually focused on only one team - the aptly named Minnesota Fighting Saints - but it makes you realize just how untame the world of professional hockey was in the mid-seventies.

If you're looking for even more WHA game footage check out Mark Willand's WHA Blog. If you have an interest in the ludicrous uniforms then just as there is an NHL Uniforms website detailing every NHL jersey, there is one by the same creator called WHA Uniforms detailing all 7 years of the league's colorful existance.

And you thought Slapshot was far fetched and exagerated...

NHL Geography - A Study

The Hockey Belt
Hockey is played in a lot of places. From the sparcely populated shores of Hudson Bay to New York City. In Australia and above the Arctic Circle. And in all those places kids dream of one day playing in the NHL. Some of them realize that dream.

Percentage wise the sport has always been dominated by Canada. And it still is. Canadians encompass more than 50% of the players in the NHL...although they are teetering on the edge at a mere 51.8%. But what about the rest of the world? Just how diverse is the NHL? And how many countries currently have players playing in the league? The answer - 19.

The following data was compiled from Wikipedia's roster lists for each team and reflects a total of 729 players who are/or have been in the NHL so far this season.


The Russians Aren't Coming
There has been much written both in main stream media (Sports Illustrated) and in the blogosphere about the dissapearance of the Russians from the NHL. (For a truly in-depth look check out the article here at Red and Black Hockey. It statistically shows the decline over the last 5 years as well as breaks down the other major countries represented by position.) Looking at the chart it's self-evident, as of now only 29 Russian players have made an appearance in the NHL this season. There are, in fact, more Finns in the league (31). If you were to use the old USSR political boundaries this total would go up to 38, which is still 20 players less than just 5 years ago.

Whoa....Germany?
I'd have to look into it, but 8 German players in the NHL must be a record. The fact that 3 of the 8 play for San Jose is even stranger. It's a very positive sign if continental Europe is increasing their presence in the NHL, because that is where the bulk of the population is.

The usual suspects
As has been the case since Europeans first began entering the league in large numbers Sweden, Finland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic still represent the majority of foreign born players in the NHL. In total 144, around 20% and nearly equal to the number of US born players. (It's impressive to see that there are actually 3 Latvians in the league though.)

How good are You?
So good that I'm the only person from my country in the league. A total of 7 players can actually say that:
Dainius Zubrus, Devils - Lithuania
Anze Kopitar, Kings - Slovenia
Cristobal Huet, Canadiens - France
Nik Antropov, Maple Leafs - Kazakhstan
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Blue Jackets - Norway
Jannik Hansen, Canucks - Denmark
Thomas Vanek, Sabres - Austria

How on earth do you get there?
Geoff Sanderson was born in Hay River, Northwest Territories (Pop. 3,500). If you want to know how far that is from everywhere find the center of the big white area covering Northwest Canada...then move up a bit.

Jordin Tootoo was born in Churchill, Manitoba which is in the far north on the border of Nunavut. He actually grew up in Rankin Inlet, which may be one of the most remote regions in the world.

Not far enough north for you? Alexei Semenov on the Sharks is from Murmansk, Russia. Which is on the shores of the Arctic Ocean north of Finland.

Jonathan Cheechoo is from the community of Moose Factory, Ontario on the southern edge of Hudson Bay. An area mostly populated by the Cree with a population of about 2,700.

Local boy makes good
Of the 30 teams in the NHL 6 have players who were born in the city/state they play for. Two players on the Wild are from Minnesota; Sean Hill and Mark Parrish. The Canadiens have 9 Canadians on the roster, 4 are from Quebec and Patrice Brisebois was born in Montreal. Carlo Colaicovo is a Toronto native on the Maple Leafs. Luke Richardson and Randy Robitaille are both Ottawan-born on the Senators. Fernando Pisani was born in the Edmonton and plays for the Oilers. (Ironcially the Flames have four players born in Edmonton.) Now for the really strange ones, Danny Richmond (Blackhawks) was born in Chicago and Ryan Malone on the Penguins was actually born in Pittsburgh.

Wait, you were born where?
A number of players were born in places far from what their passports say. Richard Park on the Islanders (US) was born in Seuol, South Korea. (3 other US players were born in Canada.) Dany Heatley was born in Germany. Olaf Kolzig, who is German, was born in South Africa. Owen Nolan was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Wojtek Wolski, was born in Poland but became a Canadian citizen in 1990. Robyn Regehr was born in Brazil and lived both there and in Indonesia before moving to Canada. And finally, the truly impressive one, Craig Adams of the Hurricanes was actually born in Brunei!

State(s) of Hockey
And now a breakdown of the US players by state. Just as Canada provides the most overwhelming presense in the league by country, Minnesota has traditionally been the epicenter of US born hockey players. You could even go so far as to put a name on the town in Minnesota - Bloomington. Birthplace of Mike Modano and a host of others. But, it's not just Minnesota, Michigan, New England and upstate New York with players in the league. In fact a total of 26 states are represented by the roughly 150 US players.



Alaska
If you thought Scott Gomez was the only Alaskan born player you were wrong. There are actually 3, all of whom are from Anchorage. In fact Gomez's teammate on the Rangers Brandon Dubinsky is one of the other two.

California
They once hosted the Winter Olympics, they have 3 teams, and they've got 3 players born within their borders in the NHL.

Pennsylvania
And I thought Mike Richter of Abington, PA was one of the few players to ever come out of the Keystone State...I was wrong. There are 6 players born in Pennsylvania - mostly from the western part. Half of them play in PA too, two for the Flyers and one for the Penguins.

Michigan
If you have ever been there then you know that hockey is big in Michigan. Not as big as cars, but big. And it shows, considering that they've actually got nearly as many players as Minnesota - 24.

New England
Every one knows that Jeremy Roenick is a Boston native, but there are 19 other players from the Bay State. None of whom actually play for the Bruins... Connecticut and little Rhode Island both have 2 players in the league. Maine has 1, Greg Moore of the Rangers. New Hampshire also has 1, Freddy Meyer of the Islanders. (The Islanders actually have 5 players from New England on their current roster...) Alas, now that John LeClair has retired, Vermont is the only state in New England not represented.

New York
Most of the 21 players from New York are from the western part of the state, although Francis Bouillon of the Canadiens was born in New York City.

New Jersey
Jersey has 3 players in the league, none of which play for the Devils.

Wisconsin
The other hockey force of the north of the country, there are 7 badgers in the NHL. (And one Brad Badger in the NFL.)

The rest...
A number of states are represented by 1 player, they include Nebraska, Missouri, Delaware, Maryland and the unlikely North Carolina, Florida and Georgia. North Dakota has 2 in the league, as does Colorado. Indiana and Ohio both have 4 players in the league. Kevyn Adams on the Blackhawks was actually born in Washington, DC.

Other facts
- The 8 states that border the Great Lakes have put 100 (two-thirds) of the US born players in the NHL.
- Half of the states represented don't have an NHL team.
- The Devils and Hurricanes have the most US born players: 9.
- The least is 2; Nashville, Atlanta, Ottawa and Vancouver.
- Speaking of Vancouver, there are 16 actual canucks on the Canucks.
- The team with the most Canadians is Edmonton with 20.
- The teams with the fewest are the Rangers and the Red Wings with 8 a piece - although Detroit actually has 7 Swedish born players.
- The most international team in the league is Montreal with 9 different countries represented: Canada, US, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Russia, and Belarus.
- The least is 4, which 4 teams in the league have (Philadelphia, Anaheim, Tampa Bay and Calgary).

I am working on a Google Map which can be opened in Google Earth showing the birthplaces of current players (as well as past NHL players) which I will post in a seperate article once it is done....

Crosby, Reebok and Everybody Else

It looks like Sidney Crosby has become more than just an endorser for Reebok, but also the lead lobbyist in getting the company to act in the interest of the players in the NHL in regards to fixing the issues with the Edge jerseys.

Over at SidneyCrosbySpotlight.com there is an article detailing Crosby's involvement with a number of links to articles over the past year illustrating the point. I think the key sentence may have come from David Baxter, Reebok's president of the sports licensing division, who uttered the following line, "...based on this feedback, Reebok will provide players with the option to wear a version with slight sizing and fabrication adjustments." That may sound like the voice of surrender hidden in a veil of customer service but in plain English it means: "We are going to do anything we can to make people happy and we still stand by our jerseys." Saving face? Maybe. Commitment to the actual people who wear these things as part of their job? If so, then many can thank Crosby for his efforts in seeing this thing through and thinking on behalf of his colleagues. (Many of whom are deeply disgruntled by the new fabric and 'technology'.)

If you're looking for even more on this story Larry Brooks had an article in the New Yory Post recently which is now up on FoxSports here. He not only touches on the jersey's technical issues but looks at what effects they may have on the future of the game.

When it comes down to it, through it all, half-stripes...flags....and a 9% speed increase, it's about money. Not just for Addidas via Reebok (in turn via CCM who is still the official supplier of the league till 2014, look closely enough and you'll see their logo on the tags still) but for the league and everyone attached to it. If you need any proof of this, as if it wasn't evident enough when visiting the NHL's website and being practically forced into buying a jersey every 2 minutes via a pop-up Flash segment, then all you need to do is visit the official website of Rbk Edge. You'd think this would involve a massive amount of charts, graphs, and numbers - illustrating how and why the Edge jerseys are better. Unfortunately you'd be mistaken, since it seems the site has become nothing more than one long ad for EA's NHL '08. Forgive me if I'm wrong but I thought Rbk designed these for people, not a video game...

Nonetheless, you don't need a calculator to figure out that at $250 a pop someone is profiting on sales of the jerseys. That is...if they can sell them. It's no secret that fans haven't been taking to the new looks and measurements. Complaints of the quality of the replicas run rampant and the sizing alone is enough to dissuade many from forking over the cash. I asked the owner of Sportsk.com an independent company that sells custom NHL jerseys, how sales were going with the new jerseys and he reiterated the fact that fans still want the old ones. You can read that as fear of change, or just hesitation, but considering the sports apparel world makes their bread and butter by consistantly bringing out new products you can't deny the implications.

The old bulky CCM sweaters were a happy middleground. Players could play in them without serious complaints and fans could buy them and feel that they got their money's worth and wear them proudly. If the Edge jerseys are to ever gain a stronghold in the NHL then they will have to achieve the same level of acceptance both on and off the ice. Crosby is working on one aspect, who will pick up the torch for the other?

Nr. 10000 Contest Results

There were a number of good suggestions for the jersey to be given the ID nr 10000 (and some strange ones), and seeing as how many of them deserve a place in the database I have made the ones that were possible. Some I unfortunately could find no possible images for, others I had no way of actually creating. If I missed yours let me know and I'll try and add it.

The following are in no particular order:

Sam Malone - Boston Red Sox - 11021
Everyone's favorite bartender, one time Red Sox pitcher, and the owner/part-owner of Cheers. This jersey, numbered 16 with the name, actually hangs framed within Fenway Park.

John Tavares - Buffalo Bandits - 11022
The all time NLL (National Lacrosse League) points leader and the first player to record 500 goals and 500 assists. He is also a mathematics teacher in Mississauga and uncle to John Tavares of the OHL.

Larry Walker - Colorado Rockies - 11024
One of the Rockies greatest outfielders and the first Canadian to win baseball's MVP award. In his career he was selected to the All-Star team 5 times and won 7 golden gloves. He holds pretty much every record for Canadian players in Major League Baseball.

Rogers Hornsby - St. Louis Cardinals - 11025
Perhaps the greatest right-handed hitter in Major League history, Hornsby's 1924 battting average of .424 has still never been surpassed. He was player/manager of the Cardinals when they beat the Yankees in the '26 World Series where he himself made the last out to win....by tagging Babe Ruth in an attempt to steal second. As far as I know he never actually wore a number for the Cardinals, however the number 4 is retired in his name. This jersey is the current Cards home jersey style.

Vince Lombardi - Fordham - 11031
One of the greatest personalites in sports history and a man who's name became synonymous with football. The legend of Vince Lombardi started at Fordham in the Bronx where he wore the number 40.

George Costanza - New York Yankees - 11023
Not sure what to say for this one. If you don't know who George Costanza is and his connection with the Yankees then trying to explain would take too long. People do in fact where Costanza jerseys to Yankees Stadium so...

Harold Snepsts - Vancouver Canucks - 11027
One of the most admired Canucks ever, Snepsts spent 12 seasons in Vancouver. He played over a 1,000 games in the NHL between 1974-1991. He is currently on the Canucks scouting staff.

Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch - LA Rams - 11026
"His crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions, all at the same time; he looked like a demented duck." was the description of Hirsch by a Chicago sportswriter when he was at Wisconsin. He's a member of the NFL Hall of Fame and was key in the Rams winning the 1951 Championship. His 1,495 yards receiving that year stood as a record for almost 20 years.

Gerald Ford - Michigan - 11028
Ford's number 48 was retired in 1994 by the University of Michigan where he was a standout center between 1932-34. Given the chance to go pro he opted for law school at Yale instead. Oh, and he would later become the 38th president of the United States.

Jesse Owens - US Olympc Team - 11029
At one time he was the fastest man alive, he changed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin where he won 4 gold medals.

Hugh "Losing Pitcher" Mulcahy - Philadelphia Phillies - 11030
Given the nickname after having the most losses two seasons in a row, Mulcahy was a pitcher on the Phillies and the first Major League player to be drafted into WWII. He spent 4 years in the service before returning to the team for the 45-46 season. The jersey shown was used by the Phillies between 1942 and 1948 when their official color was black. This was suggested in lieu of the fact that the Phillies became the first professional sports team to record 10,000 losses in the past year. Fitting, but depressing for the Fightin's.

Manon Rheaume - Tampa Bay Lighting - 0590
Famous for being the first woman to get any icetime in the NHL, Rheaume played goal in 2 exhibition games for the Lightning. The first in 92, the second in 93. She won the siver medal with the Canadian women's team in 1998 in Nagano. (This was already in the database, so I couldn't count it.)

Paul "Wrecking" Crewe - The Longest Yard - 6404
The character made famous by Burt Reynolds in The Longest Yard, which is actually a pretty good film if you haven't seen it. (This was already in the database, so I couldn't count it.)

Terry Tate - Office Linebacker - 10594
Star of the old Rbk commercials and baddest man you could ever have working in your office. If you've forgotten, then you need to be reminded.

Lance Armstrong - Tour de France - 11032
The only man, and it will probably stay that way for a very long time, to win the Tour de France 7, hence the number on the jersey, times. The obstacles Armstrong would overcome have helped make him a legend in his own time. Perhaps the greatest cyclist ever, by far the most dominant, and one heck of an athlete.

...and the winner

Elgin Fraser - Ottawa Senators - 10000
I don't feel qualified to relate the story behind Elgin Fraser, suffice to say he was the one of the biggest little hockey fans and a friend of the Senators. Ottawa will probably never forget him.

I don't know who it was who suggested Elgin, no name was given. If you are interested in your prize please contact me with the necessary information.

Thanks to everyone who sent in their ideas, look for the next contest at 15,000. (Just around the bend...)

10 NHL jerseys worse than the new Edge jerseys

Yes, Rbk made some mistakes. In some cases some awful ones. In some cases the designers are to blame. In some cases owners. Vancouver doesn't need the city name, Edmonton needs real stripes, Calgary needs to start over or at least lose the patches...in fact based on the voting and opinions voiced here nearly every team has presented some sort of dissapointment.

In reality, not just the fan/fashion world, the issue of the non-water absorbing material used in the jerseys rages on. Nameplates continue to fall off, and jerseys get ripped too easily. Whether this will bring about any new changes in the 2008-09 season remains to be seen, but with all the talk of going back to the old style and old designs we should be reminded that things weren't always that pretty and the good ol' days weren't necessarily better...

The following jerseys are actually game worn and come from either GameWorn.net, Spirit of the Game or from collectors pages.


10. California Golden Seals
1974-1976
The last two years of the Seals less than stellar existance in the NHL saw a switch of jerseys that didn't exactly make up for the lackluster performance on the ice. Long before whatever you want to call that shade of blue/green was fashionable the Seals proved to the world that it was an awful idea...so were the shoulder stripes.


9. Boston Bruins
1995-2005
I can hear people disagreeing with me already, but quite honestly it still confounds me that the Bruins wore these as an alternate for 10 whole years. Maybe it's the yellow, maybe it's the lack of the B, maybe it's the fur/bite mark/rough edge pattern thing. Boston being an original six team with strong ties to tradition and history amazingly escaped unharmed by this total departure from their identity. It didn't hurt that a lot of the fans loved them...probably about as many as hated them. Among the host of hideous jerseys that came out of 1995, these survived the longest.


8. Calgary Flames
1995-2000
Calgary's obsession with stripes at weird angles seems to have started here. Say what you will about the Bettman stripes that Rbk has given us, the Flames striping here (and the white C) is just plain baffling. It's like someone broke off a chunk of the hem striping and just threw it onto the front of the jersey. I could see these in the Olympics during the 80's, even in Calgary in 1988, but not on an NHL team all the way into the new Millenium...


7. Vancouver Canucks
1995-1997
Another fine example of what 1995 brought us....the fabric gradient. It's as if someone said, "Hey guys, look what we can do!". Amazingly the Canucks would use the gradient again on an alternate starting in 2001 and going all the way up to 2006! These truly got the prize though because they didn't just involve the gradient they involved a gradient over stripes. The only way these could have worked is if they didn't have a logo ruining the whole effect..which brings us to...


6. Vancouver Canucks
1978-1981
Quite possibly the most famous of the bad taste jerseys, at least the Canucks changed the plain red names on the backs following the '81 season. They also brought new meaning to the term V-neck, and are one of the rare examples (if not the only example) of a jersey without a crest that was used as the teams main uniform. The look was complete with the addition of the yellow helmets. Not surprisingly Vancouver completely left this look out when they created their new montage look.


5. Phoenix Coyotes
1998-2003
Alot can be said, or not said, for the Coyotes original branding after the move, but when they got in on the third jersey game they truly proved that a new look was needed. Complete with mesas, cacti, Hopi moon, and well just about everything else you don't associate with hockey. If the fact that the entire bottom of the jerseys displays this imagery wasn't enough for you then you're in luck... it's repeated on the sleeves. (In 2004 the team completely changed their appearance...)


4. Los Angeles Kings
1995-1996
Dubbed the "Burger King" style, the only good things about these were the fact that they were only used for one season. It was if Los Angeles decided they wanted to play in disguise (considering they only won 24 games it's not surprising)... At the time they were black and silver with no purple in sight...let alone a king logo. These would have been great had the Kings played in say Austria at the time, but alas that was not the case. I can only assume that a game worn Gretzky version of these is something of a holy grail for collectors, cause god knows I can't see anyone wearing a store bought one.


3. Tampa Bay Lightning
1996-1998
Oddly enough these didn't come out in 1995, it seems like the Lightning felt like they were missing out on the fun and introduced these as a third jersey in 1996. Let's see here..we've got an Atari 2600 graphics style version of a wave and the ocean with some rain (two tone rain that is) and then some crazy lightning shooting into the players gloves from the shoulders. I think. So, at least we get the message. Sort of. Oh wait, the logo with the words Tampa Bay Lightning with a lightning bolt coming out of a cloud explains it. I'm not gonna even touch the font...


2. New York Islanders
1995-1998
Yes, you knew these were coming, and most of us already know the story about them. Amazingly they lasted three whole seasons before an apology card was sent to all of the fans and the original jersey style returned. For the 1995-96 season they actually used the fisherman logo (going an awesome 22-50-10) before making a compromise and at least returning to the Islanders traditional logo for part of the 1996-97 season and permanently in the 1997-98 season. Whatever excuse or reason they had for this, and whatever they paid someone to do what amount of research as to what would be a good idea...they were wrong. (The original Isles logo was created in just three days...)


1. Anaheim Mighty Ducks
1995-1996
Perhaps the most embarassing jersey ever worn by a professional sports team in modern history in North America (and quite possible the other continents and Antarctica). A disgrace to the NHL, the sport of hockey, the players, CCM, ducks, and just about anything and everyone besides then owners Disney. The fact that every Mighty Duck jersey isn't on this list is because this one eclipses the others so completely. Can you even imagine if they had won the Stanley Cup wearing these things? I can honestly say that I don't think we will ever see anything that makes so much a mockery of such a great sport ever again. Thank goodness. (By the way the jersey pictured is for sale for $2,250.)

Honorable mention goes to:

New York Islanders
2002-2006
Just...no.

Vancouver Canucks
2001-2006
The forementioned Canucks second attempt at a fabric gradient...and the addition of yet another jersey style they would not keep very long. At least it was an alternate...ok I beat up enough on the poor Canucks.

Buffalo Sabres
2000-2006
These aren't so much awful as they are just plain wrong. If everyone is crying out for a return to blue and yellow and the old jerseys, why would you go and bring in yet another jersey furthering itself from what the fans want. The word Buffalo on the front is...well you get the picture. Only the advent of Mr. Buffaslug brings them into perspective...

The 1972 Summit Series

....35 Years Ago
"Henderson has scored for Canada!"

Background
In September of 1972 Canada and Russia met in what may still be the defining moment in international hockey competition. It could very well have been the most important event in modern hockey history. The so-called Summit in 1972 would nearly break up a team, turn a country upside-down, bring one legend out of retirement and create a new one. The Canadian team would be named "Team of the Century" in Canada and two members of the Russian team, Tretiak and Kharlamov, would make the "Top Russian Athletes of the 20th Century" list. It changed the face of the game and nothing like it would ever be seen again.

In 1972 the US and Soviet governments were meeting in Moscow at the height of the cold war, Bobby Fischer had defeated Boris Spassky in chess in Rekyjavik, the US and other countries were withdrawing from Vietnam and for the first time ever a true battle between the greatest hockey powers in the world was about to take place.

The series would be 8 games, four games would be played in arenas across Canada with the remaining four in Moscow.

Team Canada consisted of the best players selected from the NHL (WHA players were not permitted to take part which meant no Bobby Hull), Bobby Orr was on the team but would not play due to a knee injury. (He did however travel with the team.) Instead Canada would be led by the likes of Phil Esposito (30), Paul Henderson (29), Bobby Clarke (23), and Gary Bergman (33). Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito split goaltending duties.

The Soviet team was compiled of the best players playing at the highest levels in Russia. Although technically amateurs by Olympic standards, they were the country's equivalent of the Canadian squad and included some of the greatest technical players in the world, all backstopped by arguably the greatest goalie ever - Vladislav Tretiak.

The First 7 Games
Game 1 was played in Montreal, and an optimistic Canada was dealt a rather startling blow when the Soviets came away with a 7-3 victory. Game 2, in Toronto, evened the series with Canada winning 4-1. Game 3, in Winnipeg, despite ending as a 4-4 tie, would in the end be the deciding match, as barring another tie meant that one team would actually come out of the series with a clear win. In Vancouver for Game 4 things began to fall apart for Canada. They would lose 5-3, actually be booed by the nation, members of the team would quit due to lack of ice time and other reasons, and they would be up against a wall - down 2-1-1 in the series and heading to Moscow for the final four games. Phil Esposito's near plea to the nation would restore the peace....

"To the people across Canada, we tried, we gave it our best, and to the people that boo us, geez, I'm really, all of us guys are really disheartened and we're disillusioned, and we're disappointed at some of the people. We cannot believe the bad press we've got, the booing we've gotten in our own buildings. If the Russians boo their players, the fans... Russians boo their players... Some of the Canadian fans- I'm not saying all of them, some of them booed us, then I'll come back and I'll apologize to each one of the Canadians, but I don't think they will. I'm really, really... I'm really disappointed. I am completely disappointed. I cannot believe it. Some of our guys are really, really down in the dumps, we know, we're trying, like, hell, I mean, we're doing the best we can, and they got a good team, and let's face facts. But it doesn't mean that we're not giving it our 150%, because we certainly are."

Team Canada, an entourage of fans (several thousand), and a 70-year old Foster Hewitt, brought out of a 7 year retirement to announce the games, headed to Moscow via Sweden...

In Game 5 Canada led 4-1, but would fall in the end 5-4. Two more players would leave the team. They were now down by two games, playing far from home, where there was a most formidable home ice advantage...

Game 6 the Canadians would win 3-2, and if anything it showed just how ugly the series was. Bobby Clarke, admittedly broke Kharlamov's ankle after being told to by assistant coach John Ferguson. The German referees loyalties were called into question. Off the ice the team was being harassed and having their food parcels from Canada stolen...half a world away a country started to hold it's breath.

Game 7 would bring Canada to a stand still as their team would come out with a 4-3 victory. Tempers on the ice were getting uglier as Boris Mikhailov would actually kick defenseman Gary Bergman with his skate... Maple Leaf forward Paul Henderson was fulfilling childhood dreams by scoring his second game-winning goal in as many games. The series was now tied at 3-3-1.


Game 8
1-0 Russia, 1-1, 2-1 Russia, 2-2, 3-2 Russia, 3-3, 4-3 Russia, 5-3 Russia...and so began the third period with Canada down by two goals. Two minutes into the period Esposito would score his seventh goal in the series, 10 minutes later Cournoyer would tie the game at 5. It would stand that way till the final minute of the game...and then history would take over as Paul Henderson would score his third consecutive game-winner with only 34 seconds left...putting his own rebound over Tretiak. People would write songs about that goal...

"I still talk about that goal 300 days a year. And the thing about it: they felt a part of it. They always say, 'We'. They don't say, 'You did this.' We as Canadians did it."

The following is the last 10 minutes of game 8 with the original announcing by Hewitt. It shows just how grueling the series had been and how much is drained from both teams, the two completely different styles of play, and the 150% that Esposito refers to.



Sources:
Chidlovski - The Summit in 1972
Hockey Hall of Fame - The Spirit of '72
The Official NHL History by Arthur Pincus

The entire series is available on DVD at Amazon.ca for $72 CDN here.

All the player ID's for the sweaters for widgets on this site are available here.

Probably the greatest moment in Canadian sports history...but the two teams would meet again for the Summit in 1974.

Make Your Own IceTime Background

In the new version of IceTime you can use custom backgrounds behind the main schedule view. A gallery of available custom backgrounds is now on-line here. In the widget you simply enter the name of the background you want to use in the Background Image preference section after choosing the "Use Custom" option.

These are very easy to make and I've posted both a blank .jpg and a .psd file that you can use as a template. You can also use your own as long as it is 109 px high by 189 px wide, also remember that there should be black (or similar) stripe at the top where the game dates are shown.

I reccomend using light colors as this makes it easier to read the game times and have the jerseys stand out. You should also make an image that is slightly darker or different than your first to be used when games have been played.

To make your backgrounds available to the world for use with the widget simply send them to hockeywidgets@gmail.com with a title and your name (if you want it listed beneath your images).

The only real limitations are that you can't use any copyrighted images.

User Submissions to the Database

For a number of reasons I haven't made it possible in the past to add your own jerseys to the database, but as it is impossible for me to keep up with requests and in general make all the jerseys on planet earth you can now get your own creations added to the database.

The first batch that I received, created by Remy, were 75 jerseys for the Universite Laval (Quebec) football team. All submissions can be found in their own section via the button you see above. They are still shown via searches and will work with all of the widgets available here. The only difference being that ID numbers begin with the letter U.

If you are interested in having your creations added you can do a couple of different things. If you've already made some using either a template similar to those used for the site or your own you can simply send them to me an e-mail using a .zip file. Or if you are interested in making them using the same templates used here you can contact me and I can give you more information. There is an old template and PDF tutorial (that needs to be updated) via the Tutorials link found on the first page of the site, if you are just interested in learning the basic techniques.

Basic Information
The files all have to be 158 px wide BY 131 px high. They must be saved as .png's with transparency using "Save For Web" or similar to keep the sizes down.

I can't post anything that involves coprighted materials, so no logos that are distinguishable and no obvious ads or sponsors.

I'd highly reccommend using Adobe Illustrator for these, you will achieve much better results with crisper lines etc., Photoshop and other non-vector image programs will work, however I don't have any templates available for them.

If you aren't sure about the files you are sending send an example first.

I can't post everything. The key to the database is that it represents reality (albeit in a abstract way). The jerseys need to be accurate and I reccommend using real images to work from. Number and letter fonts should also be as close to those actually used as possible. Try and make your images the best you can.

Besides college teams I am only posting proffessional leagues. No high school or similar teams.

All submissions need to be verified and checked before I can post them, so it can take some time before they appear.

Images remain your own and you can freely offer them on your own site and keep your own list etc. Keep local backup copies and any original templates that you use.

Basically, if you have any questions, just contact me and I'll help as best I can.

Jersey Database Updates

I made some changes over the last week to the jersey database in the hopes of making it a bit easier to use. You can now search by particular sport thereby limiting the number of results. I also changed the way the image search works. (For getting use out of this I reccommend a broadband connection and using a web browser OTHER than Internet Explorer...) The results are now shown more compact to make it a bit easier to scroll through them and find what you are looking for. Seeing as it was a bit irrelevant I also removed the extra images that were used with the text results, this should make the load times a bit quicker.

I hope to improve the preview method in the not too distant future so that the page doesn't reload...

New in IceTime 3.1

Alot of people had requests for updates to the IceTime widget and I tried to add all of them in this new version. The update is available on the main page located here.
Among the new things included are:

Additional Blog Feeds
If you have a blog you can get it added to the list on the widget. Three are there to begin with, clicking on the image for a blog will show the the RSS feed, with links to articles, in the widget. I'll add to the list as people submit their sites.

New and Custom Backgrounds
I added a couple of new backgrounds to give people some choice. And to truly make the widget your own you can design your own. There is a page with additional backgrounds to choose from here. Information and the templates for making your own are also there.

Games Played
Games played is now included in the standings. This makes it a bit easier to gauge things and will become more important as the playoffs approach.

Individual Player Stats
I added two sections that show the Top 10 goal scorers in the league, as well as the Top 10 overall points leaders. These will be updated daily.

Team Stats
There was a request for the ability to easily see different team's stats so I added a section where you can select a team from a drop-down menu and see their numbers. This should eliminate the need to switch your main team just to see a particular team's stats.

Start Page
You can now choose which "page" you want the widget to show when you start it. The old widget (v2.0) used to show the last page you were on when you restarted it. (The Yahoo! version still does this.) There is a list of about 15 of the main sections to choose from. So if you want the widget to always start on your team's season view you can now do so. Version 3.0 would by default always show the current month first. This was a request and I can see it being a benefit to people who restart their computers or close widgets often.

Other stuff
There are some other small changes and bug fixes. One major one being that 3 Day View now works properly.

Yahoo! Widgets Version
You can now select the size of your mini-jersey. The dock should now auto update.

As always additional requests for updates, improvements, and changes are gladly welcome.

The Sport of Bandy

Imagine if you will hockey played with the same rules as soccer, or for that matter field hockey on ice...well, then you have the sport of bandy. 10 players and a goalie on a rink the size of a soccer field (even played indoors), an orange rubber ball slightly smaller than a tennis ball, and full on helicopter swings with a wooden stick like a hurling club...

Bandy, if you aren't familiar with it, is played across most of northern Europe (Sweden, Finland and Russia imparticuarily) but has roots stemming back hundreds (if not thousands) of years. (More history can be found here. And it is a very interesting read...)

Here in Stockholm we have one bandy rink in the center of town and one team in the top division. Tickets are about ten dollars per game and last about as long as a regular hockey game. This year the NHL will play their first official game in the US outdoors when the Penguins meet the Sabres in the Winter Classic (Ice Bowl). Ironically Stockholm is in danger of losing their one top division team (Hammarby) due to a ruling that teams must have indoor rinks by 2009. Considering what it's like to skate on snow covered ice, let alone compete at an international level at sport on it, one can understand the logic. However, the shear cost of building such a rink is another matter entirely....we shall see what happens.

The following is one of the few examples of the sport you will ever see with English commentary (it's been about a hundred years since it was played in England, and the Minnesota teams don't get on TV too much...unfortunately). Long live "bando".

(Watch the second goal they show scored by Finland, amazing stuff...)

Classic NHL - 1980 All-Star Game Intros

This would be the first All-Star game for a kid name Wayne (nice hair) and the last for Gordie Howe. Fittingly enough it took place in Detroit. There's no action here, but just to see some of these guys skate onto the ice on such an occasion is enough.

You think the new Edge jerseys are small? Guy Lafleur looks like he's wearing a long sleeve t-shirt...

Speaking of the jerseys, do you think that 5 NHL logos is enough?

Japers' Rink Blogroll...1600 Hockey Links

Japers' Rink, a blog focusing on the Capitals and other hockey news, have managed to create some news themselves by publishing a comprehensive list of links covering nearly (soon to be more than) 1600 hockey related sites.

The list is sectioned off into different areas including specific team blogs, media and forums, as well as websites focusing on everything from uniforms, the draft, stats, fantasy, and yes even...widgets. If it exists you'll eventually find it here.

If you need guidance in the vast world of hockey related web information then there may be no better place to start (or seek refuge).

The direct link is here: Japers' Rink Blogroll

Classic NHL - Roy and Roenick

Post-game press conferences tend to be boring. When interviewed and questioned most players throw out lines that sound nearly scripted. One can only hear the lines,"They're a tough team and it's gonna be a real test", and "We played really well tonight." so many times...

But, occasionally someone manages to utter something beyond the trite cliches and such statements usually end up as part of NHL history. One such incident is the infamous Patrick Roy-Jeremy Roenick battle of words from the 1996 playoffs.

On their way to winning the Stanley Cup that year the Avalanche met the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semi-finals. In game three Roenick scored on a breakaway beating Roy and sending the game into overtime, Chicago would eventually win. In game four Roenick was stopped by Roy on a breakaway in overtime while being hauled down. One can debate whether a penalty shot should have been called, but one never was. Sakic scored the game winner in triple overtime. (The Blackhawks would go down in six games.)

Roenick, never one to keep his thoughts to himself, told the press after the game, "...there should have been a penalty shot [on the play]. I like Patrick's comment when he said he could have stopped me [on the breakaway]. I'd like to know where Patrick was in Game 3, probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters." (from Wikipedia)

That in itself is a classic line, and had it been someone else other than Roy it probably would have been shaken off as post-game annoyance and frustration. However, Patrick Roy is not and has never been that type of person....and his response was legendary.



"I can't hear what Jeremy says, because I've got my two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ears."

Ed Belfour - Our Man in Leksand

Some of you may be aware, some of you may not, but Ed Belfour has not retired, died or even moved back to his hometown of Carman, Manitoba. No sirree, it's even more surreal, the 42 year old veteran of nearly 20 years in the NHL is now playing for the Leksand Stars. Where's Leksand? Well, it's pretty much smack dab in the middle of....Sweden.

Yes, the Leksand Stars. Now I know what you're thinking, "Hey, that's the Swedish Elite League!" Umm...no...it's not. It's the league below the Swedish Elite League (Allsvenskan as it is known...) So, let's just say that the man obviously loves hockey enough to move to central Sweden to play for a lower division team. If you can't respect that you have never been to Leksand or you have never been a professional goaltender....just respect it ok.

But what does Sweden think of having a former NHL star (who is not Swedish...Forsberg) playing here? I can tell you, since I read the papers daily, we are in the midst of Belfour fever. It's an epidemic and nearly everyone has come down with it. This is big, and it's especially big for Leksand. How big? His debut was yesterday and that game broke the attendance record, not just for the club, but for the league...ever. Their website, Leksandsif.se garnered over 750,000 hits in October. You can even buy children's t-shirts with his image on it ALREADY. As I said, he's only played one (1) game. (They won that game by the way 4-1, Ed let in the very first shot against him. I can only imagine the reaction of the record breaking 6,795 people at the game must have had. After that he was flawless.)

On November 12th, the Leksand Belfours Stars come to Stockholm and, if tickets aren't sold out already..., I will be there. Because, to be honest, I think this is the best thing to happen to Swedish hockey since they won the Olympic gold, no that was last year, the best thing to happen to Swedish ice hockey since they stopped wearing Jofa VM helmets!

FOOTNOTE: 1) No, I will not be at that game. I misread the table, it's in Leksand. Damn.
2) I'll have you know that they are charging more for games against Leksand around the league now.

FOOTNOTE 2: I got to the game in January, video and a full report can be found here.