Actual Hockey

Holy crap, people. BULLDOG HOCKEY IS FINALLY BACK.

tUMD is playing Lakehead again, but this time in Thunder Bay. I find it ironic that tUMD will be in Thunder Bay while half the population of the Thunder Bay metro area (is that a thing? I doubt it) is on a tour bus barreling down on the Miller Hill Mall. They’ll be missing out on excellent hockey.

Matt Wellens (aka Kevin Pates Jr.) had a nice article yesterday on tUMD’s trip to Ontario. He talked to second-generation Bulldog Travis Oleksuk, a Thunder Bay native. My favorite part of the article:

“It’s never going to be as close as the OHL. That will always be the No. 1 thing,” said Oleksuk, who is in his third season with the American Hockey League’s Worcester Sharks. “Uneducated people think that is the only way, but hopefully as time goes on, kids become more aware. Maybe if they show more games on TV, show the crowds we get at school, show the student section, I think that would bring more attention and awareness to people in Thunder Bay to take a glance (at college hockey).”

Uneducated people. Hehehehe.

After a New Year’s Eve Double Feature of Hockey Letdowns from USA and the Wild, I am ready for some actual good hockey. I’m also curious what it will be like to play Lakehead in a series, especially on their home ice. I wonder what their fans are like. Probably drunk and sticky from maple syrup. I wonder if tUMD will be run out of town by a pitchforked mob if things get a little testy, as they’ve been known to when these two teams meet. I wonder if tUMD will only send out 3 people for the lineups and national anthem, like the Underwolves did when they were here in October. I wonder if they will have a 50/50 raffle, and if it will have an insanely high pot. So many questions!

If this goes well it would be interesting to travel back to Canada again in four years. I am sure there are other, relatively close, places tUMD could go, or they could just keep going back to Thunder Bay to try to annex it for Bulldog Country.

Indeed.

I’m ready for tDogs to kick some hoser behind, eh!