[GDT] Vancouver Canucks @ Arizona Coyotes, April 13, 2023, Mullett Arena, 7PM PST (10PM EST), Last Chance at 8th Place Game

[Rocket-68]

A Random Hockey Story

 

Women in hockey have been facing public backlash since the birth of the game in the late 1800s. But despite all the pushback, we’ve never stopped playing.

The earliest records of women “hockeyists” on file are photographs from the 1880s, which show both men and women playing the game at skating parties hosted by Lord and Lady Stanley at Rideau Hall, with the women playing in full skirts.^[I] The first documented organized women’s game occurred in 1889 between the Government house team (featuring Lord Stanley’s daughter Isobel), and the Rideau Ladies.

 

These women hockey players were among thousands to join teams over the next decade, as women’s hockey expanded almost simultaneously to the men’s game.

 

Women playing hockey is nothing new

The turn of the century would see the creation of women’s varsity hockey teams in universities such as McGill, Laval, Queens, and the University of Toronto, all part of the Ladies’ Ontario Hockey Association, the “LOHA.” Up until the Second World War, Canadian women were able to compete for the Eastern and Western Canada titles (when finances allowed), and the winners would have a shot at championship glory in informal “Dominion Championships,” which, although not officially sanctioned, were the closest women could come to a “National” tournament in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s.

 

Women’s hockey was fairly well-received by fans in this period, who would often pay to watch their favourite women’s teams battle it out at the rink. The infamous Preston Rivulettes (who maintained a win-loss record of 348 wins to only two losses, the all-time best ratio in either men’s or women’s hockey history), for example, reportedly drew over 6,000 fans to one of their matches in Galt, Ontario, in 1935.

 

Yet despite this strong fanbase, the rebellious women of the early 1900s were not supported by the population at large, and faced boatloads of criticism from the media. Take, for example, one article written by Mr. Andy Lytle in 1913, which stated that hockey could damage our “delicate bodies,” remove our “polish,” and make us “leather-limbed and inclined to flat chests.” Or again, take the first Queen’s University women’s team, who aptly named themselves the Love-Me-Littles due to the complete lack of support they had in their community.

 

Nonetheless, the first half of the 1900s saw sports like hockey rise in popularity among its high-spirited youth despite the wishes of more traditionally-valued individuals, creating a demographic rift in public opinion similar to today.

 

Women’s hockey was not simply an entertaining novelty item

The sport’s increase in popularity prior to the war proves that women’s hockey was not simply an entertaining novelty item as it might have been perceived at the beginning, but that the players had developed a sound and lasting skill appreciated by their many spectators. In the late 1930’s, the Preston Rivulettes had even planned a hockey tour through Europe to showcase their skills oversees and promote global interest in the sport, in an attempt to include women’s hockey in the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, this tour was cancelled due to the onset of WWII.

 

The story of the incredible Preston Rivulettes was also recently the subject of the fabulous stage production Glory by Canadian playwright Tracey Power – and the show is definitely worth your time! Moreover, Glory captures the precise moment when women’s hockey began to face a difficult reality, as all the forward momentum for girls in sport was put to a halt after the golden days of the 1930s.

 

The problem ultimately lay in the culture shift that occurred in Western society following the Second World War. During the 1940s and ‘50s, women’s hockey was largely put on hold in favour of the war effort, and very few women’s teams remained operational. This era would also see the NHL suffer the loss of nearly its entire roster, replaced by underage boys and military rejects. However, the men’s game continued to be aired on radio and covered by the media, to “boost morale” for the fighting population. In contrast, the women’s game almost never reached the newspapers or airwaves.

 

Let’s pause here and compare the lapse in women’s hockey to the revolutionary baseball flip-flop that occurred during WWII: this period would see the creation of the first ever All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) in 1943 (also featuring players from Canada and Europe), which was intended to replace the MLB while the men were overseas. Sadly, this amazing opportunity for elite women was still wrought with sexism – the players were forced to wear ridiculous dresses as uniforms, take mandatory “charm” classes, and could be fined for having short hair or not wearing lipstick in public.

 

This interesting period was documented in the historical-fiction film A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. It’s a fantastic work of art that captivates the audience but also helps to reveal the complexity of the issues these women had to face in their daily lives. Unfortunately, poor business strategy and stronger marketing for the men’s team after the war would see the AAGPBL disintegrate by 1954.

In terms of hockey after the war, the NHL came back stronger than ever and became televised as of 1952.^[x] The progress made by women’s rights activists in the first half of the century would be halted and even reversed after the men returning from Europe demanded that women abandon the work world and return to the kitchen. The same went for women who had entered the sports world, resulting in a severe decline in the social acceptance of women hockey players until the moral upheavals of the 1960s.

 

It was during my childhood in the 1960s and ‘70s that public interest in women’s hockey began to slowly resurface, and hundreds of girls ditched their figure skates for hockey ones, and made their way onto the ice to play the sport they loved.

 

I shared in this challenging collective journey and faced no shortage of insults and obstacles in the process. I hope that by documenting and sharing my experiences from this period in history in my upcoming memoir OFFSIDE, I can join Glory and A League of Their Own in contributing to the much-needed cultural shift away from discriminatory patriarchal values. It is precisely by taking the time to analyze and explain the difficult dynamics of the social structures at play in each geo-temporal situation, that we can find the reasons behind each case of gender inequality, seek solutions for each problem, and share those solutions with others so that we can take collective action as a society.

 

Source: https://womenshockeylife.com/womens-hockey-history/

 

Personal Story:

I have been a rabid fan of hockey in general and of the Vancouver Canucks in particular. However, other than some random story about Hayley W, women's hockey was not on my radar - which I would hazard a guess is/was true for most hockey fans across Canada. That changed in 2014.

 

I was driving home from a business meeting and surfing through radio stations before landing on a play-by-play of the Women's Gold Medal game. To say the announcer was "losing his shite" would have been an understatement. I pulled into my local local watering hole and walked in to a standing room only event. Despite it being early (around noon if my memory serves me correctly - a bit hazy on the time), it seemed half the town was crowded in there. I even noticed a judge who should have been in court but must have called in "sick" as he was clearly well in the bag screaming himself hoarse along with the entire clerking staff from the court house. 

 

Canada was down 2 - 0 despite furiously peppering the American goal with shots. The hockey was amazing, rivaled only by the enthusiasm of the crowd watching. I squeezed my way to the bar and cancelled the rest of my afternoon while waiting for my pint to arrive. Jenner scored with about 4 minutes left in regulation - the roof just about collapsed when the cheers erupted. I looked behind me and noticed we were well represented by the boys in blue standing in the back. While they weren't drinking, they certainly were there to cheer on the women's team.

 

My heart stopped when Canada pulled its goalie and USA had a chance to score an empty netter but hit the post. Poulin scored with less than a minute left and the place literally exploded. I didn't think a bar could have gotten any louder - I was wrong.

 

I was lost in the moment of being a proud Canadian and thinking "holy frack, these women are great, this game is on fire" ... I must have spilled more beer than I drank. 

 

When Poulin scored in overtime I could sworn the windows must have cracked. I couldn't have been a prouder Canadian at that moment. No one left the bar afterwards and I finally walked out to go home well past the last interview of the Canadian women was over. I learned Hockey was more than the Canucks that day and try to catch the Canadian women playing a game when I can. What am amazing player (and person) Hayley Wickenheiser is. Fun Fact: Hayley became the first woman to score a goal playing in a men's semi-pro league. She played 23 games, scoring 2 goals with 10 assists. 

 

Highlights of the 2014 Women's Gold Medal Game (click on link and plays just fine in YouTube)

***************************** NOW FOR THE GAME DAY THREAD *************************************** 

Overview

Sadly this season is coming to a close and even more wistfully, our beloved Canucks are outside looking in on the NHL Playoffs. Personal note, very much peeved that the Penguins blew it with Chicago and the Islanders snuck in, but I digress.

 

In a season filled with disappointment, there were many moments to cheer for, signs of a bright future and what keeps dragging me back year after year to cheer on our beloved Vancouver Canucks. Some of the high points, at least for me were: 

• Pettersson collecting 100 points (and counting) - will he add 40 goals on the season, I hope so
• Kuzmenko came as advertised with 39 goals on the year - will he add another tonight, I hope so
• Miller clocking in with 31 goals and being a ppg player (297 points in 282 games) - nod to @-DLC- ... how could I have overlooked that stat.
• Huggy Bear setting new records every game he plays
• Canucks having another year with 3 players scoring 30 goals in a season after a 26 year drought in doing so - yes last season we had Horvat, Pettersson and Miller
• Playing a part in snuffing out the Flames chance at the post season (a bit petty but hey it is the Flames)
• Solid pickups from the NCAA and early signs point to, dare I say it, if not outright home runs then certainly a standing double or a sliding triple
• Restocking to a large degree a prospect pipeline which was somewhat lacking these last number of years
• Ability to improve by subtraction as there appears to be surplus players that could fetch returns on the market without hurting the team (Boeser / Garland / ??)
• Some of the young guns appear ready to step into to regular NHL roles 

 

In my humble opinion, there is a lot to look forward to and absent of some really historical bad luck the Canucks should be on the right of the playoff bar for 2023 - 2024. What I would be expecting (my predictions in other words):

 

• Miller, Pettersson and Kuzmenko all topping 30 goals with an outside chance of Miller having a career year with both the Alien and Kuzy topping well past 40 goals
• Quinn Hughes finds another defensive gear to click into
• OEL fully heals (he won't be traded or bought out) and plays respectable top 4 minutes solving the question of "what the hell do we do with OEL and how much will it cost to get rid of him" for a least next season
• Hirose and McWard play themselves into solid 4-5-6 defenseman consideration over the season (both start with the club as 6-7 defenseman)
• A 3C will be brought in, and 50/50 on whether is a good fit or not 
• AHL regulars elevated to the big club - Hoglander and my dark horse Karlsson - the latter will be on a short leash
• A top 4D probably not and will depend on which of 2 of 3 usual suspects pilloried here regularly are moved out to make cap space
• Meyers will be traded

 

I won't go into what the lineup would look like opening day with the couple of holes "to be filled" indicated but I am sure comments below will be filled with predictions and suggestions to fill said holes along with general ridicule of the above.

 

In closing, it seems management has turned a corner based on the moves made so far over what Benning did and left current management with when Benning was kindly asked to clean out his desk. Coaching staff is solid and I am excited to see what they can do with a full off-season, pre-season, camp and 2023 - 2024 to work with. Based on moves made by PA / JR so far, I wouldn't be surprised to see moves to come to perhaps fill in a solid 3C along with a top 4D on short-ish terms bridging the gap between now and when some of the younger players develop into solid replacements for them.

 

GO CANUCKS GO

 

Current Records

Our beloved Canucks

 

Arizona Coyotes

 

Media

As always in person is the best, so go buy a ticket followed closely by swilling beer at your favorite watering hold while throwing chicken bones at the TV every time the opposing teams scores. If neither are an option, then we have:

 

TV: Sportsnet Pacific, BSAZ

Radio: Sportsnet 650, iHeatRadio, Sportsnet Fan 960

 

Matchup Info

Our beloved Vancouver Canucks sport a record of 37 - 37 - 7 for 81 points as they roll into the last game of the season. Sadly for all fans have been eliminated from the playoffs so have nothing to play for - other than perhaps losing this game on purpose (*gasp*) at a chance to "rise" to 8th best chance at 1st overall in the rigged Bettman draft lottery. 

 

The mighty Arizona 'Yotes boast a sparkling 28 - 40 - 13 record for a spectacular 69 points as they to roll into their last game. Why sparkling and spectacular, well, at one point not too long ago, the Coyotes were at the bottom or within spitting distance of the bottom before deciding to play (albiet breifly) like the 1975 Montreal Canadiens and reeled of a string of victories rising to 6th worst record before returning to form and going 1-7-2 over last 10 games. 

 

For Arizona Coyotes, Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Nick Schmaltz and Barrett Hayton have scored 37, 24, 21 and 19 goals respectively

Fun Fact: 

 

Previous Games

Team Stats

 

 

By the Numbers

 

JT Miller has played 80 games and has a 31-49-80 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 221 shots on net ... last 10 games is 2 - 7 - 9pts with a +/1 of 0

Brock Boeser has played 73 games and has a 118 - 37 - 55 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 174 shots on net ... last 10 games is 5 - 4 - 9pts with a +/- of 0

Elias Pettersson has played 79 games and has a 38 - 63 - 101 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 256 shots on net ... last 10 games is 5 - 6 - 11pts with a +2

Quinn Hughes has played 77 games and has a 7 - 66 - 73 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 153 shots on net ... last 10 games is 2 - 3 - 5pts with a -3

Connor Garland has played 80 games and has a 14 - 29 - 43 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 155 shots on net ... last 10 games is 1 - 2 - 3pts with a -4

Andrei Kuzmenko has played 80 games and has a 39 - 33 - 72 (G-A-Pts) record on the year with 142 shots on net ... last 10 games is 5 - 6 - 11pts with a +3

 

 

Arizona Coyotes player stats last 10 games

Teams

 

 

 

 

 

Da Udder Dudes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game Officials

 

 

************************* NOW FOR SOME FUN STUFF **********************************

22 Minutes of Sedinery

 

 

 

Andrew Kuzmenko's First 20 Goals this Season

 

 

Elias "the Alien" Pettersson After Hours

 

 

Some of the Best Moments for the West Coast Express - one of my favorite lines of all time - Damn they were good in their day

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by Rocket-68

[Alflives]

We are going to win in front of 100 fans. 

[Conscience]

Please lose

[Junkyard Dog]

Last day this season to get a 3$ Big Mac from MuckDonalds. 

 

My body is ready... I hope.

[rychicken]

I may not make it into the thread tonight during game time, so I will say this now

 

THANK YOU to the Admins and Moderators for all that you do! There can sometimes be heated discussions, etc but this board is the best run message board I have participated in - in any genre; sports, finance and other hobbies I am interested in.

Also THANK YOU to those who create these GDTs. Your efforts to include info, photos and other interesting and pertinent info is appreciated

 

THANK YOU to Goalie13 for all of your work on the Predict The Score contest!

THANK YOU to all that post (yes, even the ones I have on ignore lol)....I really appreciate learning from, laughing with and lamenting Myers' play with you during the games

THANK YOU to Vintage Canuck,...what else can be said...you are simply the best!

Chat with some of you during the playoffs and off-season...to the others....see you next year. Be well!

[iceman64]

30 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Last day this season to get a 3$ Big Mac from MuckDonalds. 

 

My body is ready... I hope.

You'd do that to your body? Your body will be bitching at you for weeks! Probably never forgive you either... 

[Chickenspear]

42 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Last day this season to get a 3$ Big Mac from MuckDonalds. 

 

My body is ready... I hope.

Godspeed. I haven't had McD's since the fateful cheeseburger eating competition I had with my roommate 15 years ago... 28 cheeseburgers, and I still feel sick about it.

[Spitfire_Spiky]

Win or lose tonight I just want to see Petey and Kuzmenko both hit 40 goals!

 

Go Canucks Go!

Edited April 13, 2023 by Spitfire_Spiky

[Qwags]

Kuzmenko gets his 40th and a loss, please.

[OldFaithfulCap]

58 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Last day this season to get a 3$ Big Mac from MuckDonalds. 

 

My body is ready... I hope.

 

[Barnstorm]

1 hour ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Last day this season to get a 3$ Big Mac from MuckDonalds. 

 

My body is ready... I hope.

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[-DLC-]

Just not ready for this to be over yet.

 

Also...can we please celebrate the fact that JT's nearly at 300 points here?

 

He's been a ppg player since he arrived here (297 pts in his 282 games here).

 

Fewest games to 300 points in Canucks history: Pavel Bure (246); Elias Pettersson (306); Thomas Gradin (330); Patrik Sundstrom (337)

[PhillipBlunt]

7 minutes ago, Barnstorm said:

[Smashian Kassian]

Please, god, may this be Myers last game as a Canuck. 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[PhillipBlunt]

3 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Please, god, may this be Myers last game as a Canuck. 

I certainly hope so. The time has come. 

[Odd.]

10 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

I certainly hope so. The time has come. 

Execute Order 66

[PhillipBlunt]

1 minute ago, Odd. said:

Execute Order 66

[Devron]

18 minutes ago, Smashian Kassian said:

Please, god, may this be Myers last game as a Canuck. 

Amen brother