1/2 - Pens/Bruins at Fenway

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
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Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
Quick question: was texting all game with a buddy from Pittsburgh dating back to my college days and he was all up in arms about the Marchand hit/collision at center ice with about a minute and a half left to play. He says it was interference. I saw it differently, I thought both players were looking back at the puck and unwittingly skated into each other, bracing only at the last second or two.
I know this is the B’s game thread, but would love an unbiased opinion on this one please and thank you.
It was interference on Pittsburgh.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
42,271
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Quick question: was texting all game with a buddy from Pittsburgh dating back to my college days and he was all up in arms about the Marchand hit/collision at center ice with about a minute and a half left to play. He says it was interference. I saw it differently, I thought both players were looking back at the puck and unwittingly skated into each other, bracing only at the last second or two.
I know this is the B’s game thread, but would love an unbiased opinion on this one please and thank you.
I swore as soon as it happened because the puck was nowhere close and I thought it was going to get called. It was much less than a minute and a half though.
 

Salem's Lot

Andy Moog! Andy God Damn Moog!
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
14,461
Gallows Hill
Can you help me understand why? It looked like they both skated into each other, so I would have assumed no fault by either party. What did you see?
I saw a guy trying to run a pick play to prevent Marchand from pressuring the puck carrier, and he ran into Marchand. That was how I saw it live. Haven’t watched a replay.
 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
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Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
This is interesting -- I did not know that. From your pen, then, to the NHL brass. But, given their general level of "unresponsiveness" it may be awhile, or never.
Far better ice experts than I shared all this and more back in 2008…but the NHL is gonna do what the NHL is gonna do.

Also - I missed a point before; Instead of treating that sheet of ice as some special “hardly anyone should skate on this special pristine virgin NHL ice”, get it down two weeks early and skate the shit out of it - high school games, beer leagues, youth jamboree, public skating, you name it. A seasoned rink skates better than a new one…and if there are trouble spots, you have time to address them.

Added benefit is you can make a boatload of money, too…
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
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Far better ice experts than I shared all this and more back in 2008…but the NHL is gonna do what the NHL is gonna do.

Also - I missed a point before; Instead of treating that sheet of ice as some special “hardly anyone should skate on this special pristine virgin NHL ice”, get it down two weeks early and skate the shit out of it - high school games, beer leagues, youth jamboree, public skating, you name it. A seasoned rink skates better than a new one…and if there are trouble spots, you have time to address them.

Added benefit is you can make a boatload of money, too…
I know in 2009 (2010?) they did public skates because the company I worked for bought up an hour of time for certain employees to skate at Fenway
 

tonyandpals

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Mar 18, 2004
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Rink is staying up for plenty of activities post WC. Including season ticket holder skates and college games. I wonder if they were worried about the turn around time between the bowl game and getting the ice up to standard, so they limited the skates before.

Our experience for the day was great. Weather was perfect. There are obviously quite a few bad seats, and many people end up being there for the experience. As someone who had good seats for both Gillette and Fenway, the good seats at Fenway at better than the best at Gillette. The experience overall, was better IMO at Fenway. The rink centered in a football stadium had good site lines for anyone who was high enough., But man, were you far away. We were in the Putnam Club near center, midway up, and it felt too far.

The best seats at Fenway IMO, as I walked around the stadium pregame, were infield roof boxes on the 1B line. The ones on the 3B line were good too, for an end view. Then I'd say the high grandstand seats along the 1B line, if you could avoid the poles. But man, the view from up top was great and comparable to good balcony seats. I was extremely lucky to snag those in one of the presales. My only knock on the day was it didn't seem like all the concession stands were open, at least up in the pavilion they weren't. Lots of Pens fans made the trip. There was so much black and gold to go around between the teams' fans that everyone blended together. Just a good vibe in the stadium and the Kenmore area before the game. Solid A grade for the day with the win being the cherry on top.
 

joe dokes

Member
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Jul 18, 2005
30,233
Imagine being used to the roar of 17,900 for a goal, and get that noise for one.

I don’t think the goosebumps would be gone yet.
That's great. On TV, the crowd sound seems *less* than in the Garden. (probably distance related).
 

Lupe Whalewatch

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Aug 1, 2006
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I know in 2009 (2010?) they did public skates because the company I worked for bought up an hour of time for certain employees to skate at Fenway
A bunch of us in here played a pickup game there the last time around, which was incredible. I think it wasn't until after the actual game though.
 

tonyandpals

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A bunch of us in here played a pickup game there the last time around, which was incredible. I think it wasn't until after the actual game though.
I was trying to remember when that was. Was that a year they didn't have the WC at Fenway, but still did a bunch of the winter stuff there, as well as high school and college games?
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
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Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
I was trying to remember when that was. Was that a year they didn't have the WC at Fenway, but still did a bunch of the winter stuff there, as well as high school and college games?
Yes. It was the 2014 Frozen Fenway event. The game itself was (I believe) the 14th? So well after the actual college games being played.

But it was still an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity.

 

Fred not Lynn

Dick Button Jr.
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Jul 13, 2005
5,253
Alberta
I know in 2009 (2010?) they did public skates because the company I worked for bought up an hour of time for certain employees to skate at Fenway
I think they’re doing more now than they did in 2008, but not enough more. All the post-game stuff they’re doing now should be pre-game…and if the turnaround time is tight, book more sessions a day.

Honestly, I think they want the logos to stand out - and lots of use makes the ice get cloudy. Sounds like a silly reason to compromise game play and safety (and they still seem to care. If you ever have the opportunity to work on such a project, an NHL rep will remind you daily how much Sidney Crosby gets paid).

Oh, and here’s a potentially unpopular opinion; Stadium games play better to the crowd on Olympic size ice…

(I also think NHL teams should have the option to use any ice surface size within a reasonable range for all their home games, say 80’-100’ width, 195’-205’ length and 20’-30’ corner radius. Why not inject a little variability - it makes baseball more interesting, why not hockey?)
 
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tonyandpals

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Yes. It was the 2014 Frozen Fenway event. The game itself was (I believe) the 14th? So well after the actual college games being played.

But it was still an incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity.

It was awesome!