First - what a great effort on Thursday. The guys at practice were working real hard, and you can see that the spring in the players’ step was in deed noticeable during the game.
As Coach (now assistant coach) Nolan remarked, Ricky was definitely going to rebound with the effort. The great glove save from Hlavac midway in the first period was reason enough to know that he was not only back, but was extremely sharp.
If it is all the same to you, I think Hilbert should get 1/2 of Ricky’s assist by having his mouth meet the stick of the goaltender. This kid is so snakebit, it is astounding. He needs to get a string of goals to bring up his confidence level.
It was a good effort by all the team. I liked the way that the Satan line played. A lot of energ from Satan and Vasicek. However, Bergenheim has an upper body injury and will be out of the lineup tonight against the Pens tonight. There will be a callup from the PORT tonight.
I am really looking forward to the atmosphere tonight. For most people above the age of 25, there are rememberances of Arbour. I have so many, especially when I was working near Cantiague Park. I can remember sneaking out of my office a few minutes early, to get to the arena in time for the start of practice. I can always remember seeing Al shouting the drills, getting in guys faces when they were not doing the things that the coach wanted them to do. Once he was off the ice, once the environment changed, it was a different Al. Speaking to the fans and anyone that came in contact, he was the perfect gentlemen.
Whenever he walked by, I always addressed him as COACH. To me, he was the coach, even though I was not going on the ice. And with that, every time I would say, “Hi Coach!”, he wouls simply smile and reply back with a hello. Just a simple connection, gave a glimpse into the man that turned 20 + guys into not only champions, but great men as well.
Give great kudos to Ted, for allowing an injustice to be remedied. Congratulations, Mr. Arbour for reaching this great achievement. I know that I am going to be fully enjoying this special night. I hope you do too.
Posted under Islanders 07-08
This post was written by Gary Harding on November 3, 2007
Thursday was definitely what the doctor needed. Unfortunately, with my sister in-law giving birth two twins on Tuesday, I’ve been tied up spending time with her and my brother and my two new nephews. I didn’t catch much of the game.
I wish I could be there tonight. I had the honor and privilege of meeting Mr. Arbour when I was a senior in high school. To me, he simply stands for the “glory days” and I would love to be there tonight just for the nestalgia value alone. I really hope the boys come out and play as the teams of past played under him.