I never stopped loving hockey.  I’ve always thought of it as a sport played by Canadians, Europeans in these small towns where the only thing was ice hockey to get the town through.  I know.  I watch too many movies and documentaries about that kind of thing.

It is also, really, one of the most exciting sports to watch.  The games have a kind of an edge to them that is interesting.  I’ve gotten the opportunity to watch a lot of the games of Providence Bruins lately, from close to the action.  The Providence Bruins are an AHL team, not an NHL team, so the arena is smaller, but kind of closer and more family like.  There are a lot of kids at the games and they seem to really reach out to the community, kind of how I see the Red Sox doing in Boston.

I’ve also gotten the chance to observe the players.  Some of them look so young.  Other guys look like they’ve been in the league for a long time.  Some are the sons of some hockey greats.  A few weeks ago, I got to watch Ulf Sameulsson’s son Frederick play.  The next generation, I guess.  See the players up close, you see the struggle on their face, the exhaustion, the anger, the elation, all of it.

On a funnier note, what is with the peculiar title?  Well, a friend I attend the games with is Japanese and I looked up the name of one of the hockey teams in Japan and they are called the Nippon Paper Cranes, which to me is super funny because you can get a pretty bad paper cut from making a paper crane.  And that’s about it.  I guess Japan doesn’t have too many killer animals.  I guess its better than calling them “the Nippon Fugu Fish.”

Anyway, onward Paper Cranes, I mean Providence Bruins.  Who won their game against the Manchester Monarchs on Sunday!!!!  (Click to make the photos bigger):