There is something about watching hockey with a three year old that lends magic to the game. Amazingly, my daughter comprehends the basics of the game. Since she ice skates on Sundays, she can relate to the flow of the game and the concept of scoring is not lost on her, nor are the many penalties of the game where players go to “time out” for being bad and tripping or fighting. It has been well worth the extended hour past her bed-time to share a period or two of hockey with her over popcorn.

I also had the opportunity to watch “Miracle” last night with my brother-in-law. It was a great movie and brought back lots of memories from the days of college hockey practices in the early morning and late on Saturday nights. Herb Brooks was fantastically played by Kurt Russell, from his early break-down of the individual personalities to create a team, down to his inspiring pre-USSR game lockerroom speech….”Great moments are born from great opportunity. Great opportunity is what you have here tonight. Nine games out of ten, they will beat us, but not tonight.” Great stuff.