[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign the following program is brought to.
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The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast.
Now here's your host, Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shots. Thank you Scott Kezy, and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me. From the Parting Shots Studio in Schenectady, New York. We have another great show for you. We'll get you set for the Union College women's hockey opener at the new M and T Bank Center. The Garner Chargers will host Franklin Pierce for a pair of games Friday at 6 and 3 o'. Clock. On Saturday I'll have interviews with head coach Tony Macy, senior defenseman and captain Stephanie Bourque and sophomore forward Kerryanne Engelbert. They were available at Tuesday's media day and I was the only reporter there for a while so I was able to get when I needed from them.
Nobody else. No other reporters bothered me, But a Channel 10 reporter later came after I was done.
So we had a lot of chat about. Of course, if you had a chance, read my story on Bork. She's the new captain this season.
That was on DailyGazette.com and in Wednesday's print edition.
Then Will Springs said we'll stay on the Union scene with the Union football team coming off a big win over SUNY Morrisville, the first of the season for the Garda Chargers. That's the final non conference game of the season. They'll get into Liberty League play Saturday when they host St. Lawrence at 5 o'. Clock. So we'll look back at the win over SUNY Morrisville and preview the St. Lawrence game. And then Jim Cerny, a guy I've known since 1998. We were covered the Independent League Northeast League back in the day baseball. I of course if you guys remember, if we're old enough, I covered the Albany Colony Diamond Dogs and Jim was one of the play by play voices for the New Jersey Jackals. He had some other guy with him, I don't remember his name. This was KB I think Jim maybe Jim can refresh my memory what that partner was with him. But so we'll talk Rangers. He is the executive editor of the Forever Blue Shirts website covers the New York Rangers. We'll talk about the Rangers upcoming season and Jim will give his thoughts on what happened to the Rangers last season. A total collapse, missed the playoffs, fired Peter Laviolette as a head coach and hired Mike Sullivan who had been let go by the Penguins So Jim will give his insights into Rangers hockey and we'll talk about some of our days covering Northeast League baseball. That was a lot of fun back then covering that.
But before we head into the break, I'm not going to talk about the Eagles comeback victory over the Rams. Just an unbelievable game Sunday.
Went to the Philly Bar and Lounge over in Latham with my son Stephen and just amazing what the block kick by at the end of the game by Jordan Davis and then running it back for the touchdown.
But on our way over to the lounge, my son was looking at his newsfeed and announced to me that Philadelphia Flyers goaltending legend Bernie Perant, who led the team to back to back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, passed away at the age of 80. And it was a total, total shock.
I followed Bernie on the social media platforms Facebook X and he seemed vibrant, always smiling. If you ever see pics of him, the thumbs up and just smiling, enjoying life.
I think there's a picture of Joe Watson, his teammate from those cup years and my friend he post Joe posted they were together on Friday at a Flyers alumni event.
So that's why everything I heard, the news, it was so shocking because he had not been ill as far as I know and just it's devastating. It's.
I grew up in Philadelphia. Many of you know I brag about my Philadelphia sports scene, criticize the Philippe sports scenes too. But we had season tickets of the Flyers back in the those glory years of the 1970s when it was tough to get a ticket to the game. You know, the Eagles are number one right now and the Phillies are right behind them. But back in the 70s the Flyers were starting to emerge and they became they were the team in Philadelphia and it was because of players like Bobby Clark, Dave Schultz, Rick McLeish and Bernie Perront. Perront was an original member of the Flyers and they got him from the Boston Bruins in 1967 expansion draft. They also got Doug Favela, another goaltender from that Bruins in the expansion draft. They formed a nice tandem for about three and a half years and then late January of 1971 the general manager Keith Allen traded Perant to the Toronto Maple leafs in a three way deal. The Flyers ended up getting Rick McLeish out of the deal and he became a prolific goal scorer for the Flyers later on. And I had a chance to get my picture taken with him back in on my 8th birthday in 1971.
Back on October 24th of that year, Dre was not popular because Bernie was a very popular individual in Philadelphia. But it turned out to be a blessing because first for Bernie, because he got to be teammates with Jacques Plant, one of the all time great goaltenders in the National Hockey League. And Plante was in his early 40s at that time with Toronto. And he taught Bernie the game. He taught how to play goaltender. And Bernie spent the latter part of the 197071 season and 71, 72 with the lay and then he left Toronto to join the Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association. So he was back in town and played well and was supposedly getting paid good. But right around the playoff time he discovered he wasn't getting paid, so he left the team.
So he still proper than Maple Leafs back then. The Maple Leafs didn't want him back so.
And the Flyers, who had just made the playoffs in 1973 and got to the semifinals.
They beat Minnesota in the quarterfinals. The North Stars now of course the Dallas Stars. And then they faced Montreal Canadiens in the semifinals.
Flyers won Game 1 dramatically in an overtime goal by McLeish. But the Canadians ended up winning the next four, ended up winning the Stanley cup that year. But Keith Allen knew he needed a better goaltender and he got Perront back in a trade with Toronto. He traded Doug Favell to the Maple Leafs and next thing you know the Flyers are winning Stanley Cups. And it was just a joy back then to watch that happen.
And it was a wonderful time. And Bernie had won back to back Conn Smythe trophies as the Stanley Cup's most valuable player. He missed Most of the 197576 season because of a neck injury. I think a pinch nerve, pinch nerve operation. And he came back late in that season and really wasn't himself.
Wayne Stevenson had played very well in Bernie's absence. But unfortunately the Flyers bid for a third straight Stanley cup fell short. They lost the Canadiens in the finals and in fact got swept. All the games were close, but maybe if Bernie was there, Emerick McLeisha missed the late part of the season with a knee injury. Maybe even there who, who knows what would have happened. But Bernie career ended on a fortunate note in a game against the New York Rangers in the 197879 season. I think it was Jimmy Watson was moving Rangers player out of the way and had his stick up and how somehow the stick got lodged into the eye opening in Bernie's mask and that was it.
Bernie's career ended.
And so I.
It was a shame the way to end it. I mean it was a great player and Great goaltender and ended up going into the hall of Fame, had his number one retired by the Flyers.
And I had a chance to talk to Bernie in 1989, around late October 1989. I was working at the York Daily Record at the time covering the Hershey Bears, and I was writing a column.
It had to do with the 30th anniversary of the introduction of the Goldie Mass Jacques plant in a November 1, 1959 game. Got hit in the face with a puck and wasn't going to come back out until he had a chance. Was able to wear his mask. I guess he wore it in practice a few times. And it's hard to believe back then goaltenders never wore mask.
But I talked to Bernie about that and I mean, the 10 year old of me while interviewing Bernie was like, oh my God, I'm talking to Bernie Perron. I'm talking to Bernie Perron.
And then covering the Union at the Frozen Four in 2014 in Philadelphia.
Mike McAdam, my colleague, and I were in the press room doing some work on the previews to advance the Union Minnesota championship game. And they were presenting the Mike. The Mike Richter Award was the inaugural Mike Richter Award for Goaltender of the Year went to Colin Hellenbuch, who played at UMass Lowell back then. Now he's a Winnipeg jets goaltender, one of the top goaltenders in the NHL. And I heard Bernie was there and think, oh, can I get my picture taken? So the presentation ends and Bernie walks out. I get to see Bernie. Bernie's all smiles. And he asked, can I take a picture? He said, sure. And I put my arm around Bernie. Bernie smiled and Mike took the picture and just an incredible man. Just my goodness, I'm trying not to get too emotional here, but it's tough. It really is tough.
I mean, we're not going to live forever.
There's going to be other of those Philadelphia Flyers players who are going to unfortunately pass away, but let's try not to think about that.
I asked for. I got some comments when I posted about Bernie's death on my Facebook page.
Let me try to get to some of those right now.
Here we go.
Dave Berman, who I know from my York College of Pennsylvania days, he put a Respect logo on my post.
Fred Quisgard, who used to coach the Union College women's hockey team, said, Eddie Jockerman, Bernie Pront, Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito were the goaltending influences of my teenager years. Their inspiration is the foundation of my five decades of goalie coaching. The new CCM Tack goalie skates I wear when I coach the Maine Mariners goalies have a white cowling, which is a nod to Bernie Skates. I always thought he was cool.
Lou Fratini, who was a great school, went to great school with him in Philadelphia, said Bernie was the greatest. While the Flyers had a lot of promising, young, promising goaltenders, there is only one Bernie. Tough as nails and yet so genuine.
He is and will always be missed.
Some other comments on my Facebook page Ed Tepper More Childhood gone Frankfort and Cotman was never the same after the first Cup. Franklin and Cotman let you know that's whenever the Philadelphia sports teams win championships. That seems to be everybody congregates and basically shuts down that area of northeast Philadelphia.
Greg Fennell, who used to cover Dartmouth hockey back in the day up in New Hampshire, he said, it really rots to lose our heroes. My condolences.
Donna Gamber, whose husband Jeff is the basketball coach at my alma mater, York College of Pennsylvania. I was a statistician and radio play by play team announcer for the team and Mrs. Gamber is from Northeast Philly.
She said, I actually thought about you when I heard of his death. I remembered how you admired him. Sorry for the loss of one of your heroes. Thank you Mrs. Gamber.
So there was some of the comments that people left on my Facebook page regarding Bernie and just want to say to his wife Jeannie and to his daughter Kim from Facebook friends with him, never met either one, but I know you're heartbroken. I'm heartbroken. The city of Philadelphia is heartbroken and Bernie was a wonderful man. There's no if, ands or buts about it. I mean, people complain about the Flyers being a goon team, but you don't have Bernie Perront in the net.
They don't win those two Stanley Cups. So thank you for Bernie. Thank you Bernie for that and I hope you rest in peace. And that owner, late owner Ed Snyder was up there and my dad were up there to greet you in heaven. So thank you for listening. And listen, we'll be back. We'll talk Union College women's hockey in just a moment here on the Parting Shots podcast.
In school sports, it's easy to see the wins, the moments that make headlines. But there's so much work that goes unseen for any of it to happen. My name is Phil Risen and I'm the executive director of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
Throughout the country, athletic administrators dedicate countless hours hours to making life changing opportunities possible for student athletes through sports. Their sacrifice is fueled by the belief that every student can grow and deserves their time to shine.
On behalf of the niaaa, we want to thank every athletic administrator for your tireless dedication to providing 7.8 million students across the country a path to to a better future.
This message presented by the niaaa, the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
[00:15:05] Speaker C: Hi, this is Union College women's hockey alum Meghan o'.
[00:15:08] Speaker B: Connor.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:15:11] Speaker B: With Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
Welcome back to the podcast. It's finally here, the start of the women's college hockey season for the Union Garnet Chargers. And what an exciting time for the the new venue, M and T Bank Center. The Garner Chargers will play their first game there and it'll be the first ever college hockey game when they host Franklin Pierce at 6pm on Friday and the teams meet again on Saturday at 3pm Union how will play the first 10 games of the season at home, so it'd be a good start for them. Try to get some wins early, of course, highlighted by the women's icebreaker coming up October 17th and 18th at M& T Bank Center. On Tuesday, I had a chance to go over to the first media availability at the new facility. You're going to hear some rattling of pucks off the glass. They need to cover up the top of the press area because we can hear the noise and it's kind of a that one's, I'm not going to say annoying, but it gives you some ambiance, I guess, hearing that the men's team was out there shooting some pucks. So we talked on Tuesday with head coach Tony Macy, senior defenseman Stephanie Bourque, who is the team captain this year and last year's leading scorer as a freshman, now a sophomore, Carrion Engelbert. So here's what they said at Tuesday's media availability.
Well, guys, it's the start of a new season, obviously a new arena for you guys. Tony, what's the exciting segment level like going into Friday's game against Franklin Pierce?
[00:16:50] Speaker D: Yeah, couldn't come soon enough.
You know, practice has been good. We've had a lot of good energy. I know the the girls are ready to go and I know the community itself is also ready to go as I'm getting a lot of people asking, hey, when's the first game? We'll see you there.
So expecting to have a pretty good crowd.
[00:17:12] Speaker B: For you, excitement about what's it like.
[00:17:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I think everyone's really excited to get kick things off, especially at the new rink. We really want to make some noise the first weekend, so I think that's what we're planning to do. And I think everyone's ready and super pumped.
Yeah, I think it's been a long off season, and everyone's just really excited to hit the ground running and, you know, take it one weekend at a time.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: What do you think the key will be on Friday? I mean, how important is, you know, obviously, with the excitement and all that stuff, how important is to be able to keep your heads level because you got a game for it, not worry about all the surrounding conflict, circumstances?
[00:17:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's just like any other game. It's exciting. It's the first one, but, you know, I think everyone's played a first game of the season before and just knows that you got to get one game done. Then we play again on Saturday, and, you know, we just got to come in and work.
[00:18:07] Speaker B: Tony, for you, what. How do you keep the team's focus on the game, not worry about the distractions, you know, first night?
[00:18:17] Speaker D: Yeah. I think the big thing is not bring it up that much.
[00:18:20] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:21] Speaker D: We got to make sure one, that, hey, we're gonna have fun with this. It's. It's brand new, but we have to. We have a job to do. Do we got to focus on habits and details, and if we do that, we should have a good game.
[00:18:35] Speaker C: Yeah. I think hockey's always been a game of emotion, so it's just not getting too high, not getting too low, treating it like any other game, and obviously, like, it's our first game, so mistakes are going to happen, but just trying to keep our feet moving and, like, the girls going constantly, and I think we'll be okay.
[00:18:52] Speaker B: This team has a lot of momentum coming off last year, winning an ECA's hockey tournament game for the first time, playing Cornell top going down to the third game. Of course, they eventually went to the ECAC hockey tournament. What's the excitement level like going into the season, knowing what you guys did last year and how important is it to build on that, not get overconfident?
[00:19:14] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, as you said, what we did last year, but obviously that's in the past. So I think now it's just, like building off of that. Like, we know we're capable. I think our confidence level is higher than it was. And obviously with the new recruits and the new girls, I think we have a really good team. So I think it's just Being able to have that confidence again this year and, like, be even better than we were last year.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: Tony, for you going into this, how important is it built upon what you guys did last season?
[00:19:41] Speaker D: Yeah, I think we just have to look at it as they. That was last season. We've got to now take ownership of this season, and we've got to take it from game to game.
We do have a lot of returners that now have an understanding of what our team can do down the stretch in games. And now we've got to make sure that we take that into this season and then bring our new incomers along. You know, we have incomers, so they've got some stuff to learn, but our returners have to do the job of taking the reins and showing them the way.
[00:20:15] Speaker C: Yeah, I think they said it. It's, you know, it's exciting. We're. We're building on last year. We had a good year last year, but it is a new year and everyone's putting a lot of work in over the summer. The new girls look great and it's. It's exciting. It's a good environment right now.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Tony, how important is the goaltending? But obviously, Sophie's played the majority of the games last year. Morenia saw some action.
I don't. Yeah, I don't know if she's going to start fire to get the goaltending situation squared away quickly before they get the conference going.
[00:20:46] Speaker D: Well, you always want to make sure you get your goaltending stuff situated, but I do think it's going to be a competitive crease.
You know, we've got goaltenders that are going to be fighting to take minutes that, you know, are now available with Sophie being gone. So I think as long as we keep that competitive nature and, you know, they're cheering for each other when the others are in the net, that's all we can ask for. And, you know, at the end of the day, it's the team in front of us that's going to have the confidence and whoever's in the net. So they've got to build that during practice and then when they get opportunities in games, we'll go from there.
[00:21:23] Speaker B: Sevy, for you, you're taking over as captain this year. You were an assistant captain last year with.
What did you learn from them and what can you. How can you apply that to leading the way this season?
[00:21:37] Speaker C: Yeah, I think, obviously, I have some good shoes to fill. I think both Marin and Emma taught me how to be.
It's important to have patience with Everyone, because not everyone's going to understand things or how we want to do things immediately.
So I think just building off of what they created here in the environment that they kind of foster it. I think I can for sure. Like, I learn to be more patient and I obviously plan on trying to fill those shoes as best as I can. But I also do have a good leadership group behind me and a great group of girls, so it shouldn't be that hard.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: What kind of leader do you think get onto?
[00:22:14] Speaker C: I definitely want to be a leader that people look up to. I think I'm not the loudest on the team, but I think my actions speak for themselves. I think just being able to lead with my actions and I am working on being more vocal. I think that was something that was brought up in the past. So I am working on it, but mostly leading through my actions.
[00:22:32] Speaker B: And you had a good season last year. How much use that as a tool to be a leader?
[00:22:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I think last year was a good season, but again, that's in the past and I think it's just being able to have that respect with everyone being able to be looked at as one of the leaders on the ice, like playing a lot of minutes, I think that would be huge as well.
So I'm looking to build off of that to help me out.
[00:22:59] Speaker B: When you got the news that you were named captain, what was your reaction?
[00:23:04] Speaker C: I guess I didn't have much of a reaction. I was trying to stay calm a little bit, but I was very excited and a little nervous just because I do have some big shoes to film at the captains that were here in the past.
But yeah.
[00:23:17] Speaker B: Tony, what makes Stephanie a good leader?
[00:23:21] Speaker D: Well, she does everything that you want in a player and a person. Right. She's down to earth, definitely gets along and builds relationships with her, her teammates.
And it's not just, you know, on the ice where we see her leadership, it's the off ice stuff as well in the weight room, doing the extra. Everybody knows that she's going to put in everything into whatever it is that she's going to do and that's somebody that is going to have a lot of respect from everybody in the locker room. So that's one of the reasons why, you know, the players voted, but the coaches as well voted for her as our captain this year because, you know, she does, she does everything the right way.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: What did you learn about in your first year, year last year?
[00:24:06] Speaker D: That she's very competitive and that was, that was something that we had to foster a Little bit. Right.
She kind of spoke of it as just, hey, how do we make sure that we control our emotions and not get too over competitive at times?
But she's done a great job of building off that and that just speaks to her being adaptable, which is one of our core values as well. And she's, she's built herself into being the leader that she is now and continue to grow since she's been named captain.
[00:24:40] Speaker B: Just have one captain instead of a co captain situation or is that just the way the vote turned out?
[00:24:45] Speaker D: I think it was just the way that the room, the room was right. Every year you have your vote. You have different types of personalities.
This year I think we have the three leaders and they all bring something different.
And I think that, you know, I think this year there was a true captain to wear the sea. And you know, not to say that the others weren't that, but I just think that that was the way we wanted to go this year.
[00:25:13] Speaker B: Your thoughts on Stephanie being a captain?
[00:25:15] Speaker C: I think Stephanie's a great captain. I know we've worked together a lot and she's helped me a lot last year, even this year, like just a great leader. She's very respectable. You again, you watch what she does and you can't help but respect her and what she does. And it's. You follow someone who's doing the right thing and always putting you next show. You want to be like that. And so I think Stephanie has helped me build my habits and, you know, even little things on the ice when we're working together, whether it's power play or a drill or, you know, learning a new shot. She's always like so excited to, to help people that want to do better. And I think we have a team of people that are trying to grow and develop and I wouldn't want anybody else to wear the seat.
[00:25:57] Speaker B: I see you change the number, right?
[00:25:58] Speaker C: I did.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: Why?
[00:26:00] Speaker C: Back in juniors, I switched teams and I went to 17 and I think it spoke a lot to me. I just, I loved the number. It felt like my number. It felt like I grew as a person and my game once I started wearing it. And it was a debate between switching back or not, but I think ultimately I just loved the number. It felt like it fit more than number 10 and I'd love to see someone else wear number 10.
[00:26:26] Speaker B: Is there anybody like NHL raving PWL 17 or 17 that you had five or was this.
[00:26:32] Speaker C: No, there was nobody. I just happened to get on the back of my jersey one day and haven't looked back since.
[00:26:43] Speaker B: I'll be there Friday night. You can follow my coverage on the social media platforms of X, Blue sky and Threads. I'm at slap shots at all three locations and of course if you follow me on Facebook, I'll be posting there as well. I'm looking forward to what's going to happen there on Friday and get a chance to finally cover a game at Union with press box on the side. Can't wait. So well, coming up, we're going to Stole on the on the Union campus. I know the MVC bank center is not on campus, but you get the drip we're going to talk Union College football with Will Springs today. We'll talk about the team's victory over SUNY Morrisville last Saturday and look ahead to the Liberty League opener this coming Saturday against St. Lawrence. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
Explore the benefits of subscribing to the Daily Gazette like our convenient E Edition app, personalized newsletters and unique reader rewards. When you join, start your membership today offers redeemable at www.dailygazette.com hi, this is Daily Gazette sports writer Christian Heinz.
[00:27:54] Speaker A: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:27:56] Speaker B: With Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Chop.
Welcome back to the podcast. We'll continue our Union theme here on the podcast. After talking some women's hockey, we'll talk Union football and the Gardner Chargers pull off their first win this past Saturday, 317 over SUNY Marsville and will Springs that was there covering the game for for us and Will joins us now to talk about the game and Will, I mean the score seems like was a dominating performance, but it was only 147 and a halftime and then 177 after three quarters.
[00:28:27] Speaker E: It was a more dominating performance in the second half as I had sent to you via our company message and shared with someone there. And that was the feeling around there. It should have been more at halftime. They had two turnovers on their sets of downs before halftime and Morrisville was moving too, so there were some things that needed to get cleared up. They did at halftime and the second half was really All Union.
[00:28:58] Speaker B: I mean Union ended up with 435 total yards, 143 through the air, 292 rushing. And of course Patch Flanagan does it again figures in all four touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.
[00:29:12] Speaker E: And he did mention after the game too that the passing touchdowns were from establishing the run. And Michael DiNardo of note had 97 yards rushing was a big factor and it's good to see him develop.
Because then now teams know, oh, we'll just wait for Patch to run again.
And he's a weapon when he runs, but you can't rely on him all the time. So it's good to have some diversity in that backfield.
[00:29:41] Speaker B: I mean, how important was this win we talked about last week? I mean, if they didn't win this game or won it but didn't look impressive, that there could be some maybe talk about the future of John Drock. But what was the feeling like after the game Saturday?
[00:29:56] Speaker E: Feeling after the game? Saturday was very positive.
It sort of reminds me of the late thoroughbred trainer Christophe Clement. Whenever you would ask how a particular horse was, his pat answer was in his big French accent. All is well. All is well. Well, Saturday always well.
And they felt very positive. They felt they moved the ball. They certainly stopped Morrisville on defense. The player that I spoke to, Lukes Coleman, mentioned, they knew they had athleticism. Morrisville had big, beefy offensive linemen, but they couldn't move that well. And Union defensive guys could get around him, make sacks, make tackles. They had three sacks, so that was a good sign.
[00:30:43] Speaker B: Did you see any panic in that first half as Union was trying to establish itself?
[00:30:48] Speaker E: I didn't really.
It seemed very methodic and like, okay, this didn't work, but they were moving the ball. I think they might have had one or two, three and outs, but for the most part they would get a few first downs if they didn't come away with the score.
So that's what I meant by it should be more. The signs were there that they could move against Morrisville. They just weren't punching it in the end zone.
[00:31:14] Speaker B: And they got 14 points in the fourth quarter on a pair of flank and touchdown passes. One 46 yards to Gil Rivera and the other 24 yards to Joe Kern to really put that game away. There was both drives 66 yards, one was five plays, the other seven plays. I mean, they were they able to move the ball well against Suny Morrisville they were.
[00:31:37] Speaker E: And again, as you mentioned, those two receivers, six receivers with catches against Morrisville that has been a study throughout these three games. They've got a deep, talented receiving core. And as an example, Dan Quinn, who's had a nice couple weeks, did not have a catch the other day and he had a couple of targets, but they didn't target him all that much. And I think they feel they've got enough weapons that that passing game will be there for them. And as I mentioned, the more backs they can Get Jasir Jones also had a decent game.
I think they felt like their offense was always there, but it wasn't going to show against Susquehann and Cortland. It certainly showed against Morrisville.
[00:32:24] Speaker B: How does Dan Quinn have time to play for Union football and coach the Washington Commanders?
[00:32:30] Speaker E: These undergrads are talented.
[00:32:31] Speaker B: Yes, they are.
So non conference play is over and it's time for Liberty League action Saturday with a home game against St. Lawrence. A strange 5 o' clock start. First of all, why is it 5 o' clock and not 1 o'? Clock?
[00:32:45] Speaker E: It is 5 o' clock because this past Saturday the field hockey team followed the football game and in an effort to be fair, they didn't want the football team to always have the primo one o' clock spot. So the field hockey team will get the 1 o' clock game and the football will start at 5.
[00:33:06] Speaker B: Well, that makes it interesting for our deadline. So.
But I mean, here we go. We ended this really season. Last year's team, I mean, everything fell apart after they blew that game against St. Lawrence.
How important is it to get off to a good start and a little Liberty League play against Saints at Frank Bailey Field?
[00:33:27] Speaker E: It's. It's very important.
I'm sure they will deny it when I see them this week, but maybe. I'm sure John Drock will deny it. I bet his players vividly remember last year's loss and I think it will be important to win because also what we're seeing right now in the Liberty League is it's got some depth, but it doesn't have a dominant team yet. No one's really screaming, you know, this is my league, come and take it from me. So you can't, you can't afford too many losses if all that parity is there. So I think they want to get out, get a W to start.
[00:34:10] Speaker B: Yeah. St. Lawrence coming in with a one and two record. They won their opening game of the season against Norwich 19 3.
But I've lost the last two. 2823 to St John Fisher and 35, 13 to Alfred. So what do you know about the Saints at all?
[00:34:27] Speaker E: You know, I must admit I only know the scores. I have not seen the. Not looked at their personnel yet.
[00:34:34] Speaker B: So let's get back to the fact that last year's game really was, you know, basically hurt their season.
Do you think? Man, I know you're going to talk to them later this week after our podcast. We post the podcast. We what do you think the mood is going to be like?
There with the team, with the coaching staff knowing what happened last year. I know you mentioned a little bit, but how important is it for this team to erase what happened last year?
[00:35:02] Speaker E: I think it's very important.
One thing that most of the players said after the game against Morrisville was we knew who we were.
They did not seem that phased by what they had experienced with Susquehanna and Cortland. And I think coming off this win looking good on both sides of the ball, they'll feel that again. And the loss last year may only add a little extra fuel.
[00:35:33] Speaker B: How important it would be for Patch Flanagan to not try to run so much as he has been and try to pass and let others run the ball.
[00:35:45] Speaker E: I don't know if it will or will be that important or not. I think it helped. As I mentioned, you get more bodies running the ball and not have it always be patch and throw. I think that is good.
He mentioned that they knew they had to run to loosen up Morrisville's defense. So one would expect that St. Lawrence is noticing that on film and maybe won't try the exact same thing defensively against him.
He's a weapon. He can run, he can throw.
There were a couple of throws that were fortunate that they weren't picked off.
And I think, you know, no, no hard knock on Patch Flanagan. I think every now and again he just wants to put an exclamation point where a strong period might work and that can get a quarterback in trouble. But I think he, he has all the skills, both with the legs and the arm.
[00:36:49] Speaker B: How was the defense? Man, they allow 174 yards to Morrisville and just 37 on the ground.
[00:36:55] Speaker E: The running game had no effectiveness against Union's defense.
Schenectady resident Isaac Silvan was their main back and they didn't appear to have anything else when the quarterbacks ran. It was not by design. It was because they were being flushed and they were flushed a fair amount.
Again, I think that is.
It was a larger, beefier, slower offensive line than I have typically seen from St. Lawrence teams over the years.
And I imagine that Union's defense might not have. Again, I'm not absolutely sure, but I'm guessing they might not have the speed or physicality advantage that they had this past week.
[00:37:43] Speaker B: Do you think Union can win the Liberty League? I mean, obviously they didn't last year and the losing season. But can they rebound and win this thing?
Of course. I mean, there's tough teams.
[00:37:54] Speaker E: You're right. It is hard to say. As I said, the one thing not Discounting that U of R still is unbeaten, but as I do look at stats across the way, they're not so much better than everyone else's that has a loss here and there of an ithaca or an RPI or even a St Lawrence, which has now two losses.
So I think they can be right up there. But again, I think momentum is key. That's why this St. Lawrence game is big. Buffalo State and Hilbert have not done well so far. One would expect after this St. Lawrence game that that Buffalo State game is going to be a win. But then here, then the next week, it's Hobart. And Hobart finally got its first win last week, kind of impressively over Utica, which had handed it to RPI the previous week. So there's, there's going to be some parody and you're going to have to bring it every week.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, we'll appreciate a few minutes. Have fun on Saturday. One other thing, I was, I was watching bits and pieces of the game.
I think they have to work on the score bug a little bit because the down and distance was not quite right. I mean, I saw like 3rd and 33 is like. Nah, I don't think so. They were doing the.
For the ball was on the 33 yard line or something like that, but they weren't doing like 1st and 10. It was like 1st and wherever the ball was on the. On. It was kind of confusing, but. Well, like I said, enjoy Saturday and we'll follow your coverage on X. That where that.
[00:39:22] Speaker E: That's at W.L. springstead.
[00:39:25] Speaker B: All right.
[00:39:25] Speaker E: W.L. and the S are all uppercase.
[00:39:27] Speaker B: That's right. Thanks, Will. Appreciate a few minutes.
[00:39:29] Speaker E: Thank you.
[00:39:30] Speaker B: All right, that's Will Springstead. Coming up. We're going to talk some New York Rangers hockey with Jim Cearney, who runs the Forever Blue Shirts website. We'll also reminisce about our times, our years covering the Independent League Baseball League, Northeast League, and some guy who is his broadcast partner. I can't think of his name.
I think the initials are K.B. i have to ask Jim about that. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
If you really want to know what's going on in your community, you have.
[00:40:10] Speaker E: To read the Daily Gazette. We don't take a side.
[00:40:13] Speaker B: We're right down the middle and we're.
[00:40:15] Speaker E: Gonna get to the truth.
[00:40:16] Speaker B: Our reporters and photographers are out in.
[00:40:19] Speaker E: The field bringing you updates every minute with trust, accuracy and integrity. From the first page to the last page. Independent, probing journalism.
[00:40:30] Speaker B: We're finding out what's going on in.
[00:40:32] Speaker E: Community where nobody else is covering. It's who we are. It's what we do.
[00:40:39] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Mercyhurst men's head hockey coach Rick Godkin. You're listening to Parting Shots podcast with.
[00:40:45] Speaker B: Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Chop.
Welcome back to the podcast. My next guest is the executive editor of Forever Blue Shirts, which covers the New York Rangers, and he does a great job doing it. He also does some work for ESPN with the Princeton men's and women's hockey team's home games. And he was just up here last weekend covering, doing the RPI women's games along with former RPI men's head coach Dan Fridgen. Like that. We also remember this guy back almost 30 years when we covered some baseball together. It's Jim Cerny. Jim, welcome to the podcast. How are things going again?
[00:41:23] Speaker A: It's great. Great to be with you. You had to drop a three decades on me, didn't you?
[00:41:28] Speaker B: It's so good. I mean, it's. I can't believe it's been that long, man.
I mean, I. I mean, I. I saw you last year doing the Princeton Union game. I was like, oh, my God, I remember that guy.
And then I saw, as I mentioned, the open, you were doing the RPI women's games this week, and I'm thinking, oh, Jim, moving up here. But that's. You're not, are you?
[00:41:49] Speaker A: I. I would love to. I love it up there. My wife does, too. We go to Saratoga all the time, you know, several times a year. Long weekends, week long vacations.
So, you know, we love the. Love that area.
But, yeah, it's my first time calling games there. As you said on ESPN plus. Got to do some RPI women's games. In fact, their first two games this season. Just stepping in, you know, and if they need me again, I'm happy to do it, but it was a lot of fun. Great arena. There's some good vibe going on. A lot of people on campus. Saturday, they had a big football game as well, an overtime win. So a lot going on at rpi.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: How much fun was it working with Fridge?
[00:42:30] Speaker A: Fridge is great. You know, I. I wish the camera had been rolling when we were talking off air. Forget what went on on there.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Oh, I know. Having known Fred as long as I have, and he gets. Tell some great stories.
[00:42:43] Speaker A: He's a really, really good man and really easy to work with too.
You know, he's. He's a pro and he gets it and, you know, I know he's. He's. He's a big name. In the local community.
You know, I went.
Went to dinner afterwards, and he said, oh, yeah, you can mention my name at this place. And I did. And they were impressed. I. I didn't save anything on the bill, but. But they were impressed that I kn.
[00:43:10] Speaker B: Well, before we get into the Rangers, as I mentioned, we go back to 1998, that first year, the New Jersey Jackals in the independent baseball Northeast League. I was covering the Albany Colony Diamond Dogs for the Gazette at that time, and we got to meet you. And what do you remember about those years? You know, because Jackals won the Northeast League championship in their first season. I still remember Felix Dalyon trying to tag up for first base with a fly ball. The left field at Heritage park. Got thrown out to end the series.
[00:43:41] Speaker A: Yeah, there's so many things I remember from that time.
Some of the most fun that I had was. Was covering and broadcasting in minor league baseball. I really, really loved it and may do a little bit more of it, you know, moving forward as well. You know, I figure I'm a stage in my career where I want to do what I really, really enjoy. So.
And that was always. That was, you know, at that stage of my career, I was.
During hockey season, I was broadcasting for the New York Islanders.
I was the radio guy, and I. A buddy of mine from Jersey told me about, oh, there's gonna be this new minor league team in Montclair. You know, they're building a stadium and, you know, it's close by. Maybe you should give them a call. And I did. And they said, we've got a local. We got a kid that's going to be one of our broadcasters, but he's having some issues with his throat. And plus, he may not have time to also do pr, but our schedule fits perfectly into your hockey schedule. Long story short, they paired me up with some kid named Kevin Burkhart.
Yeah. You know, if. If you happen to flick on Fox, MLB Playoffs or the super bowl at any time. Yeah. Good chance that you're gonna catch Kevin Burkhardt. I mean, he is a superstar in the business now. And you and I talk to, you know, what it was like as a kid when he was just really breaking into the business. And what a super, super guy. Not just a super talented guy, but just what a good guy. And we had so much fun doing the games together.
And, you know, we've remained in touch over the years. You know, egoless is Kevin Burkhardt. And you see it on the broadcast, he just. He's the same guy. He just he has fun, but he's so good at what he does.
So those are some of my great memories of, you know, those first.
You know, I did the first season of Jackals baseball and then I ended up doing the first five seasons of their history.
Three. Three of the five years they won their championship. One Northeast League championship, two Northern League titles.
So I was pretty blessed. I started collecting rings with them.
[00:46:03] Speaker B: The Northern League hated the. Must have hated the teams that came from the Northeast League because every year that when they had the merger was the Northeast League teams ended up winning. The Diamond Dogs were the first ones in 99, beating Winnipeg, Adirondack, I think one in 2000.
I think Jack was won in 2001. That was, you know, that series extent. Fortunately, with what happened at 9 11, that series was extended a lot further.
But yeah, I mean, just getting back to KB a second just, I mean, I know he left. He went to work for a car dealership, but.
But they let him, you know, do some radio, I think, with the fan. That really led to things with sny, I believe. Right.
[00:46:41] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, you. You have the whole history down correctly.
You know, Kev was really frustrated where his career was going.
He had some health issues too. You know, he was always battling kind of a throat, more of a nasal thing, you know, and it was tough for him.
And we got a little frustrated with the business, you know, calling, you know, Friday nights local high games on a station that only the parents were listening to. You know, Friday night high school football, you know, it was tough. And he had bills to pay. He got married, so. Yeah, so he went to work for a car dealership. And I, I've never asked Kev to this day how many cars he sold, but I bet you it was a lot. Yeah, because he's a likable guy. Right. And. And if you're going to be good at sales, especially, you know, selling a car, you need a really great personality. And Kevin is that he probably could have been a millionaire just doing that. But he did, you know, get an opportunity to host some shows and also be a sports update anchor on wfan.
And obviously he crushed it. And he did. He landed the opportunity at SNY to be the Mets field reporter on their broadcast. SNY is the home to the New York Mets.
And yeah, I mean, he was terrific. And then, you know, he got to do some play by play at that level, and, you know, one thing turns into another. He was there for several years and then you obviously had his. His great opportunity at Fox and he moved across the country, lives in California now, lives on the beach. Quite jealous, still waiting for the invite.
But, you know, it was an opportunity that he worked so hard for, you know, to think that, you know, supplement his income to keep his dream game going, you know, just to sell cars during the day and, and work at WFAN and eventually SNY at night was, you know, it's, it's a pretty amazing story and hopefully he'll let me write his autobiography when, when he chooses to.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Do so and let me do the forward.
[00:48:54] Speaker A: Yeah, or maybe you'll get to write it.
[00:48:55] Speaker B: Yes.
Well, I always think, I see sometimes he posts on Instagram, so some, some restaurant goes to. I'm thinking, God, does he missed the Heritage park hot dog.
[00:49:07] Speaker A: I'll tell you what, he does this. We joked about this at some point over the years.
I said, ah, come on man, you missed being in the, in the booth with me and that, all the fun we had. He goes, yeah, yeah, it was fun being with you. I missed one thing about that, about my early baseball at the Jackals. It was that road trip, those two road trips each season to Quebec City.
Boy, I love Quebec City.
[00:49:34] Speaker B: That's great stuff. So let's talk about the Rangers. You, you know, you. How long you been doing this?
[00:49:38] Speaker A: Forever.
[00:49:39] Speaker B: Blue shirts site.
[00:49:41] Speaker A: Yeah. So, you know, obviously I touched on, you know, my Islanders history. I've, you know, I've, I've covered hockey for, you know, geez, I covered the Rangers in the Stanley cup in 94 when they won. That was at the beginning of my career. So I've been, you know, covering hockey for a good 30 years and I actually worked for the Rangers for much of the 2000 and tens. I worked for them for 10, 11 seasons running their website and I was their in house beat reporter. And now for the last couple years, I was hired by a company that had a Rangers website. It was actually a fan website, but I guess they saw the potential in it to be, you know, more of a professional website.
And so they brought me on. I, I had been managing
[email protected] but this was an opportunity really get back and, you know, get into the locker rooms again and just the stuff that I really enjoy the most.
So yeah, I've been doing it for a couple of years now and really enjoy it.
[00:50:41] Speaker B: So what happened to the Rangers last year, Jim? They were coming off president's trophy season in 20, 23, 24 and just fell apart last year so unexpectedly. What happened?
[00:50:53] Speaker A: So, so much happens.
And the word that I use in stories when I Refer to last year are, you know, adjectives like dismal, dysfunctional.
I've been disappointing, shocking the fall from grace as you said. You know, they made the conference final two out of three years including 23, 24. And listen, they, they physically were probably steamrolled by the Florida Panthers. That series, you know, most of those games were still pretty close, mainly thanks to Igor Shusturkin's brilliant play.
But there was no doubt that the Rangers and Christian GM realized, huh, we gotta do some things here.
We gotta free up some salary cap space to get a different type of player in the lineup. We have too many Artemi Panarins and Mika Zabanajads and Adam Foxes. Great players, but boy, to actually win, to push past the conference final, we need a little bit more Will, a little bit more size, strength, Will north south play.
Ranger didn't have a lot of salary cap room and they tried to free it up by waving Berkeley Gujarat last off season, which they did and wanting, they wanted to trade Jacob truba who's making $8 million a year. Troop is their captain. Gujarat was a two time Stanley cup winner, very respected guys and I think had Jury just followed through on his plan and did what he needed to do, there wouldn't have been a human cry from inside that locker room. It's a business.
That's Chris Jury's job to make tough decisions and rework the roster as he sees fit. The issue was in how he went about going doing his business.
And with that, I mean, not telling a respected veteran like Barclay Goudreau that the team was putting him on waivers. He told him, I believe five minutes before the news broke.
And then with Jacob Truba, you know, trying to trade Truba when Truba had a no move clause and had let the Rangers know, I, I negotiated this deal because my wife is doing her medical residency in New York. We don't wish to move. Well, heavy handed curse. Jury did not understand about how trying to force these moves through was going to affect the locker room. It's how he handled things more than what his plan was. And that was the beginning of the Boulder rolling downhill in a negative fashion. And listen, I think it exposed some serious words with the Rangers there. You know, they did not play with the will and the desire and the passion of a team that carried their skill set. It was considered a serious Stanley cup contender last season. You know, they had that terrible stretch in November and December that they couldn't get over and submarine their season.
You know, the body language was terrible.
The Vibe in the locker room was terrible.
Igor Shusturkin summed it up great. At the end of the year, something just broke and it was as much off the ice as it was on the ice. In fact, off the ice, carried onto the ice and it was a disaster. You know what happened last year. They were too good a team to put in the half hearted efforts that they did and get the results that they did. And they ended up not making the playoffs for the first time in four years.
And you know, it was poorly handled from the top all the way through. And again, like I said, exposed words with the Rangers because players at the end of the day have to take responsibility. I know the coach got fired. Peter Lovey like got fired.
A lot of the blame landed at Christian's feet, as well as it should have. At the end of the day it's up to the players to be professionals and push through, you know, whatever mental issues or anger they have with management or whatever it is. And they just didn't. And they look like a soft team mentally last year. And at the end of the day I think that was the biggest issue. So I know you gave me a somewhat simple question, I gave you a much longer answer than you anticipated. But it really was not just one thing.
It, it just one thing just built on another, built on another. And they could not that stop the negative momentum once it really, really started rolling. And then of course, you know, Christ started making a lot of trades and you know, the whole dynamic changed. And I think ultimately it will be for the better for that. But for that one season it was lost by time. It was November, December.
[00:55:51] Speaker B: I mean as you mentioned, Peter Lavylet ended up losing his job. Did the locker room tune him out at that point?
[00:55:58] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I think he did. And, and he really didn't have answers. I, I felt so sorry for the guy. He's a Stanley cup champion. He's one of the greatest, you know, American born coaches, you know, in NHL history.
But he had no answers.
Yeah, they certainly didn't tune them out the season before when they went to the conference final, but they certainly did last year. And I don't know that it was him and I don't believe it was him. I think it was just anger within the room. It was more directed towards management than coaches. But you know, listen, the coach is an extension of management, so it, it just didn't work. I. Listen, they could have had Scotty Bowman, toe Blake, you know, Al Arbery, you know, pick your, you know, the greatest coaches in NHL history, they weren't turning it around last year. It just, it just wasn't going to work. And I, I don't know that Lobby let deserve to be fired, but I think he probably, it probably was the right thing to do. And certainly they landed the guy that Chris Jury has wanted ever since he became general manager in 2021. And that's Mike Sullivan.
[00:57:09] Speaker B: And to me, Mike Sullivan, Peter Lobby, very similar, I think taskmaster.
They get the job done. As you mentioned, Lobby that won a cup with Carolina, been to two other cup finals with the one with the Flyers, one with the National Predators. What is Mike Sullivan bring to, to the Rangers?
[00:57:27] Speaker A: So it's interesting.
I mean we know he brings two Stanley cup championships on his resume in consecutive years in 16 and 17.
Inability to build relationships and earn the trust of great players like Sidney Crosby. If getting Malkin, Chris Latang Merck, Andre Fleury, you know, some of the biggest names in the sport he is coached. And those guys, you talk to those guys and I have the years, their respect for Mike Sullivan is off the charts.
So he earned their trust and he earned their respect.
So that's who they're getting. They're getting a guy that, you know, Team USA believes in enough to coach the United States at the Milano Cortina Olympics in 2026. He is one of the great coaches in the league.
What he is really focused on as much as systems and, you know, the on ice product. This is how we're going to play.
You know, we're going to change our defensive structure. This is what I'm going to focus on offensively, that's great. But what he's really, really focused on and you, he will mention this at every turn since training camp started and back to when he was hired in May at that press conference, is building relationships. Communication did it really well in Pittsburgh with their best players, but up and down the lineup, but particularly with their best players. And he has absolutely done that since becoming coach of the Rangers. Now, the unsaid there is, yes, I think that's who he is and that's his personality and that's, that's what he does as a coach.
But the way he keeps talking about it and emphasizing it is just a little backhanded swipe that this isn't the way it was done before, but this is the way we're going to do it now. In a way, it's also a little bit of a shot probably at Chris Jury who got into trouble with his poor communication or lack of communication with the players.
But certainly it just feels to me like without saying it, hey, guess what? This isn't what the other coach did. And look at what happened. This is what I'm gonna do. And to his credit, he's, he's gone the full 100 yards with it. You know, he flew to Sweden to sit down with Mika, Savannah Jad, who clearly was the player most affected by all the off ice stuff last year. I, I term him mopey Mika. His body language was horrendous. His effort more often than not was terrible. And this is a guy, he's so valuable to the team on the ice and as a leader and guys look to him, you know, and they, they followed his lead and it was a negative lead last year. Sullivan recognizes it. He goes this summer to, you know, spend a couple days with Mika, you know, go out to dinner, get to know, to go to dinner with him, get to know his family.
Crucial, you know, that, that, that's part of what makes a coach great.
And listen, I'm not saying they're going to win the Stanley cup because of it, but it really was amending the defenses, fixing that bridge between management and coaches and the players.
So that's what they're getting as well as, you know, it's a little change in playing style and philosophy.
You know, I, I, I really don't expect to see the Keystone Cops on the ice season like we saw it a year ago. I, I think guys are, are bought in. I think they're committed and you know, we'll see. I think they're a playoff team, but you know, I, I don't think they're a, a Stanley cup favorite. They might be a contender. Let, let's, let's play out a couple months of the season to see where they're at.
But I, I do believe that they're, they're a playoff team and certainly Sullivan's a big part of that, that as.
[01:01:37] Speaker B: Long as the Florida Panthers continue to do what they do, it's going to be tough to knock them off. Oh my good.
I have to say I'm impressed with, especially the Sally cap here and see how long these seasons go. I mean, what Florida's done, three state appearances in the finals, two straight Stanley Cups, and the first cup was like till late June in 2024. I mean, I even look back at Tampa, what they did, they won a cup in a bubble, won a cup in a shortened season after the COVID and got to the cup finals a year. It just, it's with Tampa and Florida, just in fact, those teams, the way they play over the last year, it's going to be tough in the east to knock, at least knock Florida off.
[01:02:17] Speaker A: It is really difficult what they do in so many different ways because they play a relentless style of hockey and you keep almost waiting for them to slow down.
Oh, they can't keep up this pace. They can't keep up this pace. Oh, no. Guess what they do. They're so mentally tough that they ratchet up the intensity and the pace as the games get more and more important.
They are extremely well coached that top to bottom, from your best players to, you know, maybe players that come up from the minors or your fourth line GU guys or your seventh defenseman, they are all bought in to what it takes.
And the credit goes all the way around. From the leadership group leading with Sasha Barkov to coach Paul Maurice, you know, obviously the front office has done an amazing job there.
You know, the moves that they've pulled off, you know, and you know, you can argue maybe he circumvented the salary cap a little bit, but hey, listen, listen, you know, while those rules were legal, they didn't do anything illegal. You know, they just took advantage of the opportunities that were there and you know, for them to be able to bring in, you know, Brad Norshand and Seth Jones, you know, last year, you know, to, to give them, you know, a little bit more juice for that second Stanley cup, you know, championship push, I mean, you know, brilliant work by Bill Sido and his staff.
But again, you know, I said this about the Rangers in a negative way. I'll say it about the Panthers in a positive way. It really starts and ends with the players and the example that Barkov, Matthew Kachuk, Sam Reinhardt, Sam Bennett, my gosh, you know, Aaron Ekblatt, you go up and down the lineup, your best players are setting that example. This is the Florida Panthers way. So the question again remains, can we do it again? They've been to the final three years in a row, won it twice. You know, that's a lot of short off seasons and long 10 month lines, you know, of the season.
And then they're gonna have to navigate the first three months without Kachuk, you know, who's out with a lower body injury, but who knows that that might actually be good for them, you know, because they'll be a little bit more fresh. Hey, maybe our most important guy is going to be a little bit more fresh when the playoffs come along. But you're right, somebody's to, to win. Somebody's gonna have to knock them off.
And I'm not sure I, I'm not willing to say any team in the Eastern Conference is good enough to do that right now.
[01:05:05] Speaker B: Yeah, well, there's a change. Is not only behind the Rangers bench and the broadcasting for the Rangers, obviously Sam Rosen retired Joe Micheletti retired, Kenny Albert and Dave Maloney moving over to the TV booth. I mean, that's, that's. I mean, just. What was Sam Rosen, what did he mean to you?
[01:05:23] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, I, I mean, you know, I, I mentioned earlier, you know, my years that I, I worked for the Rangers. You know, I was with them for 10, 11 years and in my role, because I worked for the organization, I traveled with the team and you know, wherever they were, I was.
And, you know, we'd sit at the back of the plane, me, the TV crew, the radio crew, and, you know, a lot of times it just sat there and just soaked it up. Just, just talked hockey, talked sports. Sam, if you know Sam, he loves baseball, he's a big baseball fan, he's a big football fan as well as football broadcaster and just, just a salt of the earth guy, you know, Never any heirs with him. You know, so here I was, I grew up watching Sam Rosen.
You know, after, you know, after Jim Gordon, it was Sam Rosen. He was, he was their play by play guy. And I kind of grew up watching him. And, you know, here I was for a decade. I got guys back for now. I got to know him, of course, when I was a reporter, even before I worked for the Rangers, I'm like, oh, super guy, you know. But there I was, you know, for 10, 11 years, having the opportunity to really get to know him and sit with him on the plane and, you know, dinners out and, you know, exchange notes and information, you know, before games and great guy, great broadcaster, unique, loved, beloved, not only by the Ranger fans, but really throughout the league. Like he did like this lap last year. Everybody knew he was retiring. He announced it before the season, season and he. The tributes, every single arena that the Rangers went to, there be a tribute to Sam Rosen. And you know, when players who no longer play for the Rangers, but used to came back to the Garden, they'd go out of their way to make sure that they saw Sam before the game and said, hey, congratulations, great career. Or yeah, whatever it was. Matt Sullo were in a, in a Minnesota Wilds pregame skate at the Garden against the Rangers or a jersey with the name Rosen on the back of it, you know, that speaks volumes. You know, That's. That actually speaks more than. Than whatever words, and, you know, falling short of. To let you know what a good guy and great broadcaster he is is that. That's the kind of respect that. That he has, mainly because of what a great person he is. So, yeah, they're gonna miss him. But listen, you're. You're replacing one of the best with one of the best.
[01:08:09] Speaker B: Yes.
[01:08:10] Speaker A: You know, it was never, never under consideration that anybody other than Kenny Albert, if Kenny wanted to do it, was going to replace Sam in the TV booth. And, you know, obviously, Kenny has a lot going on, but he'll be able to do, you know, the majority of their games this season.
[01:08:29] Speaker B: Y. I got a good story with. With Sam. He was inducted into the New York State Hockey hall of Fame last year, and I talked to him on the podcast, and I asked him, how long you want to do this? Well, he said, I'm. I'm feeling great. I'd like to do this forever. Two weeks later, the announcement comes out. If you tie me at the end of his year. So Sam attends this year's New York State Hockey hall of fame because Joe McEtti and Dave Malone are getting inducted. And I say, sam, you could have given me some breaking news last year. Why didn't you do that? We laughed at that.
Well, Joe, I want to close, man. Sort of a sad note. It's been a rough month for legendary goaltenders this month. Ken Dryden passed away.
Eddie Jockman, Ranger favorite, passed away in Bernie Perant just past Sunday, which still breaks my heart, being a Flyers fan, growing up, watching him, you know, play games at the Spectrum when we had season tickets to the Flyers. But let me just focus on Eddie Jockam. And I mean.
I mean, I think Roger is considered Mr. Ranger, but, I mean, Eddie Jockman is a close second. What did he mean to the. To the Ranger fans? And if you remember, you know, back when he was, like, got released by the Rangers and Detroit picked him up and the Red Wings, and the first game was at Madison Square Garden. They're chanting Eddie throughout the national Anthem, and he's crying. It's just. What did Eddie mean to the Rangers?
[01:09:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I. I mean, you. You. You kind of summed it up right there. I mean, the Ranger fans were devastated, as was he, when the Rangers placed him on waivers, and he was 35 at the time. And they had a young goalie named John Davidson that was set to take over. And, you know, they. They were crushed of the fans, you know, that the Rangers would just. Just let him Go like that. And. And so is Eddie. And of course, the irony of the whole thing is that Detroit claims him on waivers and oh, who do the Rangers next play? Oh, at home at Madison Square Garden, the Detroit Red Wings. That was a game that the Rangers had no chance of winning. There was no way that they were going to win. And as you pointed out, you know, the fans chanting, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. Bringing him to tears and you know, it was a sold out crowd. And the Garden faithful was 100% behind Eddie, 100% rooting against the Rangers that night. No matter how passionate Ranger fans are, they were all about Eddie that night. And to me, that speaks volumes. And I got to know Eddie a little bit during my time with the Rangers. He was not as involved as many of the other alumni were because there was always a lingering bitterness with how they handled him at the end of his, at the end of his career.
And yeah, they were, you know, Rangers retired. Eddie Jocko's number one today. It hangs at the Garden. And believe it was the second number after Roger. That was Roger Bear's number seven that was ever retired.
So, yeah, he came back, but he, he wasn't a regular at their alumni golf outings or, you know, making appearances at the Garden or, you know, coming back for the Stanley cup playoffs time to time. He did, but there was always a lingering bitterness there and it's a shame. And I talked about this with Mike Richter, actually, you know, another legendary Rangers goalie and, and Mike and Henrik Lindquist as well.
They would always talk about this great history of Rangers goaltending and kind of handing the mantle, you know, going back to the days of Gump Worsley and then guys of that ilk. But it was really Eddie, you know, he, he was a Ranger. He came up as a Ranger and he was a Ranger great.
And yeah, it was several years later, but, you know, then there was John Van Beesbrook and Mike Richter and eventually Henry Lindquist. And now he, gracious Sturgeon. And Richter said that, you know, he's so cognizant of that lineage and kind of handing the torch from one to the next to the next.
But he said the sad part is that yes, he personally had a good relationship with Jockerman, but I want him to be here, you know, I want him to be a part of this and he really doesn't want to be here. Doesn't really feel super comfortable here.
And that that bothered Richter as another Ranger great goalie.
And you know, that kind of in a way sums up the unfortunate situation with Eddie. But certainly there the, the love affair between Eddie and the fans and the fans and Eddie went on. I mean, it was handed down through the generations, which is what Ranger fans do.
And when he was there, you know, those, any chance rang out, you know, those times he was back at the Garden, you know, people that even never saw him play. The respect was there.
And the same would be hold true for Ken Dryden or Bernie Courant as well in their respective cities. The respect was there because it's handed down from family member to family member, generation to generation.
[01:13:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I had a chance to talk to Bernie Perant for an article when I was working at the York Daily Record. And then when I was covering the 2014 Frozen Four in Philadelphia, Bernie was there for the first presentation of the Mike Richter Award for a top goaltender in college hockey. And I got my picture taken with him and I'm so glad I did. Just, I just, like I said, Bernie and I talked about this earlier early in the podcast. It's just, I'm just so heartbroken. Bernie was full of life.
[01:14:20] Speaker A: He's.
[01:14:21] Speaker B: He's.
[01:14:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[01:14:22] Speaker B: See him posting on social media and thumbs up, always smiling and then it's. Yeah, it's sad. So it's a, like I said, it's been a tough month for legendary hockey goaltenders. But Jim, I appreciate a few minutes. We'll talk for more Rangers again soon during the season. How do you. How about that?
[01:14:41] Speaker A: I, I would love it. I mean, as you can see, I can talk your ear off, so hopefully you still have an ear left.
But yeah, I mean, it is a lot of fun. You know, we, we had a lot of fun, a lot of laughs in the press boxes back in the, the Northeast League days and hopefully maybe we'll even cross each other's paths that NCAA hockey, you know, up in the capital region. And, but if nothing else, yeah, I, I love this chat and I'd love.
[01:15:07] Speaker B: To double a regional this year. So come on up.
[01:15:12] Speaker A: Oh, very nice.
[01:15:13] Speaker B: Oh yeah, that'd be good of it. And by the way, I have a picture of chemist Parker inside the herd box. His hair had a little frosting in it.
[01:15:25] Speaker A: See that? That's what needs to be posted.
[01:15:29] Speaker B: I have posted a couple times Associated. I've not heard from KB about that.
[01:15:32] Speaker E: Maybe he doesn't want to.
[01:15:35] Speaker A: You may hear from his lawyers.
[01:15:36] Speaker B: True, true. But it's my picture, so I can solid appreciate a few minutes and we'll talk soon.
[01:15:44] Speaker A: Yeah, my pleasure.
[01:15:45] Speaker B: That's Jim cer. We back wrap up the podcast and have the latest winners and the del you pick them and auto racing contest in just a moment.
[01:16:08] Speaker A: Timeout.
All right?
[01:16:10] Speaker C: Remember, we're a team that plays together.
[01:16:13] Speaker B: Listen. The winning will take care of itself.
[01:16:15] Speaker A: We just have to get everyone involved in interscholastic sports.
[01:16:19] Speaker B: We celebrate what makes every one of us unique. And in the pursuit of a common goal, everyone in the hustle, in the bleachers and in the community comes together.
This message presented by NISFA and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association.
Hi, this is Union College men's hockey head coach Josh Hoge.
[01:16:42] Speaker A: You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast with Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Shot.
[01:16:48] Speaker B: Back to wrap up the podcast. The Week three winner in the Daily Gazette, that's U pick a football contest was James Bryce of Waterford with a 151 record. James wins a 100 price chopper gift card. Congratulations, James.
The VIP winner was Jim DeMarco of Morris Ford with a 12. 4 record. He won a tiebreaker. I went 115 to improve the 36 and 12. My Gazette colleague, Associate Sports Editor Will Springstead went 106 for this and he is 34 and 14.
I'll announce the View Pickham football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the U Pick' Em football banner.
The Week 31 winner in the Daily Gazette's auto racing contest was Robert Coleman of Greenfield center with 60 points. Robert wins a $50 gift card. Congratulations, Robert. The VIP winner was Matt Margiotta of SG Roofing with 35 points.
I'll announce the auto racing contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Saturday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the auto racing contest banner.
Just because COVID 19 mandates are easing, that does not mean you should relax. Be vigilant. If you have not gotten vaccinated or received a booster shot, please do so. Do it for yourself, do it for your family and do it for your friends. I just got my booster shot on Monday. I'm ready to go. And November. Just friendly reminders here. Vaccines and acetaminophen do not cause autism, despite what they're saying in the White House.
Don't forget to download the Daily Gazette app and sign up for E Edition so you never miss a headline. Subscribe today at www.dailygazette.com.
we have a lot of great specials going on when credibility matters. Trust the Daily Gazette the Stan and Friends podcast made its debut last week with his wife Rita as the first ever guest. This week it was back to regularly scheduled programming with stops with pint sized writer John Norris, reporter 10 RemsNider, who talked about the NISQ unit supervisor debate hosted by the Daily Gazette, and reporter Chad Arnold. He talked about Batman Day. I missed that one. How did I miss that? I don't know well. Subscribe to the Stan and Friends Podcast on all your podcast listening platforms.
That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots Podcast. I want to thank Tony Macy, Stephanie Bourque, Carrie Ann Engelberg, Will Springstead and Jim Cerny for being a part of the show.
If you have questions, questions or comments about the podcast, email them to me at shot. That's s c h o t
[email protected] follow me on X Threads and bluesky at Slapshots.
The views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Daily Gazette company. I'm Daily Gazette Sports Editor Ken Schott. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Potting Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports and welcome back. Jimmy Kimmel. I wish I could have watched you Tuesday night, but Nexstar, owners of WTN Channel 10 in the capital Region, doesn't believe in free speech.
[01:20:21] Speaker A: Sam.
