THE BUILDING WAS ON FIRE

 Now, that’s hockey … USA vs Canada, 4 Nations tournament, Montreal’s Bell Centre: three fights in the first nine seconds … Tkachuks 2-Home Team 0. “I’ve never seen a start like that … in any league, on any platform, at any event,” said ESPN studio’s PK SUBBAN, retired NHL defenseman and tough guy ... “The building was on fire,” said host STEVE LEVY … starting with the sellout crowd booing the Star Spangled Banner (start to finish) after being asked to treat everyone with respect by the public address announcer … So, tell us, BRADEY TKACHUK, what’s the back story? How did this develop? “It just happened pretty organically,” the Ottawa Senators’ forward said between periods when … STOP THE PRESSES! … EMILY KAPLANactually asked good questions. (If she isn’t careful, she’ll be drummed out of the sisterhood.)


One second in, Matthew T, as planned, dropped the 

gloves with BRENDAN HAGEL Then, on the ensuing 

faceoff, Bradey T had a spirited, winning go, with M. 

Tkachuk’s Florida teammate SAM BENNETT, likewise 

planned ahead of time … Not to be outdone, the New 

York Rangers’ J.T. MILLER took (6-1, 218) took on

 COLTON PARAYKO (6-6, 230) during a scrum at the 

Americans’ goal, and took a few more than he gave … 

Final score: 3-1, USA … “We had to send a message,” 

said MATTHEW TKACHUK. Miller: “It was the most 

fun I’ve had playing hockey in a long time.” … 

“Somewhere DON CHERRY is smiling,” Subban said.




------- RENE DROLET is a member of the American 

Hockey League’s Hall of Fame, Class of 2025. Wow! 

What took them so long. The player Richmond Robins 

fans knew as “Chico” was a scoring machine … here 

and, later on, with Rochester. The smallish center retired 

47 years ago, for crying out loud … Drolet played 13 

full seasons as a pro, and except for two NFL games and 

a season with Muskegon of the International Hockey 

League, Drolet spent the rest of it in the AHL (840 

games, 298 goals, 497 assists) … outstanding numbers 

but what is really impressive, it says here, was that, 

despite his size (5-7, 155), he seldom missed a game. In 

11 AHL campaigns, Drolet never played fewer than 70 

games, with a high of 92 (including playoffs) … In three 

seasons with the Robins (1971-73), the Quebec City 

native appeared in 236, scoring 60 goals and a total of 

160 points in all … “I had a good hockey career,” 

Drolet, 80, said at the AHL induction ceremony, “but it 

was even better for my family.”


Until next time ...













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