If you skated in RI, your blades were likely sharpened on a Roger Guillemette machine

2020-08-21T11:41:58-04:00August 11th, 2020|

From youth leagues through college in the late fifties and sixties, Woonsocket’s Roger G. Guillemette was one of New England’s most highly accomplished hockey talents. A super-quick forward, Guillemette enrolled at nearby Mount St. Charles before transferring to LaSalle Academy for his sophomore year. The All-State forward would go on to lead the Rams in [...]

“Rollie’s Skate Shop” – The story of perhaps Rhode Island’s Most Famous “Grinder”

2020-07-14T14:35:32-04:00July 3rd, 2020|

For the smallest state in the country, Rhode Island has certainly turned out more than its fair share of great hockey figures – on ice and off.  And behind the scenes there have been a number of key figures who ensured our players got the competitive edge they needed. To the Rhode Islanders who chose [...]

Jack Ferreira & The Legend of “Mr. Magoo” – Debunked

2020-06-11T12:23:06-04:00June 11th, 2020|

When visiting the Boston University athletics website, the entry on their Terrier hall-of-fame goalie, long-time NHL executive and Rhode Island native, Jack Ferreira, reads: “Ferreira, who was legally blind and nicknamed ‘Mr. Magoo’ by his teammates, gave up just 2.0 goals a game and recorded eight shutouts.” While his stats are exceptional and indisputable, the [...]

Hank Coupe: the Renaissance Man of RI Hockey did it all from the ice on up

2020-05-13T07:27:26-04:00May 13th, 2020|

Like so many other Rhode Islanders whose hockey careers are highlighted by both on- and of-ice achievement, it is impossible to categorize Henry J. Coupe, Jr. as simply either a “Player” or “Pillar” member of our nation’s hockey community for he excelled at both. Born in 1921 in Cranston, “Hank”, as he was known, was [...]

The Gilbane’s – RI’s Contribution to the 1980 Winter Olympics and the “Miracle on Ice”

2020-04-27T12:59:21-04:00April 27th, 2020|

The 40th anniversary of what might be the greatest upset in sports history – the United States’ victory over the Soviet Union’s thought-to-be-invincible hockey team in the 1980 Winter Olympics – just passed, and the memories came flowing back as one news outlet after another reached into its vaults and resurrected moments of what has [...]

Art Lesieur – Rhode Island’s very first hockey Legend & Hero was born under the Stars & Stripes

2020-03-17T10:54:42-04:00March 17th, 2020|

Art Lesieur is a Providence Reds and Rhode Island hockey legend. With his skillful, imposing blueline play and his rights owned by the Montreal Canadiens, local fans and opposing players, alike, assumed he was Canadian. To the contrary, he was born and raised just 20 miles away in nearby Fall River, MA on September 13, [...]

A History of #EBUG (Emergency Back Up Goalie) in Providence

2020-03-04T16:14:23-05:00February 28th, 2020|

If you're a hockey fan, odds are overwhelming that you’ve heard the story about David Ayres and #EBUG: https://www.nhl.com/news/hurricanes-emergency-backup-goalie-against-maple-leafs/c-315410618 And a great story it is. However, it's one we've heard in these parts before. You'd have to have seen a few faceoffs to remember this one. 20-year-old George Dermksian, who played goal for Central High School -- which hasn't [...]

The Bennetts in Japan: A tale of two very different hockey cultures

2020-02-17T10:09:12-05:00February 17th, 2020|

If you're a fan of hockey in Rhode Island, you no doubt know a lot about the Bennetts. Here's something you probably don't know: In 1980, two of them -- Curt and Harvey Jr., their NHL careers completed -- went to the Far East and played two seasons of professional hockey in Japan. See? Told you. [...]

The Hockey Game That Changed Aviation History!

2020-01-30T15:05:55-05:00January 30th, 2020|

It isn't often that a stick to the face alters the course of history. The course of a game, maybe. The course of someone's dental profile, possibly. But history? Well, according to Sean Braswell of the website ozy.com, there's a good chance the story of modern aviation began "with an unfortunate incident during a game [...]

Johnny Pesky & Milt Schmidt Both Laced Them Up in Providence

2020-01-13T16:12:46-05:00January 13th, 2020|

No, that's not a Photoshopped image. That really is Johnny Pesky in a Bruins uniform next to Milt Schmidt. We all associate Pesky, of course, with baseball in general and the Red Sox in particular: Player in the '40s and '50s, manager in the '60s, TV/radio announcer in the early '70s, coach from the mid [...]