Ice Brawls and Bar Fights

Hockey Night Fever

By: Stephen Cole

When a sports team is struggling, not only should they work on their play, but they should also recruit a new player. The Boston Bruins needed a pickmeup in the early 1970s, due to poor play and lack of dedication by their players. Derek Sanderson brought a new type of mentality to this organization; a winning one. He also brought the spirit of hockey back not only for the players, but for the entire state of Massachusetts. He changed the game for the Bruins and brought the team together like nobody had before. The city of Boston loved him and he even was brought on the radio, “Radio station WBZ 1030… held a ‘Win a Date with Derek’ contest…”(13).

Sanderson was not the only young stud the Bruins brought in; Bobby Orr an 18 year old from Canada also brought a lot of flash to the dull Boston organization. Along with Sanderson, Orr helped bring the Bruins together as a family, a family of winning hockey players. After one of their teammates had ended up in the hospital, they had to have some fun with it, “Acting on Dr. Orr’s orders, teammates wheeled Espo out the door and into the elevator… (They) peeled off exit railings to ram their fallen comrade’s gurney out of the hospital”(44). This shows how far they have come, from fighting each other in the locker room, to risking arrest for a little bit of fun with the boys.

As a hockey entrepreneur and a lover of Boston, I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love to see how the players acted and were as a family, and it reminds me of the great times I have spent causing trouble in hotels with past teams. This book really helps with getting to know the upbringing of the great sport that I have loved, and will always love. It shows how different the National Hockey League used to be and how there is still room for change.

If you love hockey, or even Boston, I feel you would enjoy this book. It has many descriptions about the city of Boston and how it became a sports mecca. Not only does it talk about Boston sports, but also bars that the players could have been seen drinking at after their home games. The author also gives an in depth background about the rise of many hockey greats that some people otherwise would not have known, like Derek Sanderson, and the reasoning behind Gerry Cheevers’ famous scarred mask.