New England Hockey: Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup and Other Stories of 2010-11

The Hub of the Universe, along with its entire sphere of influence, is barely finished rejoicing over the Hub of Hockey’s championship feat. And outspoken constituents from all levels of New England hockey are eager to see, feel and benefit from the potential impact of the Boston Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup title.

That will have to wait until at least the other side of this summer. For the time being, here is a brief backcheck at this past season’s top 10 hockey stories from Boston and the rest of New England.

October 8-9

While the Bruins were still gearing up for the NHL Premiere in Prague, professional hockey returned to New England ice as part of the AHL’s 75th anniversary celebration.

On opening weekend, the tenants of two of the league’s most time-honored cities, the Providence Bruins and the Springfield Falcons, engaged in a home-and-home series that saw both teams honoring their predecessors. The P-Bruins donned Rhode Island Reds sweaters while the Falcons countered with Springfield Indians attire for two nights.

Participants in that series include the Bruins' Steven Kampfer and Springfield's Matt Calvert (both pictured), who went on to split the season between the minors and their respective NHL clubs in Boston and Providence.

October 21

In their regular-season home opener, the Bruins set the tone for a season sprinkled with too good to believe moments.

After winning their previous three games by a combined score of 10-2, the Bruins came back to the Garden trying to sweep a home-and-home pair with the Washington Capitals. And in defiance of the Caps' hunger for retribution and the logic that the teams in question were relatively even on the NHL’s board of contenders, Boston wrestled away a 4-1 decision.

Among other things, that game also arguably cemented Tim Thomas’ return to the clear-cut starter’s role in the cage. He had just backstopped the entire four-game winning streak with only three goals against on his tab and would not lose a decision until Nov. 13, at which point he was 8-0-0 with three shutouts.

October 27

TD Garden hosted what was easily the most New Englandized presentation of the Lester Patrick Award in the trophy’s 44-year history, as all four recipients had dense ties to the region.

Cam Neely was on the heels of being named the new president of the Boston Bruins the preceding summer after three years as the club’s vice president, a decade as a fan favorite on the ice and bottomless philanthropy in the community.

Jack Parker had recently commenced his 38th season as the men’s hockey coach at his alma mater, Boston University, where he has won three national titles. Likewise, Jerry York had just begun to defend his third NCAA championship as the foreman of his old team at Boston College.

And as president of the AHL, a position he has held since 1994, Dave Andrews has made his home near the league’s headquarters in western Massachusetts. On his watch, Triple-A hockey in New England has expanded from three to seven (temporarily eight) teams, variously embracing new fan bases in Worcester, Hartford, New Haven, Lowell, Manchester and Bridgeport.

November 8

Although native to Illinois and currently residing in Vancouver, women’s hockey legend Cammi Granato rose to prominence as a player at Providence College in the early 1990s.

Accordingly, when Granato became one of the first two female players inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, such PC personnel as current women’s head coach Bob Deraney and assistant Bob Bellemore―the program’s lone holdover from Granato’s playing days―traveled to Toronto for her acceptance speech.

February 10-22

Just for a moment, never mind the fact that Hartford is unlikely to ever regain an NHL team.

Regardless of long-term repercussions or lack thereof, Howard Baldwin and Co. put together two memorable weeks when East Hartford’s Rentschler Field hosted the Whaler Hockey Fest.

In at least one sense, this event actually one-upped the previous year’s Frozen Fenway in that not a single party was left out. The Fest featured games at the squirt, peewee, high school, Division III, Division I and professional levels, peaking on Feb. 19 with the Whalers-Bruins alumni game, immediately followed by an AHL bout between Connecticut and Providence.

March 18-19

The pleasant surprise that was the 2010-11 Merrimack College Warriors percolated their first winning record since joining Hockey East in 1989-90.

To be more precise, they practically romped to a .692 winning percentage with a final transcript of 25-10-4, including a 14-2-1 run at a reinvigorated Lawler Arena that featured one of the region’s most intense student sections during the homestretch.

Earning home ice for the conference quarterfinals, the Warriors and their loyal rooters swept Maine to stamp their passport to TD Garden (pictured). Once there, they upset New Hampshire, 4-1 before falling short of a Cinderella crown against the incumbent champions from Boston College.

But by then, they had already done more than enough to earn the school’s first at-large bid to the Division I hockey bracket.

March 18-20

Not much changed in terms of the NCAA trophy’s residence when Wisconsin nipped Boston University, 2-1, to carry on the WCHA’s 11-year hegemony at the zenith of women’s college hockey.

But just by being there, BU garnered a vital milestone for the Women’s Hockey East Association, which had never been represented in the national title game in its first eight years of existence.

The Terriers, who enrolled Canadian Olympic hero Marie-Philip Poulin the preceding summer, will return the better part of their star-studded roster next season. If anyone is going to take the crown somewhere other than Wisconsin or Minnesota, they are the front-running candidate.

May 6

Party like it’s 1992.

For the second time in three years, the Bruins swept the same franchise that had eliminated them from the previous playoff tournament, assertively claiming Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals from Philadelphia.

The win rinsed out the last of any residual vinegar from an unmentionable Game 7 loss exactly 51 weeks prior on the same TD Garden ice and put Boston in the conference finals for the first time in 19 years.

May 27

Party like it’s 1990.

Nathan Horton, an offseason acquisition who had inserted two game-winning goals in the opening round versus Montreal, reran his heroics by burying a late icebreaker with 7:33 left in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference championship round.

From there, aside from the scoreboard and maybe the self-assurance of the TD Garden masses, nothing noteworthy changed for the remainder of the game. Both teams continued to bear down in a fairly disciplined fashion as the Bruins safeguarded their 1-0 lead until the siren pronounced them Stanley Cup finalists for the first time in 21 years.

And for the third time in as many tries in one spring, the Spoked-Bs summoned a rendition of “Dirty Water” to flow over the series-ending handshakes.

June 15

Party like it’s 1972.

Two homegrown linemates in Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, both of whom once fostered their skills in Providence, bagged a pair of goals each, ultimately accounting for all of the night’s offense.

Another former P-Bruin and proud University of Vermont alum, Tim Thomas, concocted his fourth shutout of the postseason and claimed the Conn Smythe Award at night’s end.

But Thomas’ body language upon clutching his individual loot translated to interest in another trophy. And naturally, within seconds, towering captain Zdeno Chara gave visual confirmation on Boston’s first Stanley Cup in 39 years.