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Showing posts from May, 2013

Ice Cold: A Novel by Billy Pepitone

The New York Rangers are just eight wins away from the Stanley Cup, but just how far behind is the Iceman? A security guard has been murdered inside the World’s Most Famous Arena, and the killer has left behind a note threatening more bloodshed should the buildings occupants succeed in their mission to capture hockey’s Holy Grail. In order to apprehend the murderous ‘Iceman’ before he strikes again, the NYPD turns to its most celebrated homicide investigator. Unfortunately, he just retired. Enter Detective Jack Placey, an unorthodox cop who has as many personal issues as he does solved homicide cases. Alternating between bouts of narcolepsy and insomnia, Placey is teamed up with Sergeant Ramona Isis, a sharp tongued hockey fanatic with demons of her own. The two investigators encounter a sideshow of possible suspects across three states in an effort to bring the Iceman to justice before he kills again and derails hockey history. Can Jack Placey stay conscious long enough to

Hockey's First Book: Canada's Royal Winter Game by Arthur Farrell

I get these two questions frequently. What was the very first hockey book. And who wrote it? The answer is believed to a book called "Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game." The book, published in Montreal by C.R. Corneil, was written in 1899 and only four copies are known to still exist. Digitized versions of the book can be  found at Library and Archives Canada  for free. A copy, once owned by Red Fisher and used by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, now resides at Concordia University. The 122 page handbook of hockey looks mostly at strategy and how-to skills advice. Three sets of rules are also provided. Photos and drawings, including one of a female player, are scattered through-out The book was written by a star hockey player of the time around the turn of the 20th century. Arthur Farrell, a Montrealer born on February 8th, 1877, was quite the amateur player with College Sainte-Marie while studying there from 1895 to 1897. Farrell later played for t