ice hockey

Stiga NHL Stanley Cup Hockey Table Game
$129.99
This game is a True Classic!

I bought this game a week ago right here at Amazon. This game is great but I didn't buy it for me, I bought for my nephew (a real hockey fan) for Christmas. This is just like the one I remember playing with when I was his age. Much more fun then mechanical football. We used to get wild with this thing. I recall really abusing it and having a wild time and not breaking it. Face to face faceoff is much more fun than fantasy video games. We used to also do the game play by play as we fought it out on the 'ice.'

Alas this is not the exact same as the one I remember. First off are the players. I could swear that the old game had metal players and probably was less plastic than this one. The fact that you can get any NHL team for this set is a plus (my game came with the Redwings and the Leafs) so I will get the Flyers and the Devils for my nephew.

What's up with the PUCK? It's all plastic! Look, I haven't played with it since I bought the game as a gift but I don't see this little plastic thing can be as much fun as the original style puck. This was one of the best parts of the old game. If you never had this game before or don't recall, the old puck was a ball bearing inside a plastic ring. We used to play with the puck alone on my friend's basement using wood nok hockey sticks and homemade goals. This gave us a huge 'rink' and that little puck really flew! I know it was the piece that I kept well into adulthood. Oh, well, times change.

My one gripe with this purchase has nothing to do with the game itself. Amazon ships the game in the original box itself with no outer box. Unfortunately the condition it arrived in was not pristine, especially with the big UPS label right on it, and the black rubbing off the outside of the box. If you're like me and care about the condition the box is in, important if you're giving a gift, call and ask website how they pack the game. I wish I'd done that. Anyway, it doesn't make the game any less fun.

NHL Greatest Moments
$19.98
This is what my husband watches when he needs a hockey fix and there aren't any games on.

The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told: The Finest Writers on Ice
$14.95
Quibbles first: I don't know if anyone can fairly claim to have collected "The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told." There are far too many to fit in one volume, and no matter how varied your selection, you're going to miss several stories that some diehard hockey fan somewhere will gripe about. (Which is why I'm going to end my complaint there.)

That said, please don't make the mistake I did and assume that this book will fall short of your expectations. Urstadt's collection is worth every penny. From 1980's "Miracle on Ice" to junior hockey in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Urstadt has managed to capture the many sides of the game, offering blow-by-blow accounts of hockey games from around the world--including Romania and Corpus Christi, Texas. (Believe it or not, they're actually quite similar.)

There are highlights, including Red Fisher's memories of Hector "Toe" Blake; "The Style of the Man" by Hugh Hood, which uses near-scientific poetry to describe the graceful ferocity of Jean Beliveau; and Jeff Robinson's painfully accurate take on the hockey fan. Yet, almost every selection will have you flipping to the back of the book, looking with hope to see if it was merely an excerpt. (I myself have added several books to my wish list thanks to this volume.)

The one disappointment, oddly enough, is a short article by William Faulkner ("An Innocent at Rinkside") originally printed in Sports Illustrated. It's clear that Faulkner didn't understand and didn't like hockey, and in the end, he uses his presence at Madison Square Gardens to question the common practice of beginning sports events with the national anthem. Blech.

So, even if I can't help but complain about the title, I have to admit: this book serves up some darn good tales. You'd be sorry not to pick it up.

Hockey's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Wicked Slapshots, Bruising Goons and Ice Oddities
$12.95
67 different Top 10 lists are included ranging from best players (by position); draft bargains and busts; biggest, smallest, oldest, and youngest players; and even the craziest fans. I bought this for my husband, who is a hockey broadcaster and trivia buff. He knew some of the stuff, but still laughs at the stuff he didn't know or forgot he knew. I like the explanations of players nicknames and stories about crazy owners. It's fun to pick up and read a list or two. It is indexed if you are looking for a certain player. Lots of fun for the fan!