Good news everyone! We're selling out!

We've been around for a few years now and it's time for us to upgrade to some spiffy new uniforms.  Mainly because I'm tired of going through the rigmarole of ordering blank baby-blue shirts, then printing, cutting out and ironing on our logos whenever we get a new player.  Yep, jerseys are the way to go.

Don't miss your chance to get your company logo printed on our shoulder patch!  For a mere $300 (to cover the cost of jerseys for the team) your full-colour logo (or personal message!) will be seen by thousands of spectators at Play On street hockey tournaments, and charity events such as Five Hole For Food and Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer.  We've also been known to get the occasional shout out from the Vancouver Sun's resident Super-Geniuses: Pass It To Bulis!  After last year's playoffs, Canucks Fans everywhere know who we are.  And let's not forget the thousands of YouTube views.

Who are we looking for?

• Pubs (our favourites include the Coppertank on Broadway and the Cove at 4th & Alma)
• Breweries (Granville Island, we're looking in your direction.)
• Sandwicheries. Or maybe even specific Sandwiches.  I think "The Vancouver Wellwoods - Brought to you by that awesome pulled pork sandwich from that cart downtown somewhere" has a nice ring to it.
• Pie Shops 
• Assorted Food Emporia (but not Capers.  I'm scared to go in there.)
• Things so Obscure They're Bound to Get Attention - i.e. "The Vancouver Wellwoods - Brought to you by Hal's Printer Cartridge Exchange Service!"

Who are we willing to settle for?

• As I type this, an evil conglomerate of my idiot friends is forming with a single goal - to get "Shut up, Morgan!" printed on our arm patches.  And if there are no other takers I will be forced to accept their offer. 

So there you have it!  This may be your only chance to be immortalized in Women's Street Hockey History.  And deep down, isn't that what we all strive for?

vancouver.wellwoods@gmail.com

Wellwoods Origins: Tales from the Waybackwhen (Volume 1)

 Warning - this story takes place before POGs were a thing.

I was recently asked by the fine folks at HNIC's Play On! to write a blog post about my most memorable street hockey moment for a contest they're running.  I had lots to choose from, but after much deliberation the obvious choice was to go ALL the way back to the fateful day in 1992 when I had my very first encounter of the street hockey kind.  Here's my 500-word entry:

My First Street Hockey Game
by Morgan Tierney

My love-affair with the game began at the tender age of 7.  My family had just moved from a busy street in the city to a house way out in the ‘burbs.  I vividly remember spending my first night in that house, surrounded by scary stacks of cardboard boxes.  In the morning I was awoken by a sound I’d never heard before – the clatter of hockey sticks on pavement.  Being a somewhat “alarmist” child, I automatically assumed that aliens were behind it and that we were all going to die.  I got dressed and crept out onto the front lawn to investigate. 

It probably didn’t take my neighbours’ kids long to notice the tiny girl gawking at them bug-eyed, but they played on as though I was invisible.  I had never seen anything like this before – children playing in the street?  Unsupervised?  Did they even have parents?  Were they feral?  Should I call the police???  The whole thing was too much for my poor little brain to handle, so I just stood there, frozen and mute. 

In the minutes that followed, I became absolutely fascinated by the game.  The dekes, the shots, the flurries of activity in between yelling “Car!” ...I didn’t understand any of it, but it was hypnotic.  Now that I knew these wild Street Children weren’t a threat, I had one goal and one goal only.  I had to get in on this.

“Can I play?”  I squeaked, inaudibly. 

Shockingly, they didn’t hear me.

Gaining a bit of courage, I walked out onto the street, into the middle of the game.  I figured that if my neon-yellow 90’s windbreaker didn’t attract their attention, my purple tie-dye baseball cap definitely would. (did I mention that I was a really, really cool kid?)

Sure enough, someone yelled “Time out!” and the game stopped before I could get trampled.  The boy who I assumed was their leader came over and looked down at the scrawny girl who had wandered into their game.  He was 10 years old, but at the time I guessed he had to be at least 18.  I was terrified.

“Can I play?” I’m actually not sure if the words came out or if I just mouthed them.

And that’s when that 10-year-old boy looked me right into my Extra-Thick Nerd Glasses® and said four words – words that would change my life forever.  Four words that still echo in my brain every time I uncover a mysterious bruise, or twitch myself awake in the middle of the night.  Four words that would kick off thousands of hours spent outside in the dead of winter, playing a game that would only end when the sun went down on or when I got hurt by the ball.

“You can be goalie.”

Why I'm glad Schneider's starting tomorrow (and it's nothing against Luongo!)

Here are some words that rhyme with Cory:
Story, Glory, Allegory, Montessori...  

Okay fine, I'll bite.

For the past few months I've been patiently listening in on the debates about the relative merits of playing Lu or Schneider in various situations. I've heard every argument in the book, from the curiously popular "We need to parade Schneids around the league so we can trade him" to the tinfoil-hat-wearing "Lu will obviously hurt himself if he plays nooners because it happened that one time." I've even had the unfortunate experience of falling asleep in the third period while listening to the game on the TEAM 1040 (damn you, three hour time difference), only to wake up at 3am realizing that my subconscious has been taking in the post-game show for 2+ hours. Nobody wants to wake up to the sound of "Mike from Surrey" providing his thoughtful insight on goaltending. It's truly the stuff of nightmares. And it's even worse when you're a goalie like I am.

I support AV's decision to play Schneider against Boston, but not for the reasons that most people will cite. I don't believe that it's about "protecting Luongo" from a hostile environment. Lu is a grown man, not a rescue puppy. I don't think it's because of a lack of trust in Lu, either - the guy's coming off a very solid shutout, and his often-shaky glove hand has been steady of late. And I certainly don't think this should be about "showcasing" Cory for a trade. Those who know me are familiar with my stance on trading goalies, i.e. NEVER EVER TRADE A GOOD GOALIE EVER. Anyone who disagrees never experienced the Snow/Essensa/Weekes/Potvin/Cloutier years *throws salt over shoulder*. No, I support this move simply because I'm not heartless - playing in Boston, in front of friends and family, will mean the freaking world to Cory Schneider.

I think that sometimes as fans we forget that NHLers are real people. They turn into numbers on a page and we forget that they're an awful lot like the rest of us humans. I was a backup goalie for several years at UBC, and let me tell you, no matter how selfless and diplomatic you try to be, there are times when you're absolutely jumping out of your skin on the bench, wanting to be in the game. I think that as a goalie there'd be something seriously wrong with you if you wouldn't trade your figurative left nut for that tap on the shoulder. It would be torturous for Schenider if he had to sit this one out on the bench. The kid's been working like a dog all year, so let's throw him a bone already!

In summary: while playing Luongo could be perceived by some as a risk, going with Schneider is a golden opportunity. I predict a great game from #35 tomorrow.