Hi everyone! I hope you have all enjoyed a fantastic week, and that you have been able to take advantage of the last few days of summer. To me, this week really felt like a return to normalcy. I’m back at work after a two-week holiday, and most importantly, the kids are back at school! I now understand why my mother used to say that she did a little jig in the driveway once the school bus pulled away that day like it was an annual tradition. The house smelled so much sweeter, and the silence was almost deafening. Since I work online (thanks, Covid!) I was able to come upstairs during my lunch break, take in a few episodes of Hot Ones, and just enjoy the time alone. I really could have just watched paint dry; I would have been just as happy. Let’s hope the young ones’ school year goes as well as my wonderful week of solitude.

Of course, all this has a tie-in to our favourite defunct franchise. This week, we’re going back to the NHL Seals’ early days. Some traditions had already taken root, even by the season’s half-way point, notably the team’s penchant for long winless streaks. By the time the new year rolled around, the Seals were already knee deep in their second ten-plus game skein, which is when the focus of this week’s article, the infamous Christmas 1967 game versus Boston, occurred. Another unfortunate tradition that would begin that season was what I like to call the Kris Kringle Classic in which the Seals would gather around the face-off circle rather than around a Christmas tree. Seriously, the Seals played four of these things in their first five years before the NHL finally realized this was a stupid idea and an absolute morale killer. December 1967 wasn’t exactly a happy time in Oakland. Bert Olmstead was running the troops ragged. Home crowds were sparse. Rumours were swirling that the team was moving to Vancouver. The team wasn’t winning much. It seemed as though no one could find the back of the net except for Bill Hicke, who would score his 13th (in just 27 games) on this night, and George Swarbrick, who had ten. Now, the surging Bruins (and their fans!) were ready to administer a physical test to the weary Seals. You can read this week’s article from the Richmond (CA) Independent right here.

Enjoy the Labour Day long weekend! Until next time, stay gold!