Sunny Florida?

If you believe that it never rains in Florida, today's weather would prove you wrong. After enjoying three gorgeous days upon my arrival, I get to take my first drive to work (in nearly eight months) in light rain. Oh well, at least it's not snowing.

As for hockey, the Caps will be in town this weekend. Depending upon the work schedule, I could make my first Florida-based hounding and begin loading up on Alex Ovechkin. A trip to the Bolts practice facility is in the works, too, for later this week. All in all, I should make five to eight trips in February.

I'll let you know what happens.

Making a move

After seven-plus months of sitting on the sidelines of journalism, I'm getting back into the game.

Granted, we'll have to head deep below the Mason-Dixon Line, but we won't have to deal with snow, ice and the wind tunnel that's known as Avery Street.

On the bright side (other than hounding in T-shirts and cargo shorts during January and February), I'll be making friends with Brad, Martin and Vinny.

For those who care, my last hounding trip in New England will be this Friday, down to the Bruins practice (I'll catch up with the Rangers once I'm down in Florida). My journey south begins Monday.

The first scheduled Florida-based hounding (journalism permitting, of course), will be Feb. 4, when Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals travel to the lightning capital of the United States.

Missions accomplished

Long Bruins Wives Carnival stories short: It was great getting Cam Neely and Ray Bourque to sign pucks in the same day, as well as Patrice Bergeron recognizing Colin.

Exhibit A:

Early-session keepers (top row, from left), obtained within 20 minutes at the end of event:
Boston Bruins 05-06 official game puck: Cam Neely
Boston Bruins fan puck: Patrice Bergeron (One instance where a black Sharpie works well.)
Boston Bruins 05-06 official game puck (After signing the fan puck, Patrice looked up, grinned at the familiar face and said, much to the surprise of one volunteer, "Hey, Colin. How'ya doing?) : Patrice Bergeron

Exhibit B:

General-session keepers (bottom row, from left), obtained after paying $20, waiting about 45 minutes and giving Ray his family's two-card set (his son Chris shown playing for the Hershey Bears, scored seven goals in Team USA's disappointing WJC in Vancouver, B.C.) in this year's ITG Heroes & Prospects set:
"Welcome Back Ray" puck (Limited edition marking his March 24, 2001, return to Boston following the March 6, 2000, trade to suddenly everyone's favorite Western Conference team, the Colorado Avalanche.): Ray Bourque
Colorado Avalanche 2000-01 Stanley Cup champions puck (Celebrating the team's second Cup win and, more importantly, Ray's first and only of his stellar 22-year career): Ray Bourque.

Carnival: $weet one-timer

The Bruins Wives Carnival, quite simply, is a hoot. Prepare, though, to dig deep.

Donations let Colin play, among other things, bubble hockey with Marco Sturm, score a last-second air-hockey goal on Andrew Alberts (see above, thanks to Jaci) and, in his greatest moment, scatter chairs and volunteers while driving a mini Zamboni.

Colin’s biggest donation earned him a seat on the Bruins bench during warmups at an upcoming home game. How cool is that?

It’s one of the ways I give back to the team. As a hound, I can get these autographs for nothing more than the cost of items and travel. The carnival, thankfully, can be highly entertaining.

Yeah, you spend a lot of money. But you have a great time. The players notice, too.

Is it just me?

My first impression of Planet USA’s jersey (above) for the American Hockey League’s 2006 All-Star Classic: the patch on Converse Chuck Taylors.

See what I mean?

Road trip report

Before I share a milestone in my collection, a posting that will likely appear later today, there's a very good chance that I'll soon be experiencing what it's like to collect autographs far below the Mason-Dixon line.

Though I had plenty of pucks to hound the Lightning, I paid homage to Dave Andreychuk's forced "retirement" by not making the trip over to Brandon. Besides, with a little luck, I'll have plenty of opportunities in the years ahead.

Imagine, too, hounding in January and February wearing T-shirts and cargo shorts? It sure beats sub-zero windchill factors and the need for hand warmers, eh?

Now that I'm back home, it's time to catch the last few West Coast teams, the Dallas Stars and Mighty Duck of Anaheim.

Maineiac for Patrick Roy

Simply put, we all have our heroes. For me, in hockey, it’s Patrick Roy. Sure, he’s a top contender for the greatest goalie ever to strap on the skates. He’s the father of the famed butterfly stance, giving birth to a legion of followers across Canada and the States. What I respect most about him, though, was his last game for the Canadiens.

Though it will never go down as one of his better performances, what he did on Dec. 2, 1995, when finally being pulled after giving up an embarrassing nine goals in a 12-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, is legend. After skating off the ice, he went behind the bench and told the Habs president, Ronald Corey, that this game was, indeed, the last he’d play for le Blue-Blanc-Rouge.

After restoring glory to the famed Original Six franchise, to leave a goalie of his caliber and history in while having such a terrible night was inexcusable. And, sure enough, that was his last game as a Canadien. In the weeks ahead, tending net for the Colorado Avalanche, Roy only cemented his reputation as one of the game’s greatest players ever, bringing his first of two Stanley Cup championships to the Mile High City.

These days, Roy is owner, general manager and coach of the Quebec Remparts, a top team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Earlier this week, the Remparts made the 5 1/2-hour bus trip to Lewiston, Maine, to play the league’s only U.S.-based team, the Maineiacs.

I made the trip as well. Thankfully, mine was from near the New Hampshire-Maine border.

After checking in with a member of team management and catching up on each other’s lives, I waited for the team bus and Roy to arrive at The Colisee. Though I would’ve waited hours, mine lasted minutes. And after the team bus backed up near the visiting team door, my hockey hero stepped off. Even better was that I was the only person waiting for an autograph, the dream of all hockey hounds.

The recognition was mutual. It’s hard to forget a hero and Roy knows the look of a hound. He walked over, we exchanged greetings and he signed a Patrick Roy model (not game-used) goalie stick personalized to Colin (see above) and my Team Canada goalie mask.

If you get the chance, you should check out the Maineiacs. The Colisee, on Birch Street, is pretty close to Interstate 95 and Lewiston is only about 35 minutes north of Portland. Governor's, on Lisbon Street, offers great food at reasonable prices. You’ll also find knowledgeable fans, moreso than any AHL rink I’ve visited in the past few years, and, for the most part, pretty friendly people.

I had the pleasure of sitting near the family of Lewiston Maineiacs' Jonathan Bernier, a top goalie prospect for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. It’s quite a thrill living and dying, so to speak, with every shot and save. It was very easy to get into what proved to be a pretty exciting game.

The only downer, and I mention this only because of the team’s efforts to attract fans, is that all fans should view themselves as ambassadors for Lewiston, the Maineiacs and the Q. It’s my opinion that people should be applauded, and not condemned, for making a 162-mile round trip and spending more than $125 (including one incredibly cool third jersey) in less than five hours.

One gentleman, known locally as the Wrong Jersey Guy, didn’t quite seem to grasp that concept. He’s real easy to recognize – he’s the big guy (like me) who apparently prides himself in wearing a game-used jersey of the visiting team.

After getting autographs from Remparts defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (a San Jose Sharks prospect whose nickname, unfortunately, is "Pickles"), the Wrong Jersey Guy piped in with a "We’ll see that on eBay tonight" comment. I’m sure all of the folks who know me will attest that the Wrong Jersey Guy made more than one mistake that night.

When I tried to convince him that I, too, was a collector and was sincerely interested in learning more about his 135 game-used jersey collection, it was met with more derision, including that I made the trip only to snag Roy’s autograph. I’ll plead guilty to that. Who wouldn’t? Besides, what’s wrong with that?

Granted, I certainly enjoyed our "conversation," giving as well as I got (much to the delight and, probably dismay, of a few Quebec Remparts players), but I can’t help but think how many people, including hounds, had an enjoyable night soiled by a chance encounter with the Wrong Jersey Guy.

It seems, too, that I wasn’t the first person ever to rattle swords with him. More than one person told me later that "he wasn’t worth the time."

All in all, though, dealing with one "misguided" fan was just a mere inconvenience compared with getting not just one, but two autographs from one of my hockey heroes. Trust me, it was well worth the ride.

For me, 2005 was a top-shelf year

Normally, I wouldn't brag about getting two pucks signed during a hounding adventure. But when those pucks represent the 549th and 550th of 2005, I'm going to crow.

Now, I know that there are other collectors and dealers who have posted numbers, but even I'm simply amazed by my productivity. Though there were many cold days and nights, skirmishes with security and some verbal jousting with a handful of less-than-willing players, those efforts were definitely worth all the work.

For the record, Gerald Coleman, a rookie goalie with the Springfield Falcons, signed a London Knights puck (above, left) for the 550th of 2005 and 902nd overall. Coleman played a vital role in the Knights' magical 2004-05 season, including a Memorial Cup championship over the Rimouski Oceanic and Sydney Crosby.

Springfield coach Dirk Graham, who probably enjoyed his long NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota North Stars more than he is his AHL coaching stint in western Massachusetts, signed the North Stars puck.

Both pucks were signed New Year's Eve following the Portland Pirates' 5-4 overtime victory over the Falcons.

In an interesting (at least to me) side note, the trip yielded the most diverse fruits of my labor. Besides the pucks, I also got signatures on:

• a Pirates team program (Portland's Dustin Penner);
• a Team Canada mini stick (Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry), which has plenty of room for Boston's Patrice Bergeron, Philadelphia's Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, and, if I'm really lucky, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby;
• an index card (Springfield assistant coach Phil Russell, who signed that instead of his card);
• four cheap-skate player cards (two each from Gerald Coleman and Ryan Vesce);
• a cheap-skate team sheet (Darren Rumble and Zybnek Hrdel (yeah, I know, who's he?) );
• a bunch of team cards (including Springfield's Mitch Fritz, who got his fanny kicked -- twice -- by Portland's Trevor Gillies despite having a height and weight advantage); and
• a contest-winning ($20 gift certificate to Gritty's in Portland's Old Port) game program (Aaron Rome).

All told, I went home with a milestone and another 26 autographs for my collection.