We’ve fallen into a bit of a routine with those Monday bullet-list posts, and rather than resist it, let’s give it a corny name and embrace it. And so the ‘Monday Morning Puckdrop’ is born. We’ll plan on posting one of these every Monday morning until the season dies down. Have some news you’d like included? Contact us and include the word ‘puckdrop’ in the subject.

• You remember our friend Nick Jenkins, who is trying to win a $25,000 grant to continue his dream of starting a sled hockey league in his hometown? The top ten November vote-getters in the Pepsi Refresh project were awarded grants, but unfortunately Nick’s idea finished 16th. Not all is lost, however – the ideas roll over into the next month, and Nick’s parents have said that they’ll give it one more shot. December is it! It takes less than five seconds to vote, and you can vote for Nick’s idea once per day. Please help keep his dream alive! Go here to vote.
• Restore Hockey kicked off their season of equipment drives with stops in Lowell, MA, and Providence, RI, this past week. Have some old gear you’d like to donate? Check out their schedule or reach out to Restore directly on their Facebook page. Mike and the crew would be happy to set up individual pickups as well.
• Adrian College, a small liberal arts school located in Adrian, MI, was at the forefront of the hockey world today, beating Concordia (WI) University 3-0. Why is this notable? Because it was the first of 26 games that will be played in the next week at the Big House, Michigan University’s mammoth football stadium. The weeklong homage to hockey’s roots will culminate in the game dubbed as ‘The Big Chill at the Big House’, a Michigan – Michigan State tilt slated to take place on December 11th.  The game will be seen in front of over 100,000 fans, and should shatter the current attendance record for hockey set earlier this year at the IIHF World Championships. More on this next week.
• The awesome folks over at the US Pond Hockey Championships published some instructions that’ll help you build your own pond hockey goal. Did you play in a tournament last year and have a tough time burying one in the side pockets? First step is to lay off the between-game keg stands. Second step is to build one of these goals and practice in the backyard before the tourney.
• Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe speaks of backyard rinks, Jack Falla, the Bacon Street Omni, and his lone attempt at backyard glory. That he skated at the Omni with Jack makes me quite jealous, and thinking about what Mr. Falla meant to me and the rest of the backyard community makes me miss him even more. KPD’s store here.
• Finally, congratulations to my cousin Scott, who will be inducted in the Southern New Hampshire University Athletic Hall of Fame next month. I grew up playing with Scott, from the wobbly-ankled house leagues through high school, and then against him in college, where he dominated nearly every game he played. He was always a tremendous hockey player, but being three years younger, I remember his leadership qualities and the way he carried himself off the ice the most. Full story here.

With a cold snap coming, the liner should be down and filled at our home rink by Tuesday afternoon. Stop by later this week for some backyard rink calculators, a new addition to the Coolest Hockey Bedroom EVER, and more!