Catching up on some hockey news over the past several days, but the 2016 World Cup of Hockey is officially in the books with a win by Canada. Sidney Crosby took MVP honors after Canada posted two victories over Team Europe coming from behind in the second game to get a late winner from none other than Brad Marchand.  Patrice Bergeron also scored in the decisive contest, as he has done throughout the tournament.

Bergeron and Marchand were dynamic throughout the tourney, and what is nice about their performance is that it opened up the eyes of other fans around the league to what the duo means to the Boston Bruins. The B’s just showed Marchand the love on his new eight-year extension announced this week, and he took a discount to stay in Boston. I’ve been told by several sources who know him that remaining with the team was not really in doubt, as being close to his family in Nova Scotia was important to him, not to mention the fact that he had grown up a Bruin ever since the team moved up in the third round to take him in 2006.

That was an important draft year for the Bruins, as the team ended up with Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Marchand (not to mention Tuukka Rask, who was acquired via trade during the proceedings). Only Marchand and Rask remain, but 2006 was a critical year for Boston, ultimately leading to the Stanley Cup championship in 2011.

With the WCOH now in the rearview mirror, Bergeron and Marchand can return to the B’s and put their focus on where it belongs: on preparing to play the 2016-17 NHL season. It appears they made it out of the tournament relatively unscathed (knock on wood) and it’s one more championship they can add to their respective trophy cases. For the rest of the NHL, the two served notice that they belong in the conversation with the league’s constellation of stars, but for Bruins fans- it’s time to get down to brass tacks.

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Veteran defenseman Dennis Seidenberg has landed with his old defense partner on Long Island (well, Brooklyn, actually), joining Johnny Boychuk and the New York Islanders on a one-year deal after the B’s bought him out this summer.

He’s a good guy who in the right role can be a serviceable player on the ice, while a solid teammate and addition in the room. After being acquired from the Florida Panthers in 2010, Seidenberg was one of Boston’s most trusted and reliable defenders, but after signing a four-year extension in late 2013, suffered a catastrophic knee injury and was never the same afterwards.

Some have argued over the wisdom of buying him out, but as long as he was here with two more years remaining on that deal, he would have gotten playing time and likely prevented other younger defenders from working their way into the rotation. While he was game and willing to do whatever it takes, his body limited him, and the B’s made the tough decision to move on.

He’s someone who can help the right team as long as he isn’t being asked to do too much, which was the case in Boston last year and in 2014-15. The Stanley Cup-era Seidenberg is long gone, but the 2016 version will likely be a solid if lower-end contributor to the Isles’ fortunes this season.

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Los Angeles Kings goaltender and pride of Hamden, Connecticut- Jonathan Quick- sported a tribute to the U.S. Army Special Forces on his WCOH mask. The Team USA performance was certainly disappointing, but the mask art, painted by Steve Nash of EyeCandy Air, is definitely not.

My dad served in the Special Forces in the 1970’s and 80’s- before it became an official branch of the U.S. Army, so I guess you could say he was an “old school snake-eater”, but since 9/11- the Global War on Terror has taken a toll on the U.S. military’s special operations forces in particular- they’re still very much in the fight all over the world, but we very rarely hear about the dangerous missions and arduous work they do because of the secret nature of said efforts.

Quick’s mask takes a “less is more” approach, with the crossed arrow branch insignia and “De Oppresso Liber” motto, along with the dagger-through-skull that is a popular tattoo among many in the detachments.

The mask is being auctioned over at the NHL auction site to benefit the Special Forces Charitable Trust, and the current bid is over $10k…well done, Mr. Quick!

This is a pretty informative little blog post about SF for those interested…

And speaking of the U.S. Army, I picked up Amber Smith’s book “Danger Close- My Epic Journey As A Combat Helicopter Pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan”, and it’s a good read. What struck me about it is what a small world we live in, though.

Back in 2005, I was serving in Iraq with the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Diyala Province and late in the year, the air cavalry squadron of OH-58D Kiowa Warriors that provided our troops with close air support swapped out with a similar unit from Fort Campbell, Kentucky and the storied 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles.”

As the brigade battle captain, I recall the new unit coming into our airspace on missions and on occasion, hearing the female voice of one of the pilots, whose call sign was ‘Annihilator 24’- she was always all business and that unit- the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, was always there to support our guys on the ground. But those of us in the brigade’s tactical operations center always wondered who Annihilator 24 was. Well, after picking up the book, I finally have my answer after 11 years- it was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Amber Smith.

She’s written an interesting book about the life of a female combat aviator flying in a fragile, Vietnam-era airframe (the Army retired the OH-58D from active service several years ago), where Kiowa drivers frequently exposed themselves to lethal ground fire in order to deliver .50 caliber and rocket fire to enemy insurgents when our troops were in contact.

I want to thank Ms. Smith (that’s how we address warrant officers in the Army- that and by calling them “Chief”) for her service and support to my unit. She knew me as “Hammer X-Ray” when she would check in and out of our AO- our relationship was purely professional and we wouldn’t know each other if we bumped into each other on the street, but it feels like we’ve been friends for years.

Pick up her book- she’s got quite an interesting story to tell.