Second: Delissio is holding another contest in which you can win a train trip from Montreal with the Canadiens legends (including Guy) to see the Habs take on the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place. The contest is open only to residents of Quebec, but if you happen to be eligible, have at it here.
Finally, Habs Eyes on the Prize has a piece on the Vendredi Saint brawl (which passed its 29th anniversary on April 20th) here.
First of all, I found a fascinating read on the Vendredi Saint brawl of 28 years ago, which I previously blogged about here. If you're interested at all in the Canadiens-Nordiques rivalry, you will find this an engaging read. The article also links to news coverage from when the brawl happened, courtesy of the Google News Archive. The brawl, of course, is notable in Carbo lore because it began when Guy was shoved down to the ice by Dale Hunter as the second period of the game was ending. The Habs went on to win the game, and the series.
In Selke Trophy news, Pavel Datsyuk is nominated for the fifth consecutive year, matching Guy's record (Guy was nominated every year from 1986 through 1990). Patrice Bergeron is also nominated, and if he were to win, he would be the first Quebecois Selke winner since Guy won it in 1991-92.
I'm also going to use this post to show off a piece of Carbo-related jewelry:
This is my Carbonneau talisman, if you will. The 21 pendant was a gift from my friend Kristin, years ago -- it is custom made. It is paired with a heart locket, inside of which is a tiny piece of white thread. The thread is from Guy's stick tape; in the early days at least, Carbo had a superstitious aversion to anything in the color black when playing. He even used white tape on his sticks. I'm rather shy about sharing anything that I deem to be silly or "fangirlish" on this blog -- but to me, the necklace makes sense, because it is a reminder to me to give 100 percent to anything I do in my daily life, as Guy did.
In the next post: a jersey photomatch! Yes, I matched my jersey to a photo of Guy wearing it. Details to come.
Between 1982 and 1993, the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens clashed in the playoffs five times. No rivalry between two teams was fiercer during that time period. The most memorable game between the two teams happened on April 20, 1984, on Good Friday. The Canadiens were down 2-0 going into the third period when a brawl broke out. At that time, Guy Carbonneau was 24 years old and only in his second full season with the Canadiens.
Said Carbo in 2008:
"I was going to the net, and the puck -- I remember the puck was under Daniel Bouchard's glove, and I was trying to poke at him, and I fell down in front of him. Dale Hunter came from behind, cross-checked me, and then Chris Nilan who wasn't really too far away from me during the game, jumped on Dale Hunter, and then one fight started, and everything else just kept going." (interview by Dick Irvin Jr., Memorable Games in Canadiens History DVD set)
Yes, Guy started the infamous brawl when he was cross-checked in front of the net by Dale Hunter.
Carbo being pushed to the ice by the Nordiques' Dale Hunter. (photo by Paul Bereswill)
One of the enduring images from the fight is of Carbo helping injured teammate Jean Hamel, who had been knocked unconscious after a punch in the face by Louis Sleigher, off the ice.
One of the penalties issued after the brawl was to Carbo -- two minutes for roughing. The brawl started up again -- Carbo was grabbed by the sweater and pulled towards the bench by coach Jacques Lemaire.
A total of 252 penalty minutes were issued and 10 players were ejected from the game. Eventually, the brawl settled down and the Canadiens came back in the third period and won the game 5-3, winning the series 4 games to 2 -- with help from a late goal from Guy.
All in all, a memorable night at the Montreal Forum to say the least.
