For anyone familiar with the gut-busting comedic intensity of Shoresy, the modern holy grail for hockey himbos and comedy fans alike, you understand just how much the title character and his team of misfits depend on their ability to “set the fuckin’ tone.” Well, on their return voyage to Boston this past weekend, setting the fuckin’ tone was only the beginning.
Returning to the city for the second time in as many years, the cast of the smash-hit Hulu series brought the blueberry boom with them to TD Garden on Sunday (December 7) as part of the second annual Shoresy Fall Classic tour, along with the most entertaining brand of ‘Whale shit” hockey you could imagine being churned out by a rag tag gang of lovable goons and snipes from the NOSHO. Facing off in front of more than 10,000 fans, their biggest gathering over the course of the now-annual tour as pointed out before the game by show creator and star Jared Keeso, the boys from Ontario’s version of Sudbury dropped the puck (and the occasional mitts) against the Boston Bruins alumni team, in support of the Boston Bruins Foundation.
While an appearance by towering Bruins legend and brand new Hockey Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara certainly attracted fans to the barn, the buzz around “Big Z” was naturally donnybrooked by the bombastic presence of the Blueberry Bulldogs stars in #69, Jonathan-Ismael “Jo Dolo” Diaby, The Jims, and former Montreal Canadiens LW Terry Ryan reprising his role as Ted Hitchcock, who opted to forego a helmet which, in some way, made the day feel even lighter and more fun than it was already shaping up to be by the time the teams lined up at center ice.
With a rolling cavalcade of in-game antics, from crashing the boards to the point of bending the glass and a mid-game shootout, to going “tarps off” for a spell as the Bulldogs ran line drills to Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” the good times flowed as freely and refreshingly as Puppers Golden Lager, the show’s fictional beer brand that was brought to life once more by Lynn-based Bentwater Brewing. All showmanship aside, though, both teams battled it out on the scoreboard as the game ended in a 14-14 tie, with many a goal supplied by The Jims, Hitchcock, Mark Michaels, and Shoresy himself (a highly anticipated tally that tied the game in the closing minutes) opposite Bruins greats like Andrew Raycroft, Bob Sweeney, and 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Andrew Ference.
As always, the game ended almost too quickly, as fans got into every moment of the game with raucous applause and enthusiasm, marking the second (and based on Ryan’s postgame promise to return next year, most likely not the last) go-around on a Boston rink as a rousing success for everyone involved — especially Ryan, who recounted a tale of Andrew Ference beating the brakes off of him during their days in the Western Hockey League before bestowing the “game stick” (A drumstick ice cream cone, for anyone unfamiliar with the show) upon Ference to close out the day’s festivities.
It almost brings a tear to our eye thinking about just how light and fun the game was, with everyone there to just enjoy laughs, pints of Puppers, and the simple joys of a great game of Sunday afternoon hockey. Not to mention, whoever decided the game was going to start at 3 p.m. and be over and done by 5:30 is a goddamn genius, and they deserve a fat raise.
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