History of the Octopus!!! lets throw some!!

There are few traditions in sports that compare to those in the game of hockey. One such tradition is the throwing of octopi onto the ice at Red Wings games. Ever wonder how it started?The octopus first made its appearance on April 15, 1952, during the Red Wings' Stanley Cup playoff run. Two Detroit brothers, Pete and Jerry Cusimano - storeowner's in Detroit's Eastern Market - threw the eight-legged cephalopod on the ice at Olympia Stadium. Each tentacle of the octopus was symbolic of a win in the playoffs. Back then, the NHL boasted only six teams, and eight wins (two best-of-seven series) were needed to win the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings swept the series that year, and the Octopus has come to be the good luck charm ever since. The tradition carried over to Joe Louis Arena on opening night in 1979 when several found their way onto the ice. During the 1995 playoffs, Bob Dubisky and Larry Shotwell, co-workers at a meat and seafood retail company near Detroit, tossed a 38-pound octopus onto the ice during the National Anthem prior to Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. The year after, the duo struck again with a 50-pounder in the Conference Finals. Although the feat received no airtime on the nationally broadcast game, the octopus was proudly displayed on the hood of the Zamboni between periods.

Wings stomp

Wings win this game five three. Im just going to give a quick game recap.

NHL Boxscore - Detroit at Tampa Bay
Score By Periods
Team

1
2
3


SCORE
Detroit

0
2
2


4
Tampa Bay

0
0
1


1
Scoring Summary
1st Period
- No scoring. Penalties - Kopecky, Det (goaltender interference),16:43.
2nd Period
- 1, Detroit, Hudler (Kronvall, Datsyuk), 11:57 (pp). 2, Detroit,Hudler (Datsyuk), 18:05. Penalties - Norton, Det (misconduct) ,2:0; Lecavalier,Tam (cross-checking), 2:09; Hudler, Det (diving), 2:22; Lilja, Det (hooking),4:20; Ericsson, Det (holding), 5:46; Smaby, Tam (holding), 8:35; Kuba, Tam(tripping), 11:35; Kuba, Tam (hooking), 13:20.
3rd Period
- 3, Detroit, Hudler (Datsyuk, Kronvall), 5:23. 4, Tampa Bay,Taylor (Tarnasky, Milley), 6:00. 5, Detroit, Cleary, 19:59 (sh-en) Penalties -Smaby, Tam (hooking), 1:42; Pratt, Tam (high-sticking), 6:49; Draper, Det(hooking), 18:55.Shots on goal - Detroit 9-14-6=29. Tampa Bay 12-10-11=33.Power-Play Conversions: Detroit 1-6. Tampa Bay 0-5.Goaltenders - Detroit, MacDonald (W).Tampa Bay, Denis (L).Attendance - 15,868.Referees - Mike Hasenfratz, Rob Martell.Linesmen - Pat Dupuzzo, Jean Morin.

well, the game was pretty strong. and the players are looking stronger by the day. I donot think it will be easy to narrow down this roster with the missing parts such as Shanahan and Yzerman. Yzerman is looking down upon the wings ice from a front office. shanny is looking at the wings from the opposite end of the ice.

who would have guessed it? Times have changed from thus of the days of the Bruise brothers and big bad Vlad, and of course the russian five. and the production line.. things have changed greatly. time has went by so fast. Memories compile with every end to every season.

Yes, all these people are missed.. but this new blood, is the best blood for this team right now. As a fan, in the city of the Detroit and in the State of Michigan, id have to say i really do bleed red and white. i believe if you were to cut me open right now that you would see red and white blood with a lil winged wheel engraved on my heart.

just want to say heres to the future and buddy is it a bright one! Go Wings!!!!!

The Captain...

who would have thought steve yzerman to get such a big position so fast? dang, its not like he doesnt deserve this, cause he does.

it will be interesting to see what he does at the front office this season. working with kenny holland and others will be a big job.. still, the thing that is of most concern would be..

whos going to fill those big skates the captain left behind. there are candidates, like Henrik Zetterberg and maybe Chris Chelios, or people say it will be Nicklas Lidstrom.

thats neither here nor there. for now we are captainless. which would be better if we did have one. yes, its a good figure head, and i believe it gives the younger ones someone to look up to, and something to be proud of.

that calling is in deed high in HockeyTown, as the pages turn in Hockey Town, so does the history, in its history book! you have to love hockey and all its players.. even down the the most downright low down, goon in the business.

this team will and must excel. hopefully we see good developement. and one more plug.. DOM THANK YOU FOR COMING BACK! I COUDLNT STAND THE SIGHT OF OZZIE IN THERE THIS SEASON. THANKYOU SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

Hockey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ya i watched the wings game.. no i was not amazed with the score.. of course they played colorado.
I still hate that team with all the passion i have in the world for hockey! Its unreal to think in '02 we killed them in a game seven.

Its so weird not seeing the likes of Yzerman and Shanahan around scoring goals and making alot of things happen.

Believe me this is a hard transition for this wings fan! I bleed red and white and always will, no matter where i go, or what i do. I will always love my home town team.. The values in HockeyTown are high.. higher than alot of other fans are.

it seems to me that we are some of the best fan base out there in the NHL. I wish that we would have acquired a big name this summer. Its good to see the Dominator back. ya , everyone gripes about his ailing groin ect.

But he is wayyy better than a fricken Chris Osgood.. that guy is agony on ice..i dont mind him as a back up.. but he is nothing more, nothing less. I have a blatent dislike for this player just because of all the inconsistency he has had.

I know you ozzie fans tell me.. well he won us a cup. Let me tell you from this side of the rink. No goalie can win a stanley cup alone.. he didnt pull the team on his back and pick up all the pieces. neither did hasek.. Hasek was the piece of our missing puzzle.. ozzie is just a past memory.. after his thumb was broken in '99 it ruined his style..

I call him a gun shy pro.. meaning hes afraid of the puck.. he stops the hard shots.. but if you shoot a soft lob at the guy he lets her right in.

ah im not going to bash on him.. just cause he sucks.. im going to say hes a good backup.. the annalysts say he will be nothing more or less but a backup the rest of his career. I dont see him getting the number one spot ever again.

But i do see hasek outshining. if his groin dont get him. I have always loved dom.. growing up id watch him play for buffalo.. vaguely remember some of the other teams.. you gotta love hockey and Dominik Hasek.

I thought we had heard the last after that bad injury.. but now it looks like there is a chance we can salvage some of this season and have a decent one. i wont be used to having us lose. but its all transitional. next summer there should be some great wheeling and dealing i hope.

but for now, thats hockey, and holland messed it up. but thats the end of that story.

well thanks all for viewing.. agree or disagree we can agree on one thing that we love the Detroit Red Wings. GO WINGS!!! have a kick ass season!