Watching hockey, thinking about volleyball

Stanley Cup a reminder of two great things about sports

Not five minutes after the Boston Bruins had all but ensured the NHL championships would be extended to a seventh game, members of the Chicago Blackhawks were hugging … the Boston Bruins.

And therein lies two things we like … about volleyball.

Zdeno Chara and Jonathan Toews embrace after Chicago won the 2013 Stanley Cup

-NHL.com

With less than two minutes remaining on home ice, Boston led Chicago 2-1. In hockey, that’s a nearly insurmountable lead, especially given the talent of the Bruins’ gifted (and wonderfully-named) goalie, Tuukka Rask.

Following standard practice, the Hawks pulled their own goalie and sent 6 attackers into the Boston zone. In the improbable span of just 17 seconds, Chicago scored the tying, and then the winning goal, earning North American sports’ most iconic trophy, the Stanley Cup.

It was so amazing because it was so rare. In so many sports, late leads are all but insurmountable. Mario Rivera rarely blows a World Series save. Ray Lewis rarely misses a Super Bowl tackle. Tuukka Rask doesn’t give up two last-second desperate goals in the NHL Finals.

But in volleyball, late leads are often quite surmountable.

In volleyball, you have to score at least 25 points to earn just one set. And you can be down in the third set trailing 2 sets to none, and still have a reasonable chance to come back. The ever-present threat of late heroics is one of volleyball’s enduring appeals.

The NHL Final was exciting in a way that so many volleyball matches between top teams are exciting. It’s just that in volleyball, we see it more often.

And then there were those post-game hugs.

When our son and daughter were little, the mandatory post-game handshakes after soccer matches or Little League games were cute, even refreshing. But it was something we rarely saw at the major league or even collegiate level.

As those kids grew up, the ritual followed, and shaking hands with opponents is now common in most sports, except baseball. It’s certainly customary before and after every volleyball match at every level.

The Bruins/Blackhawks handshake, however, was special. Boston players had to be shocked, if not crushed. But in that post-game receiving line, the Chicago players were gracious. Few exchanges seemed obligatory; several involved hugs, condolences and congratulations. It was a class act by two classy teams.

We don’t watch much regular-season hockey in our house, but we love the NHL playoffs and the Winter Olympics. After tonight’s final few seconds, our respect for the game has grown.