Today, we're looking at Hockey in Charlotte, by Jim Mancuso with Pat Kelly.

On January 23, 1956, the home arena of the Baltimore Clippers burned down, and the team was forced to play remainder of the Eastern Hockey League season on the road. Four of those games were played in Charlotte. One of those games was played in front of over ten thousand people, with another three thousand turned away at the gates.

Such was the beginning of professional hockey in Charlotte.

Considered the birthplace of pro hockey in the South, Charlotte has won the most playoff titles in pro hockey: 3 Eastern Hockey League titles, 2 Southern League titles, and one East Coast Hockey League title as the Checkers.

A number of players passed through Charlotte on the way to the NHL, among them Walter “Turk” Broda, John Brophy, Bill “Cowboy” Flett, Pat Kelly and John Muckler.

The Charlotte Checkers (ECHL) won the 1995-96 ECHL championship title, the Riley Cup.

Former Charlotte hockey player Pat Kelly is commissioner emeritus of the East Coast Hockey League, and has been involved with pro hockey for an astonishing 50 years.

When you sit down to go through this book, keep in mind that it does NOT cover the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL. Their own winning tradition, including a Stanley Cup in 2006, takes place in Raleigh, North Carolina.

This was a real eye opener, since I tend to forget sometimes that hockey in the South has thrived for a long time. This book will help remind the reader that hockey in Charlotte is alive and well.

Special thanks to Arcadia Publishing for making this book available for reviewing purposes.

Link to Arcadia Publishing: http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9780738542300/Hockey-in-Charlotte

Link to Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780738542300-0

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hockey-in-Charlotte-ebook/dp/B009A4XIPG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369968812&sr=8-1&keywords=hockey+in+charlotte

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hockey-in-charlotte-jim-mancuso/1100571608?ean=9780738542300

After a much-too-long delay involving some family issues, I am back to reviewing!

Today, we're looking at Champions: The making of the Edmonton Oilers, by Kevin Lowe and Stan and Shirley Fischler.

The book is divided more or less into two sections. The first is a history of hockey in Edmonton over the years. Between the Oil Kings and the World Hockey Association's Oilers, there is a rich tradition of hockey in Alberta. When the Oilers were allowed to join the NHL in 1979, Kevin Lowe was a first round selection, and joined the team right away.

Kevin Lowe would go on to play defense for the Oilers in the 1980s, winning 4 Stanley Cups between 1984 and 1988. His insiders take on the inner workings of the team as it was built and molded into champions is quite a tale. He speaks candidly about his teammates as they come and go. The discovery of talent in Finland, bringing in players that, in some cases, were almost cast-offs from other clubs who would blossom under the Oilers new playing scheme.

He talks about the heartbreaking losses to the Islanders in the Stanley Cup finals, and how the Oilers learned from their mistakes as they would slowly make their way along the path to winning the Stanley Cup for the first time.

Mention is made of the Gretzky trade in August of 1988, but mostly in passing, and almost exclusively in a manner that is non-confrontational and essentially neutral. At the back of the book there are some Oilers records listed as well as some other statistics.

All in all, I’d recommend this book for the inside, easy to follow manner in which Kevin Lowe lays everything out. You don't have to understand hockey to keep up with what he's talking about.

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Champions-The-making-Edmonton-Oilers/dp/0132356236/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369368720&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=champions%21+the+making+of+the+edmontion+oilers

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/champions-kevin-b-lowe/1006142273?ean=9780449217665

Today, I'm looking at Hockey in the Capital District, by Jim Mancuso.

First, a geography note. The Capital District encompasses the Capital area of New York State: Albany, Troy and Schenectady.

The Troy Uncle Sam's Trojans played in the 1952-53 season. Their logo was similar to the “legendary” Uncle Sam picture that was used in World War 2. You remember the old “Uncle Sam wants YOU” with the finger pointing towards the viewer? Similar picture for the hockey team that year.

The Schenectady Chiefs came into the Atlantic Coast Hockey League in 1981, but were terminated on November 15, 1981 with a 4 win, 5 loss record because of financial troubles and a lack of attendance. The Troy Slapshots didn't fare much better when they joined the ACHL for the 1986-87 season, and lasted 6 games before they were forced to merge with another club in the league.

When the AHL's Capital District Islanders came along to Troy in 1990, there was finally some success. The NHL's New York Islanders placed their top farm team in Troy, and from 1990-1993, Troy was the home of many players on their way up to or down from the professional ranks.

Jamie McLennan would become the team's top goalie, and also have a long NHL career with several teams. He can now be seen on the NHL Network. Brad Dalgarno and Tom Kurvers are two examples of players that started in Troy, and would eventually move to the NHL. Many of the players pictured had very short stints with Capital District, possibly for injury rehab or similar circumstances; it does not say. Greg Parks was the Capital District all-time leader in points, Brent Grieve the all-time leader in goals, and Richard Kromm the leader in assists.

On a personal note, I found several players that I remembered watching play for or against my home town Portland Winterhawks. It is a lot of fun seeing these players in professional uniforms after I've seen them as teenagers with my home town team.

After the Islanders withdrew their affiliation from Troy in 1993, the team's owner established a relationship with the New Jersey Devils and moved to Albany, New York. Thus, the River Rats were born. In their second season in the AHL, the River Rats won the 1994-95 Calder Cup, the championship trophy of the AHL. There are many names that would eventually move on to the NHL.

Well-laid out, with loads of wonderful pictures, this is a well-created history of a hockey-rich region that I knew very little about before this book.

Special thanks to Arcadia Publishing for making this book available for reviewing purposes.

Link to Arcadia Publishing: http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9780738544670/Hockey-in-the-Capital-District

Link to Powells City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780738544670-0

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hockey-Capital-District-ebook/dp/B009A4YDRS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368390891&sr=8-1&keywords=hockey+in+the+capital+district

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hockey-in-the-capital-district-new-york-jim-mancuso/1100095098?ean=9780738544670

On April 27th, I received a copy of Brent Peterson's book... My Toughest Faceoff. It's a tale of his playing and coaching career, and focusing in particular on his battle with Parkinson's. Mr. Peterson was kind enough to personally respond to my request, and even signed the book for me.

On April 30th, I posted my review of his book. He has since personally responded with the following...

"Thank you Mark for the fantastic review of the book."

Thanks again to you, Mr Peterson for making the book available to me for reviewing purposes.

Today, after a delay that was much too long, we're looking at Indianapolis Hockey, by Andrew Smith.

Indianapolis, since 1939, has been home to eight professional hockey teams, and seven championship cups, as well as sending dozens of players to the NHL, including Hall of Fame goalies Harry Lumley, Terry Sawchuk and Glenn Hall, all of whom began their careers in Indy.

Indianapolis was also the answer to a trivia question: What was the first professional team that Wayne Gretzky played for? No, it wasn't the Edmonton Oilers, although he was traded to that club in 1978. No, Wayne played initially for the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA in 1978.

The Checkers from 1979 to 1987 in the Central Hockey League, and the Ice from 1988-99 in the IHL, as well as the Ice moving to the CHL between 1999 and 2004 sums up the professional experience in Indianapolis.

Along the way through the book, there are team pictures for all the championship teams, WHA photos, and a couple of pictures featuring a very young Wayne Gretzky.

Near the end of the book, there are arena photos dating back to the 1930s, as the original Coliseum was built, not to mention Market Square Arena, home to ice hockey as well as the NBA's Pacers.

From someone who didn't know much about hockey in Indianapolis, or even that Indy has had a long history, I found this a very eye-opening experience through decades of history. As always, the photos are top-notch, the information clearly and easily followed.

Again, special thanks to Arcadia Publishing for making this book available for reviewing purposes.

Link to Arcadia Publishing: http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/9780738533360/Indianapolis-Hockey

Link to Powell's City of Books: http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780738533360-0

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Indianapolis-Hockey-Images-Sports-Andrew/dp/073853336X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367977036&sr=1-1&keywords=indianapolis+hockey

Link to Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/indianapolis-hockey-indiana-andrew-smith/1100569946?ean=9780738533360