Was Pete Peeters rather good?

[PrimumHockeyist]

The final game is fine, but the horrible one was the round-robin game between Canada and the U.S.. It feels like there's a whistle every 15 seconds.

But for my money, the semi-final between Canada and the Soviets was more entertaining than the '87 games. Both teams were fighting tooth and nail for any advantage. Tonelli was an absolute force.

Yes. a great game. The Coffey goal if I remember, where he broke up that 2 on 1 ?

 

[VanIslander]

I liked him.

He is not HHOF level.

But i thought him better than that abomination that was inducted recently.

 

[quietbruinfan]

I remember Peeters well; though I did not know about the lamentable light bulb incident.
He was a pure standup goale who was an expert at reading and cutting angles. He was known as "the doctor" in Boston for his clinical, cerebral approach to goaltending.

From 79-83 he did benefit from playing for two of the best defensive teams, but was a fine goaltender, at least top 5 , if not top 3, in the league.

The Islanders figured him out, however,and beat him badly, using a combination of short side shooting and cross-ice passing to test his movement. From 84 on, it was all downhill. The league figured out his weakness and play opened up, spotlighting that weakness all at once.
In Boston there were also some leg problems and rumors that he was not well liked because he did not play through injuries, which jibes somewhat with the rumors of a nasty temperment.

 

[mrhockey193195]

The fact that he overcame a troubled childhood due to the complete lack of creativity by his parents to make the NHL is impressive in it's own right.

The fact that he never played for the Peterborough Petes is one of the great travesties in hockey history.

 

[The Panther]

The fact that he never played for the Peterborough Petes is one of the great travesties in hockey history.

"This season, in Peterborough, Pete Peeters, of the Peterborough Petes, petered out...."

 

[hacksaw7]

His 1989-1990 season with the Flyers was odd. Philly was slipping into their 5 year malaise where they wouldn't be outright bad but never good enough to make the playoffs in the Patrick Division.

Peters gets into 24 games and goes a horrific 1-13-5.

.880 save percentage with a 3.79 gaa. Those are not good numbers but for the era they are not that unusual to see. Guys like Hrudey, Vernon, Wamsley, Barrasso posted worse. Kirk McLean and Sean Burke were right around that save percentage too. Other guys like Hanlon, Chevrier, Bester, Tugnutt, Cheveldae, Millen, Fuhr (as well as Barrasso and Hrudey) had worse or about the same goals against.

To only come up with ONE win in 24 appearances though seems really unlucky. And of course his W was a 27 save shutout in a 3-0 Flyers win over Toronto at the Spectrum

 

[frisco]

Yes. a great game. The Coffey goal if I remember, where he broke up that 2 on 1 ?

I'll take that Canada-Soviet semifinal game as the best I've ever saw.

My Best-Carey

 

[sr edler]

Anders "Masken" Carlsson, who played with the New Jersey Devils in the late 1980s, told a story in some Swedish press some years ago about an incident where some veterans on the club had taped up, painted (with real paint, apparently) and then inserted a hockey stick in the rectum of a "fairly famous" rookie defenseman, whom they had considered too abrasive. So yeah, these type of hazing incidents are known to have been fairly disgusting at times, not only in hockey or sports but in schools or military or in life in general.

 

[waitin425]

Please tell me he played for the Peterborough Petes!

 

[hacksaw7]

I'll take that Canada-Soviet semifinal game as the best I've ever saw.

My Best-Carey

Tonelli was like a rabid animal on the forecheck.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Ha! Funny that I didn't know (or had forgotten?) that.

The 1984 Canada Cup is a weird black hole to me. I should really watch the games someday...

The US Team is a particularly interesting squad. They were an extremely young team.

Goalie - Barrasso (19)

Defense - Oldest D man Langway at 27, with Chelios (22) Hirsch (21) & Housley (20).

Forwards - Olczyk (18), Lawton (19), Jensen (19), Carpenter (21), B. Mullen (22)
Olczyk, Lawton and Carpenter were 3 of the top 5 scorers for the US.

Started out the '84 Canada Cup destroying Sweden, tieing Canada, rallying from a 2 goal deficit, beating Czechoslovakia and being edged by USSR 2-1. The loss to the USSR was the difference between the USA and USSR for 1st in the RR.

In the rematch with Sweden in the SF they got smoked with Barrasso playing poorly.

That US Team had 5 players who could have been on the 1984 US Jr team, 4 of whom played important roles.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Anders "Masken" Carlsson, who played with the New Jersey Devils in the late 1980s, told a story in some Swedish press some years ago about an incident where some veterans on the club had taped up, painted (with real paint, apparently) and then inserted a hockey stick in the rectum of a "fairly famous" rookie defenseman, whom they had considered too abrasive. So yeah, these type of hazing incidents are known to have been fairly disgusting at times, not only in hockey or sports but in schools or military or in life in general.

So glad this sort of garbage isn't tolerated in sports (or other places) any longer.

 

[NyQuil]

Don't read the following as my defending Peeters (which is impossible), but just to put context on it, remember that in early-1980s' hockey culture it was considered totally acceptable for groups of athletic grown men in the locker room to grab a rookie by surprise, hold him down, and shave his pubic hair while he screamed and struggled. Coaches and trainers would join in, watch, or laugh. What Peeters and teammates did is probably an extension of that kind of (rather sick) hockey culture of the time, albeit even worse.

(Incidentally, the journalist Peeters assaulted -- Jay Greenberg -- died two years ago.)

I have a VHS tape called "Hockey: The Lighter Side" where among the various segments, players are asked about various rookie rituals and pranks. The one Muller brought up was "shaving...of the hair...". Clearly not something that was really frowned upon at the time.

Some of the others:

1. Langway talked about making the rookie go around the ice by himself (which is pretty much the standard practice now).

2. Anderson brought up the team dinner bill (which is also pretty standard practice now for rookies).

EDIT: Wow, it's on Youtube.



LOL, love how Langway says "Bat out of.....heck....". Oh, what we can say on TV now.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

"This season, in Peterborough, Pete Peeters, of the Peterborough Petes, petered out...."

Outstanding.