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Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game
 
 

Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game [Paperback]

Bill Gaston
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 25.00
Price: CDN$ 15.68 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
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Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game + Home Game: Hockey and Life in Canada + When the Lights Went Out: How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War and Changed the Game
Price For All Three: CDN$ 45.27

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  • When the Lights Went Out: How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War and Changed the Game CDN$ 15.16

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Product Description

Review

Midnight Hockey is a lovely book, which is to say bawdy, beautifully written, fresh, coarse, hilarious, smart, vulgar, joyful and as rank with the realities of putrid hockey bags, diminishing motor skills and impending death as . . . well, let’s just say it’s a lot like the hockey most of us play, those of us who are willing and able past the age of 35. Sidney Crosby wouldn’t get most of it, but I think his dad would.” —The Globe and Mail

“A wonderful homage to beer-leaguers and old-timers . . . who keep lacing them up long after youth has faded. Gaston . . . brings his artist’s eye to this tender, ribald and very funny memoir about grown men chasing pucks with beers at midnight. . . . Seasoned with reflections on beer, road trip sex, hockey in France and China, old guys dropping gloves, the sublimes tolerance of his wife and team names, both good . . . and bad. . . . This is a glorious book, a superlative valentine to the game for anyone who ever played, plays or wanted to play–and for those who love them.” —Vancouver Sun


"Bill Gaston's book stinks like hockey, as all great hockey books should." 
—Dave Bidini, author of Best Game You Can Name, and Tropic of Hockey

Midnight Hockey is a portrait of a game, an aromatic reminder of why the sport is an icon in Canadian life.” — The Sun Times (Owen Sound)

“The definitive ode to the ‘beer leagues.’ . . . A hilarious autobiographical romp through sweaty dressing rooms and drunken tournament weekends. . . . It’s page-turning, read-aloud-to-anyone-within-earshot material.” —TheTyee.ca


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

From Giller-nominated author Bill Gaston, proof not only that hockey players can read, but that some of them can even write.

Midnight Hockey tells the story of Gaston’s final season, as he contemplates hanging up his skates, and looks back on the sport that has meant so much to him.

Sometimes lewd and hilarious, sometimes (though not as often) reflective, Midnight Hockey is a portrait of Canada’s fastest-growing athletic phenomenon: beer-league and oldtimers’ hockey. Gaston spills the beans about the rules of the game (written and unwritten), weird beer, team names, and road-trip sex, illustrated with stories of Gaston’s life in the game, from the outdoor rinks of Winnipeg, through junior hockey, varsity, the professional leagues of Europe, to the late-night games and road-trip shenanigans of beer-league.

For all those thousands of guys who drive to the rink late on a snowy night, who know the euphoria of a beer after the game, who think of how good they used to be, who grow nostalgic over a whiff from an unwashed hockey bag – and for anyone who has had to live with such a person – Midnight Hockey is laugh-out-loud funny, true-to-life, and ultimately thoughtful.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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3.0 out of 5 stars Midnight Hockey: All about Beer, the Boys and the Real Canadian Game, Aug 3 2009
By 
R. Fisher (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game (Paperback)
This book reminded me of why I stopped playing and what I now miss. It should be required reading for every Canadian male over the age of 50 who used to play, if for no other reason than to allow them to replay their glory days without boring kids and grandkids for the 100th time. Late nights with work looming the next morning, parking lots in -20C January, 38-year-old, overzealous opponents who think they can still 'make it' if a scout happens by and sees them, these are reasons why most of us don't play anymore. The goofiness of almost any collection of guys, the joy of scoring a goal and the locker room pranks are the reasons why most of us miss it. The latter are the true delights of this book, all presented by Gaston in a self-deprecating and insightful way. He is observant and possesses the ability of knowing a good story when he sees one and passes them on in an entertaining way.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Smells like a dressing room, Jun 30 2007
By 
Chris Stoate (Oakville) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is a fast, fun read for anyone who has played any adult hockey or anyone who is married to someone who has. It's really authentic, one of those books where you keep recognizing people you've met and remembering stupid things you've done. Are you an overly intense cage wearer reliving a youth you didn't really have, or a wily vet just wanting to be allowed the space to make that special move you don't execute so well anymore? Bill Gaston understands your addiction and will help you and those who love you understand it too. Read the book, the beer will taste better after.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, witty, and very relevant., Dec 1 2006
By Ian G. Cunningham - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game (Hardcover)
Bill Gaston hits every milestone that beer leaguers and oldtimers go through on their own personal journey through the game. Bill's unique viewpoint as an insider allows rollicking recollections of road trips, lousy goalies, and the general tribal behavior of middle aged men.

THe only shortcoming is that book is written mostly to, and for Canadians; which sometimes leaves the Rest Of the World out in the cold as to inside humor.

Great book, buy it - and share it with your teammates!

5.0 out of 5 stars so true, Mar 23 2012
By Jdub - Published on Amazon.com
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If you every played oldtimer hockey you will love this book. It's all so true..The injuries, the beers, the weird characters you play with, crazy stuff at tournaments..it's all there.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hockey Hangover, Oct 12 2008
By Jim Dwyer "AMHL.com: Hockey (and Donuts)" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Midnight Hockey: All About Beer, the Boys, and the Real Canadian Game (Paperback)
Beer is what Gaston says is one of the "seductions that make the return to the rink an annual rite." His book, written in a refreshing steady stream of consciousness, is not only a collection of his hockey memories, like playing in France, China, and Japan, but also a venue for venting his thoughts on hockey. Gaston offers colorful takes on everything from nicknames (Gaston answers to "Thrasher" and "Gasser") to teams' names (one of his favorites is Friends of Jesus). Gasser does so in the context of what may be his last season of oldtimers hockey. The defenseman pops in some goals and pops some tops with his pals, and the reader is left with a fantastic hockey hangover.
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