All Habs Headlines: Monday November 7, 2011

On this day in hockey history…  1959 – Jacques Plante started a game for Montreal wearing a face mask for the first time in his NHL career, and led the Canadiens to a 2-2 tie with the Black Hawks, at the Forum in Montreal.

►Rightful home of Lord Stanley: The Sporting News has chosen Montreal as the best NHL city.  In coming to the conclusion that most of us already knew, the magazine listed three reasons that Montreal is best: number of championships, rabidly passionate fanbase and integration of the Canadiens into the culture of the city.

“It is beyond dispute that Montreal is the birthplace of our league, the home of the team with the most Stanley Cup championships and the domain of what many believe is the most passionate fan base in the sports universe.” — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman

Read more: Sporting New’s Best NHL City: Montreal

► Cherry puts troops first: Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry delivers his strong opinions every Saturday on Coach’s Corner.  There’s no question that Cherry is a polarizing figure, beloved in most of Canada, reviled in Quebec.  But there’s no debate among fair-minded folks that Cherry loves Canada, Kingston, hockey and the military.

For his support of military personnel and their families, his extensive charitable works and his personal connection to Royal Military College, the institution’s senate voted to award Cherry with an honorary doctorate.  Catherine Lord, a FSL Teacher (French as a second language), for the senior officer French course, complained about the honour for the hockey icon writing “what message will RMC send, in celebrating Don Cherry…?”   Lord, a part-time graduate student at Queen’s University, appears to be exploiting Cherry’s celebrity to bring attention to herself and her pet causes.

“For more than two decades Don Cherry has been a stalwart public supporter of the members of the Canadian Forces and their families.  Through his public appearances, he has continually drawn attention to the work and sacrifices of Canadian Forces members, along with the contributions of military families. In Canada and overseas, he has visited Canadian Forces personnel to boost their morale with both his entertaining personality and his heartfelt appreciation for their sacrifice. RMC’s honorary degree is also to recognize Mr. Cherry’s charitable causes, including organ donor awareness and Rose Cherry’s Home for Kids, which is a paediatric and hospice care facility for children now called the Darling Home for Kids.” — ” — Capt. Cynthia Kent, RMC public affairs officer

To shield the graduates and two other honorary degree recipients from the “media circus” caused by the controversy, Cherry has decided to forego the doctorate.

Read more: Cherry passes on honorary degree from RMC

► Price remembers heroes: Carey Price continues to impress both on and off the ice.  The Canadiens franchise player will be sporting a new mask for Remembrance Day honoring the Canadian Forces.  Following the game, the mask will be auctioned with proceeds going to WoundedWarriors.ca and the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.

Read more: Carey Price Remembrance Day Mask

► Cole credits team chemistry: Erik Cole is a league veteran, but a newcomer to the Canadiens dressing room — so far, he likes what he sees.  Cole quickly dismisses the notion that the firing of assistant coach Perry Pearn is to be credited for the Habs turnaround.  Cole gives kudos to the mental strength and unity of his teammates not to get drawn into the panic of a slow start to the season.

“When there’s stuff being said in the media it’s important not to let that dictate the feeling in the room. That’s what’s great about the group of guys we have here; they’ve all been here for a couple of years, they’ve been through it and they don’t let things in the room that are going to be a disruption. That’s one of the reasons we could get through a slow start, we knew what our situation was and what we’re capable of when we play the right way.” — Erik Cole

Read more: Habs’ Cole Cool

►From our friends: We’re always happy to highlight articles of interest to our readers which appear elsewhere. See something you like, use the “Contact Us” tab to let us know and we’ll be sure to give you a stick tap.

Habsterix announces to his readers that he is making the jump from his own blog to All Habs Hockey Magazine.  He will continue managing his fine discussion forum (in French) called Les Fantomes du Forum.

Read more: The Instigator on All Habs Hockey Magazine