Metro’s Jeff Howe reports that Boston College will be the first college hockey team to participate in the NHL’s Winter Classic, set for Fenway Park on New Year’s Day, when the Bruins will also face either the Flyers (most likely) or the Capitals.

BC’s opponent has not been determined, but Boston University has been mentioned as the most likely candidate.

Other links of note today:

* Celtics shopped Allen and Rondo to the Pistons? (Yahoo!)

 * How the Patriots morphed from a Cape house into an NFL titan (USA Today)

* Bob Ryan jumps on the Dice-K hog pile (Boston Globe)

The Bruins may have to clear out some space at the Garden, for they have a lot of hardware coming back from Sin City following the 2009 NHL Awards.

Tim Thomas was named the Vezina Trophy Winner, recognizing him as the top netminder in the league. He also captured the William Jennings Trophy earlier in the night (along with outgoing back-up Manny Fernandez) as the goaltenders for the club finishing the regular season having surrendered the fewest goals (196).Thomas is just the second Bruins goalie in 50 years to snare the coveted Vezina, which is awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position.”

Also picking up hardware was captain Zdeno Chara, winning his first Norris Trophy, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position” Chara beat out six-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wingd, and Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green. Chara is the third different Bruin to capture the Norris, joining legends Ray Bourque who won the award five times and Bobby Orr, generally considered the greatest hockey player of all time, who won the award eight times.

Rounding out the hat-trick was Bruins coach Claude Julien, who won a well-deserved Jack Adams Award, which is awarded “to the head coach who has contributed the most to his team’s success.” In a nice touch, Julien was presented the award by former Bruins coach Pat Burns, who himself won the award on three different occasions, once with the Bruins, and prior to that with Toronto and Montreal.

This an oldy but a goodie, a retired Cam Neely jokingly bitching about the creation of ESPN News — something he would have loved while he was still playing. (H/T to Stanley Cup of Chowder)

Other links of note today:

 * When should Rondo’s contract be extended? (Celtics Blog)

* Video: Is Buchholz running out of patience at Pawtucket? (Fenway West)

Wisely, Bernie Saulnier and Tommy Perla didn’t adorn their hockey-themed bar in Fitchburg with Bobby Orr photos on every wall. In an effort to appeal to the casual hockey fan (read: doesn’t watch the sport but enjoyed Slapshot), the two friends outfitted the Center Ice Bar & Grill with iconic pictures of actor Paul Newman and other random memorabilia, according to a story in today’s Sentinel & Enterprise.

Some highlights:

 (They) were playing in an adult hockey league tournament in Düsseldorf, Germany two years ago when they shot around the idea of opening a hockey-themed bar.

The bar and restaurant is now anchoring the new Vogue Plaza on Airport Road, which Saulnier, of Lunenburg, developed.

The only thing missing is a Zamboni.

The bar and dining areas are a combined 1,800 square feet of hockey tributes. The motif includes white walls waist high with blue edging to resemble the boards in a hockey rink. 

The stainless steel vent system is exposed to give the feel of an arena.

The color red, including a stained red maple bar, is used liberally to invoke the lines on the ice.

A real hockey bench runs along the boards on one wall for table seating and a red light with a matching horn is high above the bar.

The bar has nine flat-screen televisions.

"On a Sunday the Patriots won’t be the only game on," Perla said. "Nine different games."

 Sounds cool.

 Frantisek Kaberle has not played since the fifth game of the New Jersey Devils series, but he is expected to be paired tonight with Niclas Wallin and replace Anton Babchuk, according to the News-Observer (N.C.).

"I don’t think I’m going to be nervous," Kaberle said. "I don’t play for a while but I played a few games in the New Jersey series.

The Canes have struggled the last two games clearing the puck out of their end and getting into transition. Babchuk has had some puck-handling problems and has not scored a goal in the playoffs, with teams coming out at him more aggressively to take away the shooting lanes for his big slapshot.

"It’s always important to make that good outlet pass and go from there and get the speed going," Kaberle said. "Obviously it will be important tonight."

Kaberle played three games against the Devils and was plus-1. Babchuk was minus-2 in the last two games.

Other links of note today:

* Doc Rivers doesn’t think Howard/Van Gundy feud will affect Game 6 (Orlando Sentinel)

* BoSox summer essay contest (Wicked Local)

* Taylor’s return to Dolphins highlights Pats’ weak linebacking (ProJo)

Bergeron sparks B’s

To another win; which brings

the series back home

Now we’re right back where we left off last year. Storming back from a 3-1 series deficit against a bunch of clowns with red in their jerseys. Let’s look for this year to turn out differently in game 7 as we’re a far superior team to last year and maybe, just maybe, this video will be all too appropriate…

Faced with the prospect of making tee times at the North Shore’s best courses, the Bruins ditched their ‘month of May’ style and went back to their April form with a 4-0 win over the Hurricanes last night. Although the Canes still lead the series, 3-2, they may have made some crucial mistakes last night.

The first mistake came in the final minute of the second period when Carolina forward Jussi Jokinen (which translated into Finnish means ‘visor-wearing puke’) took a two-hander to the back of Zdeno Chara’s left leg. The big captain went down immediately, and was in obvious pain. He made his way into the dressing room, but returned shortly after the start of the third period.

The second mistake came at the 17:13 mark of the third period, with the Bruins comfortably in command with a 4-0 lead. Following a whistle, Carolina forward Scott Walker was near Aaron Ward and decided to sucker punch Ward in the face. Walker’s gloves were off, Ward’s were not. Ward is reported to have a broken orbital bone, and Walker faces a suspension.

These two cowardly plays by Carolina should do nothing but further wake up a Bruins team that has slumbered through games 2-3-4. The early signs that the Bear was awakening came in the first period when fan favorite Milan Lucic absolutely plastered Canes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg into the corner. An angered Seidenberg then took a slashing penalty, which led the Mark Recchi’s power-play goal, which ended up being the game winner.