Happy Birthday: Lighthouse Hockey turns 2

…but I’d just like to say how welcome you and your fellow volunteer staffers as well as the community you’ve nurtured here have made me feel. I’ve been bumming around the Internet for a long time (even considering my relative youth) and have found sites that get that mix are few and far between.

So, here’s to another two years – now what should be the beer of choice for tonight’s gamethread? grin

And thanks. Not too sure if my employer agrees with that sentiment, but you give me something to look forward to everyday.

What I love about LightHouse Hockey is that we come from all corners of the world for our favorite NHL team and even though we may argue, debate and sometimes insult each other..we still really love the Isles..Sometimes I really miss LI..it has a unique style all it’s own. Growing up I was always a huge Billy Joel fan but not for the whole Piano Man tune but because when he wrote songs it was about our “hometown”. This web board for 10-30 minutes each day gives me the chance to feel like Im back home in Syosset, getting ready for a game with my family in section 210, the stale beer smell, and the bitchiness in the rotunda..
I like that we have a player named Gillies again…maybe it’s sentimental but Nystrom would have been nice too.

I love the stuff you and your staff has put together. Its gotten me back into hockey again.

It still feels like just yesterday that I found this place, although not so much when I watch the NHL level Isles team take the ice.

Haaaaaaaaaaaaappy anniversary!

But seriously, I love this site and the community you foster around here Dom. Too often when you’re talking sports on the internet you get the wackos on HF Boards or the manic depressives that inhabit the Point Blank comments. This thoughtful, relatively even keeled and generally not too schizophrenic discussion is why I started coming here last season and what kept me around.

I feel grateful that I am able to be a member of the writing team at this site with Webbard and mikb and that Dom has given me the chance to write about something other than archaeology or exegeting biblical texts.

It is unbelievable what has happened this year in the comments, especially the game threads. We’re getting upwards of 500 a game!

And of course, for old time’s sake Dom:

I really, really like it here. It’s like a community of sane people being respectful, thoughtful and polite – and yet having fun at the same time. I find it hard to believe the internet could have a place like that.

Thanks for making this a real success, Dom.

You report on elements of the game that the other blogs do not go after. I appreciate the opinions of the others and the fact that we can disagree in a civilized manner. Most sports boards are comprised of trolls and tough guys lacking the vocabulary to express why they think the Maple Leafs, Penguins and Rangers rule (of course that statement is a paradox.) For those reasons alone I would come to this site but room hopping during games is fun too. We should do that more often. :)

If my psychological statistics class could have used some of the Islander stats that this site posts I think I may have received a 4.0 in that class.

Dom, you do a great job and with WebBard, mikb and David Hanssen, you have the right guys helping out. This site has a bit of everything in it but it is all respectful and well crafted. I even enjoy reading BC’s overly optimistic viewpoints of the Isles, TMC’s spats with homers/haters and JP’s crazy (but relevant) posts, just to name a few.

Thanks for the hard work and here’s to many more years. Now “Let’s Go Islanders!”

…and thanks for all of your (and everybody else’s) hard work. This is definitely my favorite read of the day. There are definitely enough different takes on every situation here to keep the flow of ideas interesting.
This site almost gave me enough reason to keep the $30/mo 3G coverage with Verizon… but… sadly.. even a thousandaire like myself cannot continue this life of luxury for ever.

PS: The best thing about a party is its guests… and a good host knows how to attract good guests.

This site gets me through the fact that I live in the heart of strangers country and drink in the neighborhood strangers bar (they even have an Avery picture framed and signed ). Thnx so much for keeping an isles fanatic sane.

Dom you do such a great job at writing these posts and keeping everyone up to date on the current situations (even if you curse players with your projections). Its so nice to have this site where I can see the many different views of other fans.

And I hope Mrs lighthouse doesn’t read this blog, or there will be no “Wisniewski” for you, for a very long time!

Thanks for providing a fun, intelligent place to discuss the Isles/Hockey. There’s a good reason why this is one of the websites I visit obsessively frequently.

Well done.

This is by far the best islanders site I have come accross. Many thanks, keep up the great work :)

The Wiz says….

Here’s how Avery blows out his candles!

Enjoy and thanks!

…..even without this vital community/resource, the minutes pass by SO much more quickly when they can be whiled away with so many kindred spirits. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Dom, you put a lot of work into making this site one of the best sports blogs on the Internet (let ALONE the best hockey and Islanders forum) and believe me, it HASN’T once gone unnoticed. Ditto to Webby, David and Mike (?) who serve as an example of how generous you’ve been by allowing them to hold court as well. (I know; the alternative would be that much MORE work:) Happy 2nd as my 48th looms!

This is the first site I come to for Islander news. Thanks for helping me stay connected to my favorite team from far away. Keep up the excellent work, it’s greatly appreciated.

I recommend Lighthouse Hockey to my Islanders fan friends both far and near, and would do so again. Whether they’ve listened to me or not, I don’t know.

Even in the time Ive been coming by Ive watched this place grow considerably in popularity. I always liked your take on things Dom (but I think you knew that!) and when I started coming by here I found a blog where everything isnt either the sky is falling or everythings peachy. I found a blog for Isles fans who are reasonably in the vicinity of the middle of the road, happy to cheer when things are going well and to be critical when they deserve it. On a personal note, I also found a blog where I can talk to a lot of (guy) hockey fans and not get snide remarks about how I must want to Wisniewski the guys on the team if I compliment them.

You gentlemen have a great thing going on here- congrats on the anniversary, and I hope things keep getting better for both the Isles and LHH! :)

It’s a long and complicated story (and not a particularly interesting one), but after I felt drawn to the Islanders I found this site, and it pretty much sealed the deal for me. Many have already talked about how the level-headedness of LHH is one of its best attributes, and I couldn’t agree more. I hate so much about sports journalism, but above all else I hate the complete lack of intellect and thought that most of it shows – the fact that often, shouting incoherently about heart and grit and toughness is what passes as analysis. As a person who hates incoherent shouting, that annoys me, and it was the biggest reason I fell in love with this site and its community from the beginning. Even when I disagree with something said here, either by Dom or a commenter, the vast majority of the time the opinion is well-considered, backed by some kind of fact, and is an opinion that I find I can disagree with respectfully. That is why I love Lighthouse Hockey. I can learn from the community here, and debate with its members intelligently. In sports, that is rare.

Thank you, Dominik and everyone else, for helping ease my integration into hockey fandom, and into the Islanders fold. Hopefully sooner rather than later, we can have a bitchin’ Stanley Cup party together.

I have been reading this site for a while but I just joined in last month and I can say that this site is A+. As a lifelong Islander fan (through thick and thin) it is a pleasure to find so many kindred spirits dedicated to this team. Through all our trials and tribulations we have remained “true to our school” to quote the Beach Boys (yes, I’m THAT old). It is a pleasure to join in the debate and the sharing of what I hope will be the really good times to come for this team. THANKS!!!!!!!!

Even if I can’t get on as much, I can always come here and get my Isles fix.. Thanks!!!!!

I too first came across SB nation via a baseball blog and thought it would be nice to see more hockey blogs here. That was shortly before the hockey coverage expanded to include all 30 NHL teams. When I noticed an Islanders blog appeared I decided to check it out, and I was hooked. I know I don’t post very much, but I visit and read Lighthouse Hockey very frequently (perhaps more frequently than I ought to) and I appreciate all the work you’ve done Dom, and everyone else who has helped make this website a great place for Islanders fans.

You’re all too kind. Here’s to another bigger and better year!