I like that song. It’s catchy. I heard it seven times in one game.

Roberto luongo on Chelsea Dagger while speaking on “The Jeff O’Neil Show” on 993 The Fox in Vancouver

Today, Roberto Luongo announced his retirement. I will miss him.

One of my favorite games in which I was in attendence was April 24, 2011, Game Six of the Western Conference Playoffs opening round. The Hawks, a year removed from their first Stanley Cup win in decades as well as the squeaking into the playoffs after the first salary cap purge rebuild season, had dropped the first three games of the series to the Canucks. After winning games four and five, we felt things might be turning around and they might have a chance at actually eliminating Vancouver for the third straight playoffs. Or, the Canucks would win Game Six and elimante the Hawks and we’d all be going home miserable.

Luongo didn’t start Game Six after being pulled in the previous two routs by the Hawks, and wasn’t even seen on the bench for most of the game. Cory Schneider slotted in for him instead, and had made 17 of 19 saves until the third period moment when Kevin Bieksa tripped Michael Frolik on a breakaway. A penalty shot was awarded and Frolik almost stretched Schneider in two scoring on the penalty to tie the game, and the whole UC was up in arms.

Frolik knocks out Scheider, in comes Lu.

While Frolik took his glove-tap lap along the bench, Schneider was writhing in pain in his own net. Slowly the crowd started to notice this. Low rumblings started amongst the cheering and Chelsea Dagger playing, but soon the cheering turned to a droning “LOOOOOOUUUUUU” sound to welcome Roberto back onto the United Center ice.

To his credit, Luongo came out and blanked the Blackhawks for the rest of regulation and 15:29 of overtime, blocking 12 of 12 shots. Then at 15:30 Ben Smith buried a rebound of a Hjalmarsson shot passed Luongo.

OT Winner.

Roberto came back and made 31 saves on 32 shots in a Game 7 overtime win to get the last laugh of the series to move the Canucks on to the next round and send the Blackhawks home. They’d end up just short of a Cup in defeat by the Bruins weeks later. But looking back, while the animosity between the two teams would last for a few more seasons, that was the pinnacle of the rivalry.

The Hawks coming out on top of Roberto and the Canucks more often than not might have made it easier to like him in the end. There were a lot of characters over the years in the rivalry and many of them were easily disliked. But I never disliked Roberto. and I hope he never stops Tweeting.