I am a huge hockey fan and Patrick Roy was my favorite goalie before he retired. So needless to say, I loved the book. I can't really comment on a "story" since this was factual but the layout, writing style and topics/events discussed were well though out and clearly communicated. (Sorry for the bland review, I usually don't review non-fiction.)

The only downfall for this book is that it is a niche book. What I mean by this is that you either REALLY need to love hockey, or the Avs or Patrick Roy to get into it. The average hockey fan may/may not rate it highly.

Style B+
Content/facts B
Flow/lay out B+

Nice addition to my hockey library! ( )

Save by Roy is a well-written book chronicling the rookie NHL coach Patrick Roy and how he took the Colorado Avalanche from mediocrity to a possible Cup contender in the 2013-14 season. This book is by no means a must read for hockey fans (unless you're an Avs fan), but it gives a good perspective on how Roy used time on the ice as an all-star goalie and experience as a QMJHL coach to rally a fairly young team.

The book reads like Frei and Dater's feature articles. It's game recaps and player profiles interrupted by the writers' diary entries. The game recaps are tiring if you're not interested in reliving the season game-by-game. However, the authors make up for it with their frank looks at Semyon Varlamov's domestic violence accusation, individual players trying to make it to the Olympics, and the Avs' place in the Denver sports market. ( )

I received this book from Library Thing for an honest review.

This was an entertaining book to read. I am an avid hockey fan, and live in Denver. Being familiar with Terry Frie and Adrian Dater, I knew what I was getting myself into. Serious hockey talk and analyzation, as well as some humor and blunt comments. Just the way I like it.

I admit, am a transplant from Detroit, grew up with hockey in my blood, and a die hard Red Wings fan. That doesn't change the fact that I enjoy hockey as a whole, and root for the Avs when they are not playing my Wings. The season of Roy was a great ride, watching it from the front row in Denver. So what I read I was witness to.

Adrian is fun to read. I won't spoil it for those who want to read about the beginning of the Roy era. Overall, a good read in the off-season of the Avs year one. Year two was kind of a back-to-reality season. I like the moves the Avs made this off-season, draft, and free agency, so year 3 with Roy should be pretty entertaining. If you want to read about the behind the scenes aspects of the Avs and Roy, then give this a try. Its not all stats and game-by-game analysis. Good job guys! ( )

I absolutely love hockey and watch more NHL games than probably anyone else you know. If my Blackhawks aren't on, I still watch at least one or two games each day of the hockey season. When a new hockey book is released, I'm probably in its target market.

That said, this look at NHL Hall of Famer Patrick Roy and the building of the 2013-2014 Colorado Avalanche, by a pair of Denver sportswriters, was interesting to me, though somewhat dry, I thought. The book offers some background on every player on the team and, interwoven with that, a day-by-day look at every day of that season.

A more narrative look at the season and the team probably would've been better.

For real diehard Avs fans, this book would probably be a perfect fit. For diehard hockey fans, in general, it's not bad. For others, it's probably too much information. ( )

I've been a huge hockey fan since I watched the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals between the Devils and the Avalanche—and since I grew up in Colorado, of course I was rooting for the Avs. Even with their string of frankly awful seasons under Joe Sacco, I figured at some point they would be able to turn things around...

I wish I knew just a little more about the strategy behind the various administrative maneuvers, like why players who seem to produce get traded, and I always like finding out about players' backgrounds. I'm always bummed because the NHL GameCenter that I subscribe to always cuts out right after the third period, so I never get to watch the lockerroom reports or post-game presser. At least I can read Adrian Dater, Terry Frei, and Mike Chambers writing about the Avs thanks to the internet!

The 2013-14 season was incredible because the Avs went from 29th in the league (out of 30 teams) the season before to the third best overall under Roy, with a team full of young players, older journeymen, and a few notable names. This book had brief descriptions of all 82 games (plus the brief playoff run), along with bios of all of the players, lockerroom interviews, snippets of interviews with coaches around the league and general managers, along with a little bit of team history.

I found this book absolutely fascinating, though I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone. If you're a fan of the Avalanche or Roy and want to read what amounts to an in-depth, 300-page newspaper story about the Avs (and who wouldn't?!), this is definitely the book for you. Even if you're curious about the maneuverings behind the bench and how this team could make this kind of miraculous leap (and the players' reactions to it), this is also an excellent read. But if you're expecting a thorough biography of Roy, or detailed hockey strategy, or anything like that, this isn't that kind of book.

This book is also organized in an interesting way: snippets of history, commentary, and behind-the-scenes action are interspersed with analyses of the games, and there are several dedicated sections to segments of the team. Everything flows together really well and in a way that makes sense, and doesn't seem contrived. Right as you're thinking "Okay, I could use a break from just reading about the games", Frei and Dater had the foresight (or a good editor) to switch to a longer section of behind-the-scenes stuff, or to a collection of player bios.

I found this book totally engrossing, well organized, and super interesting! ( )