from Cory Wright of the Ilanders' website,

Even at 86, Stan Fischler still leads the pack in the locker room after New York Islanders games.

With his microphone in hand, the white-haired reporter darts around the room, doing what he's always done - asking questions and breaking down the game with the players who played it. A large swarm of journnalists, cameras and recorders, follow from stall to stall.

Fischler asks the first question when the coach takes the podium, usually with his foot propped up on a chair and an inquisitive expression on his face. He's earned the first question after 60 years of writing and broadcasting hockey. He also happens to be the first onne in the interview room and the first to grab one of the two microphones.

Hockey players come and go, as do coaches, arenas and even jerseys. On Long Island, there's been at least one constant throughout the years - Stan Fischler's in-depth coverage.

"The Hockey Maven" was at the Islanders' first game in 1972 and joined the broadcasts in 1975, spending the next 43 years covering the team. He's always had a special connection to the Islanders - he boasts about having slept on the training tables at Nassau Coliseum - and has seen it all, from the 3-0 series comeback to four Stanley Cups, Bossy's 50-in-50 to John Tavares OT series-clincher.

But even for a hockey lifer, whose writing and broadcast career spans over 60 years, everything must come to an end. When the Islanders start up again next October, it'll be the first time since 1974 that Stan was not a part of the broadcast.

continued with some great stories....