Today@Dal

When Rob Bauer, acting head of Dal’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, heard about CBC’s search for Canada’s next great hockey song, he saw a way to bring together two of his interests into something fun and inspirational.

His song “Go for the Goal,” which traces the journey of a young player from the pond to the big leagues, is currently competing in CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest. You can listen to the song on the CBC website and vote for it by listening, “liking” or by sharing the song on social media.

Link: Listen to Rob's hockey song, "Go for the Goal!"

Voting is open until December 11, after which point the top 50 songs will advance to the next round of the competition. The overall winner gets to have their song professionally recorded with Joel Plaskett and played during a prime-time montage on Hockey Night in Canada.

Rob, whose research involves everything from underwater robots to jet turbine engines, doesn’t consider himself a hockey superfan by any stretch but the sport is still a favourite.

“I really enjoy playing hockey with my son and his friends when the lake freezes over,” he says. “We always bring our sticks and a puck down when we go skating. We enjoy going to Mooseheads Games, and watching the NHL — particularly when it gets to the Stanley Cup.”

As for music, it’s been a driving force in Rob’s life since he was seven or eight years old when he started learning the piano and violin. Today, he plays in the Nova Sinfonia Orchestra, often drops in on fiddle with various bluegrass bands in town, and released a CD of instrumental music called Reflections a few years ago. (The music was written to be relaxing and motivational, inspired by his parents’ battles with cancer; a portion of the proceeds went to the Cancer Recovery Foundation of Canada.)

Hockey inspiration

He also plays in a local cover band called Loose Garage, and when he decided to enter the CBC contest, he knew he wanted his bandmate Glen Edwards on vocals.

“I thought it was a fun opportunity to try out a rock song for a change, something with a bit of a message,” he says.

“Watching hockey players work as a team, being inspired to ‘go for the goal,’ whether they’re professionals or ‘Timbit’ kids — there are lessons there about hard work and perseverance that apply off the ice as well. When I think about my students, or my family, I try and motivate them to commit to their goals in a similar way.”

He says he’s received great feedback from colleagues and friends on the song, and he’s pleased with the responses it’s gotten and the votes it’s received.

“It’s been overwhelming, and really exciting.”

Link: Listen to Rob's hockey song, "Go for the Goal!"