Weird Bionicle Lore anyone? I know I could go for some.

@MCLegoboy said:
"Weird Bionicle Lore anyone? I know I could go for some."

There’s not really much to say here. The “heads” on these guys are actually Toa Nuva shoulder armour pieces, which were used from 2002 all the way up until 2010 for a variety of characters. The black and orange ones seen here, however, were exclusive to hockey sets.

Additionally, the weird hooked arms are actually Bohrok teeth, another part introduced in 2002, seeing even longer use, with their final appearance being with 2192 Drilldozer in 2011. Unlike the shoulder pads, though, these tooth pieces are not in rare colours and were used very often throughout Bionicle’s run. The white versions were most notably used as teeth, however the Bahrag in set 8558 used them as fingers. The flat silver version saw less use, but still managed to make it into 8761 Roodaka as part of her head.

... I don't know what I'm weeping for, more. Lego, or the English language.

@MCLegoboy said:
"Weird Bionicle Lore anyone? I know I could go for some."

Here’s my best shot:

| Hahkii Headshox

Thee strange little creatures might appear to be unintelligent, but in truth they are merely eccentric. They use their small, chisel-like claws to scrape away at stones until they resemble faces, creating lesser Kanohi masks.

On some Matoran settlements, the Hahkii were seen as sacred beings, their hand-carved masks treasured and given in coming-of-age ceremonies. In many larger cities, however, they reside forgotten in the shadows, chittering away their poems as they add to their vast mask collections. Whether or not they are aware of the meaning their masks carry is yet to be studied.

Alright, lore time!

... wait a minute, something's not right here...

I love how unapologetic Lego became about shoving Bionicle parts into themes that probably shouldn't have featured Bionicle parts in the 2000s. Closest we've come since is CCBS parts usage in Ninjago or Chima but it's just not the same.

They look like cute LEGO Aliens from the Alien movie franchise....now that would make for some good sets :0

We are having a major heatwave in London. People are starting to go more weird than normal.
Me personally - I think I am hallucinating. That's the only explanation for seeing this. It's not real is it.....?

@Brickalili said:
"I’d wonder if these were created just to use up spare parts (like the various Good Guy sets) but I’m pretty sure that Nuva pauldron in orange only appears in this. It’s not a surplus, it was made specially for this set!"

The orange Nuva Shoulder also appeared in 3541,3544 and 10127, so it’s likely these actually were made from spare parts.

For those who don't know, these actually have a function. Bonk their heads and the 'legs' will constrict, which will shoot a hockey puck out if it's placed between. They're built around the function.
The puck is absent in the image, but there's one shown on the box.
Some say it was too similar to bionicle. But I digress. It's totally different.

Just look at the story:

Lore:
In 2003 in the world of the Hokeyonicle, there were beings who decided to play a sport of Hockey at some point. There were the tiny villagers and their protectors, the Hocka. By collecting 6 of the exact same grey hocky masks from two sprues each, the Hocka had driven away the evil sports anouncer Puckuta for his shady dealings. Now it was a time of peace.

The grand championship is about to begin. Blue Good Guy from Blue Team and Red Bad Guy from Red Team are about to square off. They have already beaten Yellow/Black team so badly that they lost their arms. But there's one more obstacle: White Team. They are extremely agressive and even use their own fists to protect themselves.
Who will win the championship? Will White Team live to tell the tale?

Little do they know that Thwackua has found the legendary golden puck, and soon the quest for the 5th Slammer Hockey Player will begin.
Now it's up to Slap Shot, Hocka of Slap; Flip Shot, Hocka of Flip; Slammer Goalie, Hocka of Slam; and Puck Passer, Hocka of Passing out to try and fail to do anything until the last second.
But Puckuta knows this and is preparing his own team: the sons of Puckuta...
WHO WILL WIN?!

There was no Hokeyonicle film in 2003, so we'll never know WHO WON

You can still COLLECT THEM ALL
if you want to. I won't force you or anything.

Villager Good Guys and Bad Guys:
3557, 3558, 3559, 5014, 5017

Hocka:
3541, 3542, 3543, 3540

Sons of Puckuta:
3544, 3545,

The Legenday Hocka of NFL:
10127

Playsets:
3578, 3579,

@MCLegoboy said:
"Weird Bionicle Lore anyone? I know I could go for some."

The lore is that orange Toa Nuva shoulder armour is pretty neat - and this was one of their few appearances. That piece saw more recolours in the Hockey theme than it did in Bionicle proper... and I now have to wonder how many Bionicle fans bought a whole range of sets from other themes just for the Bionicle parts recolours within them, even if they had no further interest in the sets beyond that.

These guys soooooort of remind me of Bohrok Va? At least in the being tiny, using a 1x3 liftarm for hips, and having for a head a piece that wasn't designed as a head... Hockey Va, perhaps? When the main hockey players get their pucks taken by the Toa, these guys bring them new ones so they can keep playing?

...I also have to wonder where this set name comes from. Bricklink just calls it "Hockey Promotional Set".