With all of the talk of new arena deals in the works for Niagara and Gatineau and renovation plans for Kitchener, Sherbrooke and maybe a few others, I thought I’d look back some of my more memorable moments in some of the most non-suspecting barns in the CHL.
Through seven years as the lead analyst for the Sportsnet’s CHL coverage I have yet to see seven of the 59 (60 if you include the two homes for the Portland Winterhawks) rinks in the CHL. Most of those are in the US.
In the QMJHL I haven’t been to PEI (although we were supposed to be there for a game last year, but a nine-hour plane delay derailed those plans) and I haven’t been to Blainville-Boisbriand, but I hear it’s a shiny new barn and the locals are taking quite nicely to junior hockey. The Armada is playing in front of crowds averaging just under 3,000 per game, good enough for seventh in QMJHL attendance.
Moving west to the OHL, I’ve hit 19 of 20, with the Tulio arena in Erie being the only place that has escaped me to date. However, I hear it was just rocking in 2002 when the Otters earned a berth into the Mastercard Memorial Cup with the likes of Brad Boyes, Carlo Colaiacovo, Chris Campoli, Adam Munro, and company.
In the WHL, I’ve been to the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre, although, I haven’t seen a Royals game there yet. We broadcast a Subway Super Series game there in 2009. It’s a great barn and I’m glad to see the WHL has taken residence there. The Royals are drawing over 5,500 fans per game, good enough for fifth in the league.
It’s in the WHL’s US division where I’m lacking. I have yet to visit Tri-City, Spokane, or Seattle and although I’ve seen the Winterhawks at the Rose Garden, I haven’t witnessed a game at the War Memorial Coliseum.
Game 5 of the Ed Chynoweth Cup in 2011 was just raucous at the Rose Garden, although home-ice failed the Hawks as Kootenay won the series 4-1.
A few other memories come to mind over the years.
One of the first games I called for Sportsnet came during the 2003-04 season where I saw Prospera Place in Kelowna for the first time. I was in awe of its beauty, especially the restaurant area at one end of the rink that was finished like a lodge with views of the Kelowna landscape and the action on the ice all at the same time. The dressing room facilities were unreal and I’ll never forget the kindness and candidness of Kelowna’s head coach Marc Habscheid.
We were privy to strategy and player information that doesn’t normally make it to broadcasters. I thought, ‘wow, this is cool,’ and I’ll never forget Habscheid’s trust in us which allowed us great insight into the Rockets strategy.
A typically older, quiet and more reserved crowd went silent when late in the third period Portland’s Robin Big Snake took a boarding call against Shea Weber that sent the Rockets defenceman into convulsions. I was terrified seeing Weber on the ice in that state, but quite obviously he rebounded and his NHL career has been well documented. I’ll never forget the eerie silence of that 10-minute stretch in the third.
It’s obviously not the best memory, but what a way for me to get introduced to the WHL.
Due to the NHL lockout in the 2004-05 season, I worked just four games for Sportsnet, so there’s not much to draw on there.
In the 2005-06 season I started working with Sportsnet on a more regular basis. For the first time, I had a chance to call a Mastercard Memorial Cup.
There was so much hype that year as Patrick Roy’s rookie season behind the bench clashed with Ted Nolan’s return to the CHL. The two had battled in a hard-fought and bitter six-game series with Nolan’s Wildcats as the victors. The two then met in the final game of the season on Sunday, May 28th, 2006 and it was a wild ride for the home crowd at the Moncton Coliseum. The weather was above seasonal averages and all-Cup long we were forced to take off our suit jackets and roll-up our sleeves, oftentimes leaving the rink sweating as if we had played.
My memory of the atmosphere in that building was rollercoaster-like. Coming out onto the ice, there was such jump in the crowd. About midway through the first, Pierre Bergeron scored just his third goal of the season and the air came out of the building, and it got even quieter when Alexander Radulov scored with just 10 seconds left in the frame.
The crowd got back to noise-meter breaking after Keith Yandle potted two goals 3.5 minutes apart in the third to cut the lead in half. What I’ll remember the most about the atmosphere that day was how the crowd rode the ooooh’s and aaaah’s with every Cedric Desjardins save.
What a wild ride it was.
During the 2007-08 season we called the Teddy Bear Toss game at the Scotiabank Saddledome. More than 17,000 fans tossed almost 27,000 stuffed animals onto the ice. Say no more, it was truly a spectacle.
The most intrigued I’ve ever been while witnessing a game came courtesy of the electrical grid in Chicoutimi. The Saint John SeaDogs led Chicoutimi 4-0 through two periods when a power outage didn’t allow the two teams to play the third period.
As a result of scheduling, the SeaDogs traveled to Baie Comeau but getting back to Chicoutimi later in the season would’ve been next to impossible. The Dogs lost to Baie Comeau 5-3 on Saturday then turned around and went back to Chicoutimi to play the third period of their game against the Sags, with new officials and a 4-0 lead.
People in Chicoutimi were given less than 24 hours notice that the game would be completed on Sunday. When we arrived, we were shocked to see almost 700 people in attendance. The Sags cut the lead in half just past the midway point of the third, then got a power play goal from Joel Champagne with about four minutes left and nine seconds after that they tied it.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Seven hundred people on the game-tying goal sounded like 6,000. The noise was incredible, people were laughing, singing, hugging, even crying. You would’ve thought they had just won the Mastercard Memorial Cup.
The game went into overtime and was finally won by the Dogs’ Chris DiDomenico. When it was over, the same 700 people got back on their feet and cheered the Sags off the ice for their valiant 20-minute effort and the fans went home happy with at least one point in the bag when it looked impossible at about 8:30 p.m. on Friday night.
I’ve never been more impressed than by seeing those 700 people show up on less than 24 hours notice and cheering as loud as a crowd five times the size.
What a spectacle!
One of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever witnessed was in Rimouski at the 2009 Mastercard Memorial Cup. By virtue of the Kelowna Rockets winning their first two games, they automatically earned a bye into the final, but still had one game to play against the 0-2 Windsor Spitfires.
The Rockets were flat and the Spits went on to win the game 2-1 and eventually earn a berth against Kelowna in the final. I’ll never forget the reaction of the Rimouski-based crowd booing the Rockets onto the ice before the final game. The fans felt as if Kelowna could’ve delivered the knock-out punch to Windsor during their round-robin meeting and as a result, would’ve given the home team an automatic berth into the semi-final game.
Despite being eliminated by the Spitfires in the tie-breaker, the home crowd was anti-Kelowna and pro-Windsor for what they felt was a lacklustre effort by Kelowna. It was amazing to see how the crowd wouldn’t let the Rockets off the hook.
If you have yet to take in a CHL game, make an effort to take your family to a game over the holidays. Several CHL teams have Christmas ticket specials. You won’t get better bang for your entertainment buck.
Don’t forget to tune into Friday Night Hockey when the Vancouver Giants play host to the Portland Winterhawks. You’ll get to see the likes of World Junior hopefuls Brendan Gallagher, Joe Morrow, Ty Rattie and Brad Ross.
Plus, we have World Junior Hockey Championship action on the FAN Sports Radio Network beginning Dec. 26 when Canada takes on Finland.