STACKHOUSE’S 10 THOUGHTS

1 – SAVE BY BUQUE – If not for Alex Buque, the Rush would probably be wondering how they let the dysfunctional Vancouver Warriors beat them on Saturday night. Buque was sensational, turning away 43-shots and thwarting six minutes of Vancouver powerplay time in the third quarter and then the Rush found their offensive stride in the fourth by going on a 6-0 run as they defeated the Warriors 14-8 in a game that was much more nip and tuck than it appears from the final score. Aside from week two’s meltdown against San Diego, Buque has maybe been the best goaltender in the entire league. His season SPCT of .807 ranks third behind Colorado’s Dillon Ward and Toronto’s Nick Rose. If you throw out the game against the Seals in week two, Buque’s SPCT is actually .817 and that would be tops in the league.

2 – RUSH BUILDING – Derek Keenan knows what he’s doing. Without punting on last year, the Rush GM has kept a veteran team together all the while adding young pieces that are having an impact (Austin Madronic, Jake Boudreau, Holden Garlent, Connor McClelland to name a few) and the Rush have six draft picks in the first two rounds next year. Championships are never assured but competence should be and the Rush have had that ever since they arrived in Saskatoon in 2016. They play two more road games before returning home on February 25th. Attendance has gone up in each of the first three to date, including 9336 last week against Las Vegas.

3 – CORNWALL DOES IT AGAIN – Six years ago, Jeff Cornwall scored the championship winning goal for the Rush on a breakaway with eleven seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to defeat Buffalo in the deciding game. Saturday night, he scored nine seconds into overtime on a breakaway against Halifax, capping a Calgary comeback from being down 11-7 to win 12-11. It was a big win for the Roughnecks with the West Division standings fairly tight: San Diego is 6-1, the Rush are 4-2, Calgary and Colorado are 4-3, Las Vegas is 4-4. The top three make the playoffs and if the fourth place team in the West is better than the fifth place team in the East, then that team will also make it. For now, the Roughnecks and Mammoth are both better than fifth in the East. 

4 – ALL STARS – I wonder what NHL All Star Weekend does as far as attracting new fans. I haven’t watched this particular weekend in well over two decades and I continue to see hockey fans complain about it on social media and this year it appears to be even worse. Players don’t even really want to be there. Heck, is it true they don’t even try during the skills competition now? At least MLB players give a full effort in the home run derby and NBA players spend time crafting their dunking skills. NHL players can’t be bothered to get serious even for a skills event? I have long known the game to be a total waste of time, but now the skills are too? I get the notion that it’s a hob-knob weekend for sponsors, but is there not a way to do this around meaningful games? On Saturday, I saw a photo on Twitter of a couple of hockey media folks looking to steal the limelight by bragging about their flamboyant dress attire. There are now way too many media people looking to make themselves the story rather than telling stories. This is why I can’t do anything outside of actual game play anymore as far as television consumption and the National Hockey League.

5 – SUSPENSION PERSPECTIVE – In the AHL, Grand Rapids Griffins player Dominik Shine picked up a two game suspension for flashing the middle finger from the penalty box (I wonder if Buque will get a suspension for dropping the F bomb on live tv after the Rush win). In the SJHL, a player has been suspended for 20 games under the ‘Maltreatment’ rule. A senior hockey player in the Saskeast Hockey League got five games for a verbal utterance that goes against what is socially acceptable in today’s world. Meanwhile, Brad Marchand gets nothing for licking and countless (sometimes injury inflicting) physical infractions are, basically, ignored and sometimes don’t even warrant 2-minute minors. It remains to be seen if this is ‘good’ for the game (more people playing and watching because those who are apparently offensive are taken out), but the reality is this is where we are going like it or not. If you want to play hockey, you will keep your mouth shut and your hands on your stick or you could end up facing a long break from playing. Those who have long despised the game and have screamed for it to be cleaned up should be happy but will these changes get them to embrace the sport? Time will tell.

6 – OK TO SUPPORT PUTIN – Despite all the woke virtual signaling, Vladimir Putin’s most famous supporter – Alexander Ovechkin – continues to get a free pass from the left wing social media mob. Actually, it seems as though he’s getting even more celebration than normal as of late. Personally, I don’t care but I do get a good chuckle out of the selectiveness of what offends and what doesn’t. Those seeking fairness or thinking the NHL doesn’t recognize hypocrisy until it’s pointed out are sadly going to be disappointed and mistaken. Those in charge of canceling others are well aware of the unfairness and hypocrisy. They just don’t care and there isn’t anyone that will stop them, so why not?

7 – LESS PEOPLE WATCHING – NHL television ratings are down 22% in the United States, but there are all sorts of acceptable reasons for it–namely the fact ESPN put games on opposite Sunday Night Football. If the NHL was a product ESPN really wanted to promote, why would they do this? I’ve seen some chatter about other reasons why people are losing interest – such as the elimination of rivalries through strict enforcement of rules that prevent hard hitting, chirping, and fighting. There also seems to be a lack of superstar marketing, as well as too many games where players just go through the motions. I’m probably in that category of losing a bit of interest, but I still watch. I just avoid the nonsense during intermissions, pre and post game. Having said that, I will watch an NLL game if the Rush are playing over an NHL game. My guess is that those with agendas wanting to destroy sports will eventually come for the NLL, but for now it offers a lot of the style of entertainment hockey used to have before it changed the rules under the guise of safety.

8 – DANGEROUS RIVALRY – The historic McLeod Basketball Series, which features Weyburn and Estevan Comprehensive Schools going head to head in high school basketball for bragging rights has been canceled for this year due to ‘high emotions’ and ‘threatening behaviour’. This is a long tradition that began in 1932 and has had only a select few breaks ever since. A statement posted to social media says, “In some situations, emotions have run high and harassment and threatening behaviour directed to both players and coaches during the game and after the game, both in the school and extending beyond the school grounds, has occurred.” 99.5% of the time when these types of heated rivalries reach a boiling point, nothing harmful ever comes to fruition but society is in a different place today than it was even five years ago. You mention the word ‘unsafe’, and you can cancel a casual walk down the street. My guess is that if the games were played, gyms in both cities would be jammed to the ceiling with fans and you could charge a premium for it. But, ‘..for the safety of all those involved…’

9 – FAN BRAWL DEATH – Here’s the 0.5% chance of something happening and why they have to cancel—a 60 year-old man from Vermont has died after a fight or brawl during a 7th/8th grade basketball game that was played on Tuesday night. Apparently, the scuffle was over before police showed up, but a man requested medical attention and then passed away upon arrival at hospital. And, depending on the issue, all you need is ONE bad thing to happen to result in mass cancellations. I can think of, at least, one other matter where ONE bad thing does not result in a cancellation but I won’t bring that up here.  You can figure that out for yourself.

10 – THANK YOU – Those who know me personally, know I’ve had an extremely bad week.  If you are a pet person and have had to make the excruciating decision to end your pet’s life, you understand why these last few days have been gutting and miserable.  If you aren’t a pet person, that’s okay but you are truly missing out on maybe the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of waking up each morning.  While these few days have sucked more than words can express, I wouldn’t trade them for the 13 years I had with Bella.  I also want to say thank you to everyone who messaged me or posted on my social media and offered some of the kindest thoughts imaginable.  It’s great to see that while politicians and media are kicking divisive efforts into overdrive, we still have a lot of us out there who are thoughtful, considerate, sympathetic, and kind.  I wish we were like this to one another every day and not just in times of sadness.  May you all have a great week, even those of you who don’t like me. 

(Mike Stackhouse is a freelance writer/broadcaster. Follow him on Twitter at @Stack1975)