DAYTONA HOMES MONDAY MORNING GOALIE

Photo by Keith Hershmiller Photography

10 MONDAY NOTES & QUOTES

1 – HERE WE GO!:  The 2015 Western Hockey League Playoffs are upon us!  The Regina Pats will meet the Swift Current Broncos in Round One of the postseason with Games 1 and 2 going this Friday and Saturday in Regina’s Brandt Centre on 620 CKRM.  It’s the first time the two clubs have met in the playoffs since 2008 when the Broncos upset the first-place Pats in a six game series.

We’ve got a full week to examine the match-ups on this blog and in the SportsCage but for now, all you need to know is that the Pats finished 12 points ahead of the Broncos in the regular season.  While it seemed the Broncos had the Pats’ number for much of the year, Regina won the final meeting 4-1 in the Frontier City about 10 days ago.

It will be tons of fun previewing the clash on the radio this week, with my beloved Pats going up against Tiger Williams’ Broncos.  Last Wednesday, Tiger proclaimed “It’s etched in stone these two teams will meet” even though Swift Current didn’t nail down their playoff spot until Saturday night.  Maybe Dave Williams knew something we didn’t.

The Pats lug a four game winless skid into the post-season while the Broncos are riding a two game winning streak.  None of that matters now, with a new season upon us.

A prediction?  The MMG will take the Pats to win a six game series.  I would have picked fewer games, but the absence of rookie phenom Sam Steel will make things a little more difficult for the Blueshirts.

One thing the Pats will have to do is get their powerplay going.  Regina ranked 21st in the league at 15.3% in the regular season while the Broncos were 7th at 21.9%.  The loss of Steel will tax them in this regard but special teams become all the more crucial this time of year.

Jesse Gabrielle also needs to close his mouth and start playing hockey.  Otherwise he’ll go down in history as another trade won by Kelly McCrimmon.

Let the games begin!

ICYMI:  The other Round One match-ups are Brandon vs Edmonton, Red Deer vs Medicine Hat and Kootenay vs Calgary.  That’s right, only two of Saskatchewan’s five WHL teams are playoff bound.  Saskatoon, P.A. and Moose Jaw all missed.  How are we supposed to end the 22 year drought that way?

2 – CALLING ALL REGINA RIDER FANS:  Got the winter blahs and missing news on the Green & White?  Get behind the Pats over the next few weeks to help fill the void.  Games 1 and 2 will assuredly be sold out even though there are plenty of tickets left at the time of this writing.  To help get you in the spirit, we’ll be broadcasting the SportsCage live from the Brandt Centre and Swift Current during the series.  Hopefully Pats Fever envelopes the Queen City during this playoff run.

If you’ve got some Pats gear, dig it out and wear it to work or school this week.  If you don’t have any, get to the Neutral Zone or Jersey City and pick some up.

3 – THE NEW ARENA:  The rumour of a new home for the Regina Pats finally hit the mainstream media with Saturday’s front page story in the Leader Post.  It’s comical that a rumour, which three sources would not substantiate (the Pats, the Mayor and Evraz Place), drew inch-high headlines and a five inch photo.  But hey, things are slow around here and it certainly got people talking.

A full year before the Pats were purchased by the Queen City Sports & Entertainment Group, one of the prospective owners pounded the restaurant table I was sitting at and said, “We’re going to buy the Pats and maybe even build a new arena too!”  That’s where I first heard of the rumblings, and since then the gossip has grown to the point than an 11,000 seat facility is rumoured to be in the works.  However at the time I thought it was just talk and as far as the arena goes, I think it still is.

But hold your horses!  While many are pencilling in the new rink along Dewdney Avenue by the railyards, there are rumours just as strong saying the facility will be constructed west of the city.

Will there be a new home for the Pats built in our lifetime?  Likely.  However is it imminent?  No.

The Brandt Centre is still one of the nicest arenas in the WHL and although it’s nearly 40 years old, it’s still very comfy for hockey fans and concert goers.  It certainly has its share of warts behind-the-scenes however, and the Pats’ ownership group sure has the resources to build an arena on their own.  They likely will have to.

It will be interesting to observe where the “rumour” goes from here, but it’s sure to end up being a political football.

4 – THE OLD ARENA:  The Arena in Medicine Hat played host to its final game Saturday night when the hometown Tigers thumped the visiting Saskatoon Blades 6-2.  Many WHL types were sharing their favourite stories of The Arena over the weekend on blogs and Twitter.  I called many-a-game there during 17 seasons in the WHL and they were just about always a treat.  However it was rarely a gracious host, which is exactly the way the Tigers wanted it.  There was a group of inhospitable fans behind the visitors bench known as the “Dirty Dozen” that made life miserable for road teams.  The rumour was they belonged to a biker gang, but I’m not sure that was ever confirmed.

When I first started calling games there, The Arena was referred to as the “Smartie Box” due to its collection of multi-coloured seats.  Over time those seats were replaced by newer, lime green chairs but the rude atmosphere remained.  It was always exciting to hear Welcome To The Jungle and Eye of the Tiger blaring over the speakers when the Tigers came onto the ice.

But you can’t stand in the way of progress.  Farewell Medicine Hat Arena!  Good riddance.

5 – THE NEW STADIUM:  Roughrider Chairman Wayne Morsky was kind enough to stop by our SportsCage broadcast live from the Brandt Centre on Friday to offer some kind words on Jim Hopson and to provide a new stadium construction update.

“It’s going really well.  We’re probably in that 26%-27% completion range,” Morsky reported.  “You’re gonna see a lot of things happen in the next little while here.  They’re going to continue with the excavation very soon.  They’re not going to take it ALL out yet, until they do the field, but you’ll see the east side where they’ll develop the slope for the stands and more on the west side where the locker rooms and football operations offices are.  That’s starting to come out of the ground now.  A lot’s going to happen real quickly now.

Morsky is the President of Morsky Construction so he knows a thing or two about the process.  So far, he likes what he sees.

“We’re certainly pleased with what we’re seeing,” Morsky continued.  “PCL has a lot of experience in the stadium construction process.  It’s really interesting – I heard that the construction guys treat it like they’re building their own home because they’re all passionate about the Riders themselves.  You see that they’re really enthused about it.

“But the project itself, the way it was put together with the partnership of the Province, the City and and of course the fans being a big part of funding it, to put that all together and the planning that’s gone into it.  And we’ve given ourselves the right amount of time.  Sometimes it’s good to be second.  We’ve learned by what’s gone on in Winnipeg and other stadiums.  That’s what we’re seeing in the success of it right now.  We are early but the 10 percent at the end can be a tough part.  However we’re off to a great start.”

6 – GOING COMBINING:  The CFL will hold a one day regional combine in Edmonton on Monday with between 40 and 50 players invited.  Regina players invited include Thunder products RB Justin Banin and LB Brandon Whitehouse and Rams products DB Kahlen Branning and OL Aaron Picton.  A CFL coach told me three or four of the prospects will be invited to the main Evaluation Combine in Toronto next weekend.  From the Rams, DB TeVaughn Campbell and WR Addison Richards have already been invited to Toronto.  We’ll have one or more of these players on the Cage this week.

7 – TWO IN ONE:  CFL President & CEO Michael Copeland got the Tweet of the Week when he arrived in Regina for the Jim Hopson Retirement Party on Thursday at Queensbury.  “Just landed in Regina,” Copeland tweeted.  “Smells like football”.  Scruffy followed that up with the Quote of the Week when he leaned over at Hopson’s party and said in my ear, “I thought that smell was Agribition?”

8 – TWEET OF THE WEEK #2:  From Globe & Mail hockey writer James Mirtle who wrote on Twitter, regarding Ottawa Senators goalie Andrew Hammond who’s been tabbed, ‘The Hamburglar'” “@Mirtle: If Andrew Hammond gets an assist is that a Hamburglar Helper?”

OTHER NHL NOTES:  It was a treat to watch the Arizona Coyotes last night on Rogers Hometown Hockey since we don’t see them much.  They lost a 3-1 nailbiter to Vancouver but no one in the Valley is crying.  They’re one step closer to landing Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel since they’ve ‘surpassed’ the Oilers to reach the Western Conference basement. … The Coyotes and Winnipeg Jets should swap record books.  Winnipeg owns the distasteful history of the Atlanta Thrashers while the Coyotes own the records of Teemu Selanne, Phil Housley, Bob Essensa, etc.  To me, those records and that history belong in Winnipeg, not Phoenix.  Meanwhile no one in Arizona would care if the ‘Yotes took over the records of Ilya Kovalchuk, Kari Lehtonen, Bob Hartley, etc.  I look at the list of Thrashers records and get a nauseous knot in my stomach.  Not joking.  … At a convention on Saturday afternoon the topic of the Oilers came up and what they should do with their hockey operations staff next season. I thought it was a slam dunk that interim head coach Todd Nelson was coming back since he seems to have the team turned around.  They’re playing inspired hockey, collecting some wins, and got their special teams going.  Those around me scoffed, saying the whole works should be swept out.  Perhaps, but that won’t happen.  However the resurgence of goaltender Devan Dubnyk in Minnesota should show the Oilers their problems are a sum of the parts, not the players individually.  They can’t give up on players, and coaches, so quickly.

9 – AN INSPIRATION:  Milestone, SK Grade 2 student Carter Brown is a cousin of mine and he gained headlines last week for hosting a fundraising dinner along CFL legend Anthony Calvillo at the Delta Regina on Friday.  8-year old Carter has been dealing with Brittle Bone Disease since birth and has been an inspiration to everyone in his hometown.  He’s flown to the Montreal Shriner’s Hospital almost 30 times for treatments, and that’s where he met Calvillo.

My Mom attended Friday’s dinner and estimates 200 Milestonians were in attendance, which represents a third of the town.  Think you’ve got problems?  Consider Carter’s comment to the Leader Post’s Ian Hamilton regarding his painful condition: “It is what it is.”

Calvillo also brought the house down Friday night by recounting the story of Tiger Williams almost knocking him over for beating Tiger’s beloved Roughriders in the 2009 Grey Cup.  Tiger gave him a hard elbow shot while the pair were overseas visiting Canadian soldiers a month ago.  At the time, Calvillo had no idea who Tiger was and asked the other athletes on the trip, “Is this guy for real?”

He is.

10 – NASH #1? C’MON ARASH!:  Canadian basketball legend Steve Nash stole headlines this weekend when announcing his retirement at the age of 41.  That prompted Sportsnet and CKRM insider Arash Madani to Tweet: “1. Steve Nash 2. Wayne Gretzky 3. Donovan Bailey”.  I can only assume he’s referring to the greatest athletes in Canadian history.  I can also only assume Arash did it to stir up a Twitter war.  He can’t possibly be serious?  Wayne is number one all-time, end of story.

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MARCH 23:  I’ve got to say there’s something special about this date on the calendar.  A wealth of interesting people have been born on this day including my daughter, the A-Train.  The list also includes Willy Cole, Elaine Poley, Cassie Dumba, Larry Schneider, Trysten Dyce, Bill Brown (Carter’s Grandpa) and many more over-achievers!  I’ll never forget this date 15 years ago.  I was watching the Ducks at Oilers at our home on McIntosh St. N. in Regina when the A-Train’s mom went into labour.  I asked if she could wait until the game was over (I wasn’t even half joking) and I believe I got a swat on the head.  A few hours later my life changed forever!   We’ll celebrate tonight at Rock Creek (her choice) which is a far cry from Chuck E. Cheese or the Travelodge waterpark from years gone by.

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THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY!  SEE YOU IN THE CAGE
RP
@sportscage
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