Monday, March 30, 2009

Nathan Bomben on Sportsline


Jr. Canuck defenceman Nathan Bomben will be our guest tonight on Sportsline (6:05pm PST on Peace FM).

We'll also try to get Jon Zacks or Mike Feeney from Moose FM to come on and talk about the Mackenzie Cup which gets underway later this week. We'll open up the phone lines at 788-3694 or 1-800-788-5330.

See ya tonight!

dd

Monday Morning

Florida Panthers goal calls from PxP man Randy Moller. Enjoy.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Canucks' Awards Banquet

(Award winners from L to R: Jason Higson, Justin McLeod, Ryan Walker, Tyson Keen, Cody Garnett, Charles Radke. Missing: Nathan Bomben, Reid Smith)

The Dawson Creek Jr. Canucks held their 2008-2009 awards banquet on Friday night in the curling rink.
Here is the list of award winners:

Floyd Brandvold Memorial Most Valuable Player sponsored by Royal Bank: Charles Radke

Top Scorer sponsored by Jock's Restoration: Radke

Most Valuable Defenceman sponsored by Dennis Mitchell Family: Tyson Keen

Rookie of the year sponsored by Promo Shoppe: Reid Smith/Nathan Bomben

Sportsmanship sponsored by Jerry Rude Agri Sales: Nathan Bomben

Most Improved Player sponsored by KFC: Justin McLeod

Playoff MVP sponsored by Pacific Northern Gas: Cody Garnett

Unsung Hero sponsored by Curtis York Trucking: Jason Higson

Most Dedicated Player sponsored by Dice Petroleum: Ryan Walker

Thursday, March 19, 2009

RAMHL League Awards


**Scottie Upshall Top Scorer:
#11 Bond Hawryluk- Peace River Royals
#21 Brendan Hawryluk- Peace River Royals
We had a tie here for this award.

**Mac’s Top Goaltender:
#1 Jordan Panasiuk- Peace River Royals

**Mac’s League All Star Awards:
GOALTENDER- #1 Jordan Panasiuk- Peace River Royals
DEFENSEMAN- #6 Beau Ferbey- NE Panthers
DEFENSEMAN- #19 Rolands Gritans- Sisec Selects
FORWARD- #11 Cody Antos- Camrose Kodiaks
FORWARD- #11 Bond Hawryluk- Peace River Royals
FORWARD- #21 Brendan Hawryluk- Peace River Royals
COACH- Shawn Gervais- Peace River Royals.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Head Shots - an Editorial

(Jon Zacks-Moose FM/energeticcity.ca)

There has been a disturbing trend in the NWJHL lately. A trend that seems to be rippling across the game of hockey. I’m talking, of course, about headshots. Not good, clean body checks in which a player crossing the ice with his head down gets caught by an opponent’s shoulder. Not battles in front of the net where a player engaged in battle takes a punch or two to the noggin. But rather, hits where a player leaves his feet to make higher contact on a body check. Hits where a player is driven from behind head first into the boards. And hits where, rather than leading with the shoulder, a player leads with his hands, stick, or elbow. These hits have resulted in injury after injury as of late. And all of them made more exasperating because they seem to be avoidable.

For the Fort St. John Huskies, it’s been a frustrating year. On February 13th, the team lost 18 year-old Kole Norris for 2 weeks after his head slammed into the glass on a hit from Peace River’s Gerry Young. Norris’ trip to the hospital was all the more upsetting as the hit came in the final minute of the game, with the Huskies leading 7-1. On March 13th, again vs. Peace River, this time in game 7 of the semi-finals, Husky Tyson Pederson was knocked-out when clocked by Navigator defenceman Jay Gaydosh. To date, Pederson hasn’t yet returned to the lineup. Huskies coach Bob Kalb says he’s seen three of his players go down with concussions in the past three weeks, none of which has resulted in any penalties called.

Kalb makes no secret of his aggravation. “They talk about cutting down on headshots and eliminating that sort of business, and then they don’t call that stuff” he complains. “And then they call the little chincy stuff, which drives everybody nuts, and then they wonder why people are upset.”

Coach Kalb is upset with calls going against his team, but more upset with seeing young players get injured. “We want to see these players protected, and supposedly the referees and the associations want that that too, but I’m failing to see it” says Kalb, adding “I’m getting sick and tired of people getting hurt on the ice, and having the referees stand there and do nothing about it.”

Whitecourt Wolverines coach Joey Bouchard agrees with his counterpart. “It’s uncalled for” says Bouchard. “Everybody is working for a living, everyone is playing hockey for the pleasure of the game – you don’t need
that stuff.”

And NWJHL president Al Spence seems to agree. “These guys are out there having fun, and [an injury] could effect them for the rest of their lives.” “It’s just not required” he says of cheap head-shots. “Realistically, it’ always a competitive sport, but when you see the numbers, you should back off, and find a different angle.”

But, while Spence doesn’t think any rule changes are needed in the league, he does agree it needs to do a better job of cracking down on players who play a dirty game. “There’s only a few guys in the league that are out there … being too aggressive” he says. He suggests the league may table an idea that would see repeat offenders suspended, or eventually expelled.

But again, this will require co-operation from the referees, who seem unwilling to discuss the hits with the coaches. Naturally, Junior ‘B’ referees are going to make mistakes. That goes without saying. But what angers Coach Kalb perhaps more than anything else, is the lack of communication. “The referees stand there and look at this stuff, and then they’re upset at you because you say something, like you’re some sort of goof because you try to talk to them.” Referees who won’t talk to players and coaches. This is where your blood starts to boil.

And again, Al Spence sides with the coaches on this one. “It’s really an embarrassment to the referees association” he says. “They should have the guts to skate across and talk to a coach or a [lettered player].” Spence continues, “You can’t hold up a game all night, but realistically, it takes two or three seconds to tell the coach what you’ve seen, and that’s all they’re looking for.”

The NWJHL has three different regions out of which the officials work, and Spence says he’s seen improvements in the communication between the league and the head-referees this year. But, are there any consequences for refs who fail to protect the players and ensure the safety and fairness of the game?

Coach Kalb doesn’t think so. “They take the coaches to task, they take the players to task, nobody takes the referees to task. They just have their own little castles, and power trips, and do whatever they want, and anyone who complains is a bad guy.”

Coach Joey Bouchard doesn’t think so either. “I don’t think this league has gotten there” he says. “I think they’re a long way away.”

Of course, the NWJHL isn’t alone in dealing with the issue of head-shots. Players have gotten bigger, the game has gotten faster, the equipment has turned into armour, and injuries, particularly head injuries, are on the rise across hockey. Just ask NY Islanders forward Dean McAmmond, who’s missed significant amount of playing time in his NHL career, after hits to the head from Anaheim defenceman Chris Pronger, and Philadelphia prospect Steve Downie. You could sense McAmmond’s distress after he suffered his third NHL concussion, and second in four months. “People say I have got concussion problems, but I don’t have concussion problems. I have got a problem with people giving me traumatic blows to the head, that’s what I have got a problem with.”

Naturally, the Huskies aren’t alone in losing players from head shots. From the age players are allowed to body-check, all the way up to the NHL, head injuries have cost countless players more than just games, it’s cost them the serious, long-term effects that accompany severe or repeated concussions. Where a body injury may force a player to miss the rest of a game, or even the rest of a career, head injuries remain amongst the most serious in sports. When you break your arm, it heals, but a concussion can lead to lasting effects that can simply destroy a life. From Mohammed Ali’s Parkinson’s disease, to the countless athletes who have faced a life of post-concussion syndrome, head injuries are scary business.

At an Ontario Senior game this season, Whitby Dunlops forward Don Sanderson was killed, after his head struck the ice during a fight in which both players removed their helmets. The Don Sanderson tragedy reignited the debate over fighting in hockey. Immediately after the incident, media outlets across the country were inundated with pro and anti-fighting advocates desperate to stake their claim. Some want fighting out of the game completely, while others suggest it’s the only way to ensure justice on the ice.

Even at the NHL level, the discussion is front and centre, as evidenced by the league General Managers’ meetings in Naples, Florida last week. At those meetings, league GMs agreed that fighting does still have a place in hockey. But, they decided to implement recommendations to at least cut down on the number of fights. For example, GMs proposed instituting a rule that would see misconducts assessed to players engaging in ‘staged fights’ (such as right off face-offs), as well as asking for a renewed enforcement of the instigator rule. The Ontario Hockey League has gone a step further, bringing in a new rule that will see penalties assessed to any player who voluntarily removes his own or his opponent’s helmet during a fight.

But, while NHL league management continues to talk about fighting, the more serious issue of headshots has again been relegated to the back-burner. Heading into the GM meetings, NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly made no secrets about what should have been the focus. "I'm not saying there shouldn't be discussion about safety measures with regards to fighting," Kelly told TSN, "but our membership is very clear on what they feel is most important, and that is hits to the head."*

Hmmm. Players talking about head-shots, cheap-shots, dangers to the game. The league talking about fighting, fighting, fighting. So why the disconnect?

Coach Kalb isn’t sure why, but he doesn’t think the issue is in the rules. Rather, he thinks it’s a matter of enforcement. “There’s stuff in the books, there’s edicts come down from leagues, but until somebody takes the referees who aren’t making the calls to task, nothing will change.”

For Coach Bouchard, while he’d like to see better enforcement from the league and the referees, he thinks a lot of it hinges on respect among players. “We’ve got to find a way to gain respect among the players” he says. Bouchard points to the All-star game in Whitecourt as a good starting point, allowing players to get to know each other better. But, he says much more is needed. Bouchard also thinks it starts with the coaches. While Bouchard sees Fort St. John as a clean team, he points to certain teams within the league that seem to lack discipline all the way up.

Likewise, Al Spence says coaches play a big role in player conduct. “The coaches need to watch their players, and if they see the players doing that kind of stuff, they need to reprimand them right on the bench.”

The Wolverines were furious with the Grande Prairie Wheelers for several incidents in their semi-final series. In his blog, Whitecourt broadcaster Dave Dawson objected to Grande Prairie’s cheap-shots in the series, mainly because the Wheeler players refused to drop the gloves in response. “Its one thing to be blown out, and get frustrated. Especially in front of your own fans. But it’s another thing to take cheap shots on purpose, play dangerous hockey, and not own up to your actions” said Dawson on March 7th, after the conclusion of the series. Likewise, Huskies colour commentator Mike Feeney, in his blog, indicates that justice needs to be served. Referring to an incident in which Husky Kyle Porter jumped Peace River’s Gerry Young late in a game, in response to Young’s cheapshots, Feeney says “Eventually you have to take your punishment,” adding “if the refs don't take care of it, then the players have to start policing themselves, and that's when it can get ugly.”

So is fighting the answer to keeping the game clean?

Well, that’s another topic for another day. But, it does seem like there are two options. The first is for hockey leagues everywhere to seriously clamp-down on dirty hits, with penalties, suspensions, and yes, even expulsion. The other is for players to protect themselves.

Al Spence says the league doesn’t plan to change its rules regarding fighting, but he is concerned with the existing instigator penalty. “It’s pretty rash – the first time is a warning, the second time is another game, and so on. But lots of times, the ref sees who starts the fight, but really the fight started two shifts before that, with some other issue going on.”

And so, at least for now, the onus looks like it will continue to fall on the players themselves to avoid hits to the head. And, judging from what we’ve seen so far this year, that might end in tragedy. Just ask Dean McAmmond.

Jon Zacks, Moose FM & energeticcity.ca staff

Monday, March 16, 2009

Morning Loop

Back in the saddle this week and I'm getting the feeling that it's going to be a long one.

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The Whitecourt Wolverines are up 2-0 in their best-of-seven NWJHL championship series with the Fort St John Huskies after 6-1 and 8-4 victories on home ice this past weekend.

The series could change however as the Huskies return home for game three Wednesday.

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Can you believe Kevin Martin? Unbelievable performance at the Tim Horton's Brier. Martin's rink went undefeated after winning the championship game 10-4 over Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton. I say just give him the berth for 2010.

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Sportsline goes ahead tonight as scheduled. Tune in at 6:05pm PST. I'm still working on lining up guests but you can bet there will be NWJHL talk a plenty.

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I filled out my NCAA hoops bracket today on Facebook. Fill out yours and play along. I have North Carolina over Louisville in the final.

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Well that's all I have for now. It's off to the gym to sweat off the great food from Saturday night's benefit for the BC Children's Hospital.

Enjoy the day.

dd

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Thursday Morning Questions


Does anybody else hate getting up at 4:30am? Here is a basic rundown of how my morning went today:

  • 4:30am alarm goes off - get up shut it off - go back to bed.

  • 4:35am alarm goes off again - get up, shut it off - go back to bed

  • 4:40am alarm goes off again - get up, shut it off - go back to bed

  • 4:45am alarm goes off again - get up, shut it off - head to the living room - fall back asleep on the couch.

  • 4:50am alarm goes off again - this time I FINALLY wake up for good and head out the door.

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Was anyone else waiting for Simon and the judges to critique Kelly Clarkson after her performance on Idol last night?

Clarkson sang her new song on American Idol last night and it wasn't too shabby but for some reason I was just waiting for the judges to start saying something after but they just went to break instead.

Oh, and the right two people went home last night.

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Do you read your horoscope?

When doing the daily horoscope with with birthdays on the Hit and Miss Morning Show I occasionally flip over to Aquarius.

Advice you give today will be taken very seriously. You must take it seriously too.

Alright, my advice comes from an old Chinese proverb: When you go to buy, don't show your silver.

That'll be in the back of my mind when I go car shopping.

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Who will meet Whitecourt in the NWJHL championship series?

My money would be on the Fort St John Huskies but it's probably a good thing that I don't bet because Peace River rebounded after a 12-1 loss to win 4-3 in overtime last night. The navigators lead the best of seven series 3-2.

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When will we know anything more about the NAHL?

We are definitely talking NAHL on Sportsline Monday night. I will be talking to the commissioner of the league tomorrow and will share my findings with you Monday night (or possibly sooner here on the blog).

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Alberta's Kevin Martin remains as the only undefeated team at the Tim Horton's Brier. Oh, the question! Um.... who is the best curling team in Canada? That would be Kevin Martin's rink.

I haven't watched as much of the Brier as I would have liked but I'll spend some time doing that this afternoon. I think the Martin rink has won like 18 straight games or something ridiculous like that.

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That's all for now. Enjoy your Thursday.

dd

Monday, March 9, 2009

Morning Loop

I woke up to -35-degrees and that didn't include the windchill! A windchill warning has been issued this morning for the Peace Region with a risk of frostbite and wind chills of -45-degrees. Good grief, I think I'll stay inside. On a positive note it is looking like temps above zero for the upcoming weekend.

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The NWJHL semi-finals are getting a bit confusing these days. Over the weekend Fort St John and Peace River postponed game 3 due to bad weather. Game 4 went as planned on Sunday with Peace River winning in overtime 4-3. Game three will be made up down the road and Wolverines' voice Dave Dawson is reporting that game 7 could end up back in Peace River because of this. Check out (Huskies color commentator) Mike Feeney's blog on the right hand side for the current, accurate info.

On the other side of the league the Whitecourt Wolverines completed the sweep of the Grande Prairie Wheelers with a 9-2 victory in game 4. They'll await the winner of the other semi-final and return to the championship series for the second consecutive year.

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Sportsline goes tonight at 6:05pm PST on Peace FM. We are hoping to chat about the NAHL but we still need a few pieces to fall into place before that can happen. I'll remain optimistic that we'll chat about it tonight. If not we need something to talk about. Any suggestions? Comment below or e-mail sports@peacefm.ca.

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More as it comes to me.

Stay warm!

dd

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Chetwynd in First Place

The Chetwynd Secondary curling team is all alone in first place at 6-1 after an 8-4 victory over Claremont this morning. Here is a recap of the teams games thus far:

Thursday
Chetwynd 9
Chilliwack 1

Chetwynd 7
South Delta 6

Chetwynd 13 (8 ends)
Mount Elizabeth 7

Friday
Howe Sound 6 (9 ends)
Chetwynd 3

Sparwood 2
Chetwynd 10 (5 ends)

Chetwynd 6
Revelstoke 4

Saturday
Chetwynd 8
Claremont 4

Chetwynd is now finished for the round robin games and there is only one more draw at 11am with 2 games meaning Chetwynd will finish in first place.

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At the moment I am not sure about any playoff structure (if there is one) or a final game (again if there is one). I will let you know what I know when I know.

Have a great Saturday!

dd

Friday, March 6, 2009

Provincial High School Boys Curling

The Chetwynd Secondary rink is off to a great start at the championships in Smithers, BC. The rink went a perfect 3-0 on day one and today lost it's first game 6-3 to Howe Sound before beating Sparwood Secondary 10-2 this afternoon. They are currently playing Revelstoke who are also 4-1. The two teams are tied atop the standings.

NAHL in Dawson Creek... Possibly


The talk theses days continues to surround the Encana Events Centre and when or if a hockey team will be brought in to fill the arena.

From what I'm hearing an ownership group is already in place and it appears as though the NAHL has or is close to accepting a Dawson Creek franchise. Take this from the blog of Scott Montesano, the Director of Communications for the North Iowa Outlaws (NAHL):

Considering the NAHL has been as stable as far as membership goes as the foundation of a sandcastle the past number of seasons, to expect the current make-up of the league’s 19 teams to remain the same is foolhardy. Its like wearing shorts on a sunny February day believing the 40-degree temps will be more than enough to compensate for the increase in unprotected skin.

I can’t comment on which teams will return, which teams will move and which teams will simply take their ball and go home. However, what I can do is discuss some of those lucrative markets that are out there yearning for a team and whether its the NAHL or another league that decides to step into the batters box remains to be seen. The NAHL has had more teams and franchises the past few seasons than that California woman has babies, so there will be addition next season.

The NAHL is likely to have teams in Janesville, WI and Dawson Creek, BC…the latter almost entirely surrounded by snow and polar bears and accessible by pretty much just dog sled. The Janesville group will make a final decision in a few weeks, while Dawson Creek is pretty much a go after convincing league owners that the fact the community is a day and a half drive from Seattle and Anchorage is just a small hurdle to over come. Considering that the British Columbia League voted against Dawson Creek because of travel logistics, its a little surprising the NAHL is taking them in but its sure to make the likes of Joey and Pacey happy.

I will be speaking with NAHL commissioner Mark Frankenfeld in the coming days about this and you can have a listen in on our conversation Monday night on Sportsline.

It's Friday

Let's start the day with a recap of the trade deadline quiz: blogger edition.

Q: How many trades will be made?
A: I said: TSN posed an over/under of 23. I say 27.
Actual: 22.

Q: Which team will make the most moves? How many?
A: I said: Leafs and 5.
Actual: 3 trades 2 waiver pick-ups. Does that count as 5 moves? It was also the Ducks who made 4 trades on the day. Zero points.

Q: With Chris Pronger off the market will Jay Boumeester be traded?
A: I said: No.
Actual: No.

Q: How many players will be involved in the day's biggest deal?
A: I said: Five.
Actual: Four (three deals each had four. If draft picks were allowed it would have been 5

Q: Who will be the biggest named moved? To what team?
A: I said: Jokinen to Calgary.
Actual: Jokinen to Calgary.

Q: How many deals will Canadian teams be involved in?
A: I said: Eight.
Actual: Eight.

Results: In total there were 8 questions asked and I answered 4 correct. Fifty percent. I'll take it.

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Results from Thursday in the NWJHL are reflected in the NWJHL playoffs on the right hand side of the page. The Whitecourt Wolverines are steam rolling Grande Prairie at the moment and it looks like a certain sweep. Elsewhere, Peace River evened up their series with a win in game 2.

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Chetwynd Secondary is off to a great start at the 2008-2009 B.C. High School Boys Curling Provincials in Smithers.

The rink skipped by Mark Robertson had wins over Chilliwack Secondary 9-1, South Delta Secondary 7-6 and Mount Elizabeth 13-7.

Their back on the ice this morning at 11am to take on Howe Sound who are also undefeated at 2-0.

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The Calgary Flames are already seeing a return on their deadline day deals. In their 5-1 victory last night Jokinen scored a pair while Jordan Leopold added his first as a Flame. The Flames are legit contenders for the cup at this point.

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What are the Toronto Maple Leafs doing? I don't think it's in them to finish in the basement or make the playoffs. They are destined to finish in 10th place.

The Leafs put Vesa Toskala on the shelf to get surgery and picked up Martin Gerber off waivers from Ottawa. This move would certainly wrap up last place for the leafs, wouldn't it? Gerber made 37 saves last night in a 2-1 win over Washington.

This guy was brought in to lose! What is going on? The team can't decide if they want to make the playoffs or get a high draft pick. Decide quick because I don't want to see them finish between 9th - 12th again.

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DILLSBURG, Pa. - Police say horns started honking as a sport-utility vehicle sat through six red lights at a south-central Pennsylvania intersection.
Officers arrived to investigate the SUV that seemed to be parked in the intersection, and found the driver asleep at the wheel, with his foot on the brake and a beer in the console.
Officers yelled to wake the man, then had to quickly halt the vehicle when his foot came off the brake and it drifted into the intersection Saturday night in Carroll Township, about 25 kilometres west of Harrisburg.
The 41-year-old was charged with driving under the influence.
(The Associated Press)

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And we'll close off this post with another non-sports related piece. Check out this video. It's hard to believe he survived.




Yikes!

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Have a great day!

dd

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Morning Loop: Trade Deadline Day Edition


6:00am - Coverage has already begun on TSN and I'm at work. There isn't any calling in sick today but luckily I've got the streaming on and I won't miss a thing.

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Want to play the quiz, blogger version? Ok, here we go!

Q: It was asked on Trade Centre and I'll ask it again, how many trades will be made?
A: TSN posed an over/under of 23. I say 27.

Q: Which team will make the most moves? How many?
A: I'm going to go on a limb here and say the Leafs. Five trades.

Q: With Chris Pronger off the market will Jay Boumeester be traded? To who?
A: No. Florida needs him too much for their playoff run and unless it's a spectacular package he won't move.

Q: How many players will be involved in the day's biggest deal? (not including draft picks)
A: Five.

Q: Who will be the biggest name moved? To what team?
A: Possibly Kaberle but I'll lean more towards Jokinen to Calgary.

Q: How many deals will Canadian teams be involved in?
A: Eight.

Post your answers in the comment section if you want to play along.

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6:53am - TSN cuts to Jay Onrait at home who is blogging from what James Duthie says "what looks like his parent's basement." This is absolutely hilarious as he sits there in his housecoat. Check out the Dan O'toole mug on the coffee table. Now he holds up his Geno Reda mug. What a gem.

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The NWJHL semi-finals started last night for the Fort St John Huskies and the Peace River Navigators and this one wasn't close. Fort St John took at 1-0 series lead in their best of seven second round series after a 9-2 win.

Cam McKinnon and Cody Kalb each had a pair.

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High school curling provincials start tomorrow in Smithers. The Peace Region is represented by Chetwynd Secondary and their rink led by skip Mark Robertson. The rest of the team: third-Danny Grant, second-Brad Folster, lead-Kelly Hamilton, coach-Kyle Dunlop/Daniel Jewison.

The rink is on the ice tomorrow morning at 8:00am for draw 1 against Chilliwack Secondary and skip Matthew Prinse.

Updates here and on Peace FM.

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Ok, I said I'd talk about it a little earlier but I never got around to it. The series between the Canucks/Wheelers went down to the wire and in the end special teams won out. Five on five I think, for the most part, the Canucks dominated the Wheelers. Grande Prairie scored 8 of 15 goals on the power play. That's a huge number. If the Wolverines stay out of the box that series won't even be close.

It was entertaining, that's for sure and what's done is done.

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I've been asked a lot lately about the Encana Events Centre. I'm constantly being asked if or when we will see hockey played in the building on a regular basis.

My answer is soon. I need to confirm a few things and am going to be tracking this story today but things are heating up.

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8:00am - TSN broke the first trade of the day. Ottawa and Columbus hooked up on a deal. I won't be posting any trades today because you can check out TSN or Sportsnet.

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That's all for now. Enjoy trade deadline day!

dd

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Huskies/Navigators Schedule // Wolverines Win

Game 1 - Tuesday (Feb 3rd) 8pm @FSJ
Game 2 - Thursday (Feb 5th) 8pm @ P.R.
Game 3 - Saturday (Feb 7th) 8pm @ FSJ
Game 4 - Sunday (Feb 8th) 6:30pm @ P.R. *** note - clocks will have changed on the night of Feb 7th, so game 4 will be at 5:30 pm FSJ time.

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The Whitecourt Wolverines took an early lead in their best of 7 NWJHL semi-final series with a 6-3 victory over the visiting Grande Prairie Wheelers.

Layne Brown and Rod Lavoie each scored a pair in the victory. Word is things got a little dirty in the third. Check out the blog of Wolverines pxp man Dave Dawson for the details.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Morning Loop

It's a more depressing Monday morning that I'm used to. It always hurts for a few days after the season ends as you think, "now what?"

I've got a few thoughts on the series that was and what's ahead in the NWJHL and I'll post that this afternoon.

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With the Canucks done for the season it's time to get caught up on rest of the local sports scene. There is a ton of high school sports this week so you can look forward to a lot more information here on the blog.

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Swing Vote and Hancock were the movies of choice this weekend. I'll give them both a solid review but I do have one question: who did he vote for?

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The blog has passed 5,000 visits. Thanks for supporting the blog and I'll continue to keep up what has kept you reading and will start to give you more information on sports in the area.

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No word at the moment on a possible date for the Canucks year end banquet. When I know you'll know.

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Sportsline is set for tonight. Tune in at 6:05pm MST for the show as Max and I will give you our "Instant Replay" and possibly another feature or two for your enjoyment.

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It's a little slow today and the brain isn't really in gear at the moment. We may chat later in the day.

Have a good one.

dd

High School Basketball Zone Playoffs

The weekend didn't quite go as planned for the South Peace Penguins Sr. boys and girls basketball teams over the weekend in Prince George.

The girls went 1-2 on the weekend with their lone win a thrilling victory over Kelly Road 37-36. The zone was won by Prince George. A bright spot was South Peace Penguin Jaleena Neufeld being named to the zone's all star team.

In the boys division it was Kelly Road over North Peace in the final to take the zone.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Wheelers 5 Canucks 2

DAWSON CREEK -- The Dawson Creek Jr. Canucks and the Grande Prairie Wheelers squared off Saturday night in the fifth and deciding game of the NWJHL's quarter final playoff series.

Dawson Creek had forced game five with a 7-4 win in Grande Prairie the night before but it was Grande Prairie who held a lead through 20 minutes. Charles Radke took an undisciplined penalty late in the first and the Wheelers capitalized. A point shot was tipped home by Cody Atkinson right as the period was ending and the Wheelers had a 1-0 lead at the break.

In the second the Canucks answered on the power play. With the Canucks on a power play Nathan Bomben put a snap shot over the pads of goaltender Ryan Brausen to tie the game at one.

It remained tied until the 14:35 mark when the Wheelers got another power play marker, this time from Cordell Shmyr. Just 22 seconds later we had the game's Safeway turning point. Michael Podruzney made the score 3-1 after 40 minutes.

In the third, Dawson Creek poured it on and got to within one at the 9:17 mark when Jason Higson snapped home a power play goal. That was as close as the Canucks would get.

Late in the period, Dawson Creek went to the power play and pulled goaltender Cody Garnett hoping to tie the hockey game. It wouldn't work though and as the Wheelers cleared the zone they found the back of the empty net. They would add another into an empty net to win the game 5-2.

Grande Prairie went 2 for 5 on the power play while the Canucks went 2 for 6.

Cardinal Telecom three stars: 1) Brausen 2) Higson 3) Atkinson. Jock's hardest working Canuck: Higson.