Looking Back on an Outstanding Post Season

When I said after Game 5 that I'd give my opinion once the series was over, I think everyone was expecting me to say the refs lost the Terriers the game/series or something. That's not the case at all, and now that it's all said and done, I figure it's better to take the high road anyway, and not even because I learned that Laury Ryan's a regular reader!! Fact is, it was a physical series, and they let some things go both ways... and there certainly wasn't one team that was at fault and one that wasn't when it came to the rough (occassionally 'dirty') stuff.

Anyway, I'll start with the "Congrats's"

Bob Beatty (La Ronge Coach/GM) - Even though I'm from Simpson, SK and he's from rival Watrous, Bob was great to me the 6 times I spoke to him before games in this series. It was the first time I'd ever chatted with him in person, since our broadcast schedule never has us in La Ronge. He's another one of those wily vets who makes me think carefully ahead of time what to ask and how to word questions.

Ron Holloway (La Ronge Trainer) - Might not be a classier guy in hockey. He works tirelessly off the ice, behind the scenes, getting far less credit than he deserves (as is the case for most trainers I'm sure). Ronnie was part of both Terrier Championships in 04/05 and 05/06, and joined the Ice Wolves for their playoff run and added a third SJHL ring.

Joel Danyluk (La Ronge Goalie) - He might be the least popular guy in or from Yorkton right now, but he's got a ring, and a 4-and-0 record in the SJHL finals. I took some flack on an earlier post saying how great a kid he is, but I'll defend him on that. He's just emotional, like all hockey players, and loves to win.

Aaron DeCorby (La Ronge Forward) - I watched Aaron play for his hometown Melville Millionaires for 2 1/2 seasons. He's getting back to 100% health wise and will be a big factor in the Anavet & RBC.

Same goes for the families of the local guys... had good chats with Aaron's dad Kim and Joel's dad Curtis after the game too... hockey's a family commitment and they all deserve to celebrate a little.

Dallas Hicks (La Ronge Radio) - I just finished my 5th season of doing hockey on the radio, I've done Play-by-Play for 4 seasons, the last 3 of which at GX94, and I've called the last two SJHL Finals. This was Dallas' 12th season as Voice of the Ice Wolves, and he never had a sniff of the final, and now he's called a league championship, soon to be an Anavet Cup, and a National RBC Tournament. I feel good for a guy like that. We radio guys maybe like to think we're a bigger part of it than we actually are, but we're a tight knit group and enjoy covering our teams almost as much as the players enjoy playing.

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I said on the air last night we had 79 broadcasts this season, but my math is terrible... it was actually 89. So Game 7 would have made it 90, and depending how long the Anavet (at least 4) and RBC (at least 4) lasted, we could have flirted with 100.

I say it every year I think, but this year WAS the most fun I've had calling hockey... every season seems to out-do the previous one.

We had 63 games in the regular season between the two leagues we cover (including a handful of PJHL, Senior, Minor), but there's no time like playoff time, and this season we crammed in 26 post season broadcasts.

None of our four teams lit things up in the regular schedule. The MJHL's Swan Valley Stampeders were the highest finishing team of our four, and they were third in the Sherwood Division. The Wayway Wolverines finished last, despite a finish that saw them playing as good as anyone in the league. Then in the SJHL, Melville and Yorkton were 4th and 5th respectively in the 6 team Sherwood Conference.

Was I expecting to be calling hockey on April 11th? Notta chance!

The playoffs began on Friday, February 26th. I was in Portage for Game 1 of the Swan Valley Stampeders and Portage Terriers, which the Stamps won, I believe 4-3. While at the same time, Yorkton watched a late 4-1 lead slip away and the Melville Millionaires completed an unthinkable comeback, winning 5-4 in OT, on a Matt Kinnunen short-handed breakaway. Many predicted a Melville series win, and it seemed like a sure thing after such a deflating Terrier loss. But Yorkton came home the next night, and won convincingly, 5-1.

Eventually, Yorkton would win the Survivor Series 3-1, while Swan Valley took out Portage 4-1 in the first round of the MJHL playoffs.

The Stampeders then lost in 5 games to the Dauphin Kings in the MJHL Sherwood Final, handing the eventual league champion Kings their only post season loss so far.

Back in the SJ, the Terriers made short work of the league leading Weyburn Red Wings, who finished with 15 more wins and 32 more points in the regular season standings than Yorkton. The only game of that series I didn't see was Game 2, when Rylan McDonell scored in overtime on home ice, giving the Terriers a 2-0 series edge, and while it would have been nice to see that one, it was great to witness a little history in Portage, as the Swan Valley Stampeders finished off their second series win in franchise history.

Yorkton lost Game Three 2-1 in Weyburn, but bounced back at home, erasing a 2-0 deficit, and Kevin Stringfellow provided the OT heroics, with 17 seconds remaining in the first extra frame, giving the Terriers a commanding 3-1 lead, and they could smell it. The Terriers scored two goals in each period of Game 5, en route to a 6-1 victory in Weyburn, taking the series in 5 games.

Up next were the 3rd place Kindersley Klippers, who were fresh off a first round sweep of Notre Dame. Kevin Clark scored on a short-handed breakaway to end Game 1 in overtime, but the Terriers responded with a 7-4 win the next night to get their split on the road. The two clubs then traded one-goal victories in Yorkton to make it a 2-2 tie going back to Eston. From there, the games only got tighter. Troy Smukowich played the overtime hero in Game 5, but the Terriers hit rock-bottom infront of their home fans, watching the Klippers come back from a 2-0 third period deficit, scoring the winner with 4 seconds left in regulation... and it was back to Eston for Game 7. The Klippers struck first, and early, on Andrew Dommett's first of two on the night, but the Terriers led 2-1 after the first. It was 3-2 after two, before Dommett struck again to tie it at 3, forcing, yes, another overtime. Stringfellow scored his second walk-off goal of the playoffs, pouncing on a turnover at the offensive blue line, and snapping it 5-hole.

The Terriers were off to the dance!

New series, same story. Overtime in Game 1. Defenseman Blaine Tendler was the hero this time, stealing home ice for the Terriers, who took the opener 4-3 in La Ronge. The Ice Wolves avoided a 2-0 hole the following night with a 3-1 win, and got home ice advantage back with a 4-3 OT win in Yorkton in Game 3. The Terriers knew they had to win Game 4, and they exploded for a 7-2 win, making it a Best-of-Three. But then the hat-trick duo took over. Dusty Stevenson scored three in a 3-1 Ice Wolves win in Game 5. And the season finale for the Terriers was on home ice, and they fell 3-2 in overtime, this time it was Liam Brennan sniping all three... but not until after the Terriers had yet another miraculous comeback, capped by a Drew McDermott goal with just 38 seconds remaining.

What a game, what a series, what a playoff run.

Best of luck to the Ice Wolves, and to the Dauphin Kings, who'll represent Saskatchewan & Manitoba at the National level in May.

Thanks to Trent Cassan, Danny McKay, Riley Rice and Ed Zawatsky in Yorkton this season. Also to Melville's Jamie Fiesel, Neil Lamberty and Dave Melnychuk. In Manitoba, same goes to Swan Valley's Dwayne Kirkup and Guy Vestby, along with Greg Harris... and Wayway's Barry Butler, Jim Fuyarchuk, and my traveling buddy Don Chesney. All are good hockey people, and people-people!

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As far as my job goes, I won't pretend that it stings anywhere near as much as it does for the players and coaches when the season's over, but it does still hurt, especially the night of and morning after it's all said and done. I wouldn't have wanted the position I have if it weren't the several hockey Play-by-Play games I'm able to do, and at GX I'm on the go a lot during the winter months, and now have just about 300 games of play-by-play under my belt, and closing in on 400 total between PBP and colour. Like anyone who has any job, I try to get better at what I do, and hope those listening enjoy it, because I do! Thanks also goes to everyone at GX who has a hand in getting games on the air. I FINALLY (took 3 years) can say I didn't miss a single broadcast this season, due to sickness, or otherwise, so we didn't have to go to the bullpen (aka Randy Atkinson!)... so while I was there for all 89, several others make it possible... Clark Stork doing colour (and I've had help from others along the way)... our sales team for getting businesses to sponsor the broadcasts, Programming, Music, and Traffic departments for doing the scheduling, etc, Production for making the broadcasts sound spiffy with intros, splitters, etc, the whole newsroom, who has to pick up the slack and do double duty with sports while I'm gone, and the on-air jocks who operate back at the station... everyone pitches in and makes it possible!

- For my personal life, PART of me is relieved that my 'busy season' is over. My wife is over 8 months pregnant, and I haven't been around anywhere near enough throughout the process. Her due date is May 8th, the day before the RBC Final! So a lot of people (mother in law especially!) have been asking... "what's gonna happen if....." In that sense it's nice to KNOW there won't be any conflict there, because that's something I would never want to miss, and WOULDN'T miss. But, to be 100% honest, I was still hoping to be doing hockey in May, and just have everything work out. It would have been all in Yorkton or Dauphin the rest of the way... so there were a few anxious days in La Ronge with the cell phone on 24 hrs, but I wasn't THAT worried, still with a month to go. But, I told her when I came home last night, "that kid better be born before hockey's over... if it's born on like May 15th, I'll LOSE IT!"

In this day and age you never know what you'll be doing or where you'll be from year-to-year, but as of right now I would guess I'll be back for season #4 at GX, and season #6 in radio, and I look forward to the season starting again in just another 5 months. Until then, time to relax a little, play a little golf, watch some Cardinals/Millionaires baseball, become a dad, and maybe, get to know my wife again!

It's been great, folks! Until next year...

Craig S

"WOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
(That phrase has been retired... need a new OT winner call for next year!)