No One Cares. Season's Over.

I'm not here to point out the embarrassing act that the Barrie Colts pulled following their OHL semifinal win. It was all over sports highlight shows, and Colts head coach Dylan Smoskowitz apologized for the behaviour that he said he encouraged. What makes that look even worse in hindsight at this point, though, is that the Colts' season came to an end tonight as they were swept in the OHL Final by the Kitchener Rangers. Again, I'm not here to rip on the Colts for what they did, but karma seems to have responded to the behaviour shown with tonight's result.

I'll credit Smoskowitz for accepting responsibility for what happened in that press conference. It doesn't mean I have to like how they acted, but Smoskowitz deserves a nod for taking the heat, apologizing to the media, and accepting that he cost the Colts $15,000 after the OHL issued the team a fine for that behaviour. He messed up, he admitted he did and was the ringleader, and he didn't shy away from the scrutiny. At the very least, I can respect that.

The Colts ran into an unstoppable force in the Kitchener Rangers in the final, and they gave the Rangers everything they had. Two games went to overtime, but the Rangers prevailed in each of the four games to complete the sweep. Tonight's 4-2 game was, at one point, a 2-2 contest with twelve minutes to play, but the Rangers found the lead when Christian Humphreys tipped Carson Campbell's shot past Colts' netminder Ben Hrebik, and it was all defence after that.

The Colts worked hard in the final. The Colts gave it their everything when it came to trying to topple the Rangers. The Colts came up short, though, and their season has come to an end tonight.

I'm not one to lend credence to things like superstitions or 'hockey gods". They're fun little aspects that people can talk about, but I do believe that luck favours the prepared, hard work gets rewarded, and there is balance in the universe when it comes to everything. Yes, weird things happen and coincidences are real, but I don't have a deep belief in the "supernatural" of hockey. It's just not real.

In saying that, it's hard not to have a smirk and suggest that the "hockey gods" weren't happy with the Colts' press conference after the Colts knocked off the favoured Brampton Bulldogs. One might call it karma after the Colts disrespected the game with their behaviour, but, no matter how you slice it, the end result was that the Colts ran into a talented Rangers team that lost two games in these playoffs and are now on a six-game winning streak entering the Memorial Cup.

The Barrie Colts will likely take a few days to process this loss before coming back to clean out their lockers, and I suspect there will be a handful of interviews with reporters at that time. A handful of players will clean out their lockers for the last time in their OHL careers, and there likely will be some reflecting on the years spent battling through Ontario. It might be the last time some of these players see one another as their paths go in different directions.

One thing I doubt any coach or player will utter is their team motto. That lesson was learned in the week after the press conference, and it was reinforced by the Kitchener Rangers' sweep of the Colts. All of Barries's returning players will go into the summer knowing that "no one cares" about their second-place finish in the OHL, and they'll need to find another gear and "work harder" next season.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Another Roadside Attraction: The Fish

As stated back on April 20, HBIC will be using the summer to visit various cities and towns in Manitoba to document all the interesting, weird, and fun statues found in these communities while seeking out some local hockey stories as well. With me needing to head south down Highway 75 towards the Canada-US border, I thought I'd make a little detour and begin this fun project with a quick stop in Dominion City, Manitoba where we'll discover our first roadside attraction!

Dominion City sits on Provincial Highway 201 just east of Letellier, Manitoba. The total travel time from Winnipeg is approximately one hour as it sits 93 kilometers away from the Manitoba capital. It also sits about 20 kilometers north of the Canada-US border with the 2021 Canadian Census showing the town holding a population of 320 people. Maybe Dominion City should be classified as a village?

Jokes aside, you may be wondering how Dominion City came to be, and it's mostly due to the railway. As per the plaque to the right posted by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Dominion City is where the final spike for the first railway line built in western Canada was driven into the ground on December 3, 1878. The railway ran from St. Boniface in Winnipeg south to Emerson at the Canada-US border and connected western Canada to the eastern Canada and the United States. Rather than building a railway that ran through Canada at a much higher cost, linking western Canada to the US rail lines was a much more cost-effective option. The railway brought prosperity to the region, making Dominion City an important piece of that route.

What About The Statue?

We'll start with the sign because, as it says, the statue is called "The Fish". The description, however, is far more interesting as the statue is a recreation of a 15.5-foot, 406lbs sturgeon that was caught in the nearby Roseau River by Sandy Waddell on October 27, 1903. The female sturgeon was estimated to be 150 years-old and was full of caviar. The sturgeon was hauled by horse-and-buggy back to town. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the lake sturgeon is Manitoba's largest freshwater fish, and is currently being monitored by several groups to ensure their long-term viability in Manitoba's rivers.

As a side note, fish eggs are usually called "roe", but "caviar" specifically refers to salted, cured roe from the sturgeon family. While the eggs weren't salted or cured prior to "The Fish" being caught, I imagine they became caviar once the fishing party arrived in Dominion City with their catch. Celebrations were to be had!

So what does this stature look like, you ask? Here's "The Fish"!

If I do have one tiny complaint, it's that there was no notation anywhere around "The Fish" as to when the statue was erected. It would be interesting to know when the town decided to memorialize the sturgeon, but that info was nowhere to be found at the site.

What's The Hockey Connection?

You might be wondering how a town with 320 people would have a big hockey connection, but current Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Denton Mateychuk hails from Dominion City! Mateychuk has played 120 games with the Blue Jackets, but he showed up in a big way this season as the Blue Jackets pushed for a playoff spot. In total, he has amassed 17 goals and 27 assists after being selected 12th-overall in 2022, but he scored 13 goals and 18 assists in 75 games this season. He's also a former Moose Jaw Warriors captain, he played with the Eastman Selects in Manitoba, and spent time with the Cleveland Monsters as he worked to earn a Blue Jackets roster spot.

Mateychuk will get a second chance to wear the maple leaf this May as he was selected to join Team Canada for the IIHF World Championship in Zurich and Fribourg. He played for Canada at the 2024 World Junior Championship where he recorded four assists in five games, and Canada will be looking for another solid performance when Mateychuk hits the ice on the blue line in Switzerland!

There's our first look at one of the roadside attractions you'll find in Manitoba if you plan on touring the province. "The Fish" isn't the most picturesque statue I'll feature here, but the history behind that sturgeon and the town of Dominion City is pretty interesting. And having an up-and-coming NHL defenceman born in the town adds another layer if you're interested in visiting Dominion City, Manitoba!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Bringing Home Hardware?

While the tournament hasn't likely been on anyone's radar outside of the teams, families, and organizations playing, I have been watching the 2026 Canadian National Para Hockey Championship all week. One of the things we pledged to do on The Hockey Show was to give sledge hockey in Manitoba and, by proxy, in Canada a bigger stage, and there is no bigger tournament in Canada than the National Championship! Team Manitoba packed their gear, hopped onto an airplane, and headed for Boucherville, Quebec on the south side of Montreal where they were hunting for medals against the six teams who rounded out the competition! They battled hard all week, played with pride, and represented Manitoba extremely well as the faced some excellent provincial teams in their quest for hardware.

The six other teams making up the tournament included Quebec, Atlantic, British Columbia, Ontario, a Quebec development team, and Saskatchewan which was actually made up of players from both Saskatchewan and Alberta. It should be noted that Saskatchewan was making their first appearance at the National Championship, so this is a huge step forward for the players from Alberta and Saskatchewan. No one expected them to win, but the experience in seeing some of Canada's best provincial teams should help them in the long run.

Quebec came into the tournament as the reigning four-time champion, so they were looking to add to their dynasty. Quebec funds their parahockey teams and leagues very well, so it should be no surprise that they are the team to beat every year. They were going to have to earn their fifth-straight championship, however, as a number of strong provincial teams made their way to Boucherville for the competition, so let's see how Manitoba did at the tournament!

Manitoba met Ontario in the morning game on Thursday, and we were witness to a tight-checking game. Manitoba, though, found a few breaks and got pucks to the net, allowing them to take the morning game over Ontario by a 3-1 score with Cohen Klassen earning Player-of-the-Game honours. With Quebec defeating Team Atlantic, Manitoba began to prepare for the 0-1 Atlantic team in the evening.

Without dropping too much foreshadowing, Manitoba met Atlantic at 7:00pm ET in what was one of the best games of the opening day. It was clear that the two teams matched up very well as this game went back and forth, but it would be Atlantic who prevailed in the end by a 4-3 overtime score over Manitoba to send both teams into Friday with 1-1 records. Rainey Delaurier was named as the Player-of-the-Game, and the team began to prepare for Team Saskatchewan.

Before we discuss the Saskatchewan-Manitoba game, I would like to editorialize a little by saying that goal differential as a tie-breaker is always a bad idea. I understand the reason for it, but no team likes delivering a blowout score and no team likes being on the receiving end of a blowout. With Manitoba, BC, and Atlantic all entering Day Two at 1-1, Manitoba needed to put some space between them and the other teams when it came to goal differential. No one should like it, but Manitoba beat Saskatchewan by an 18-0 final score in the early Friday draw. Chris Frank earned Manitoba's Player-of-the-Game.

Manitoba's biggest test would come on Friday evening as they met the defending champions in Quebec. I watched this game in its entirety, and it's pretty easy to see why Quebec has won four-straight championships: they're fast, they're well-organized, and they can shoot. It wasn't a case of Manitoba wasn't ready to play, but moreso a case of Quebec just being on another level as they won virtually every race to loose pucks, they backchecked like demons, and they tore down the ice in transition. In the end, Quebec looked unstoppable in a 7-0 drubbing of Manitoba where goaltender Logan Bilodeau was named Player-of-the-Game after making a pile of stops.

Manitoba's 2-2 record earned them a date with Ontario on Saturday morning to advance to the semifinals, so they needed to come out and play strong again. This game was a back-and-forth affair as both sides showed some good jump in the offensive zone while making plays in their respective defensive ends. Despite both teams having chances, it would be Manitoba who found a little extra as they came out of this game with a 4-3 victory! Elijah Armbruster took Player-of-the-Game honours as Team Manitoba earned the unenviable semifinal against Team Quebec. Would we see Canada's juggernaut slayed?

The answer to that question was a resounding "no" as Quebec scored early and often in the semifinal to earn a berth in the gold medal final for the fifth-straight year. Again, it's not that Manitoba played poorly or missed assignments against Quebec. It's simply a matter of Quebec being that much better than everyone else. The final score in this one-sided affair was 14-0, and Manitoba would aim for a bronze medal in the final game of their tournament on Sunday. Goaltender Paul Hamm was Manitoba's Player-of-the-Game in this contest!

It was a 10:00am ET draw for the bronze medal game, and Manitoba would square off against Team Atlantic after they fell 3-1 to British Columbia on Saturday night. After the Atlantic took a 1-0 lead into the intermission, Manitoba would answer back early in the second period when Elijah Armbruster went high on the blocker side to tie the game. That seem to light a fire undr Team Atlantic as they scored three-straight goals to take a 4-1 lead into the second intermission, and this forecasting of two evenly-matched teams seems like a lie.

However, Manitoba scored two goals midway through the third period to narrow the gap to 4-3, and it seemed like we were in for a heckuva finish. That's where Isaac Armbruster made his impact on the game as he notched a goal with three minutes to play to tie the game at 4-4! No one else would dent twine over those last three minutes, so we were off to overtime with a medal hanging in the balance!

Overtime would be a ten-minute period played at three-on-three which makes no sense, but I don't make the rules. If no goals were scored, we'd see a shootout to decide the medal, and no one wanted that. The good news? We didn't have to worry about the shootout. The bad news, however, is that Team Atlantic would replicate the same result we saw on Thursday as they struck in overtime to win the bronze medal by a 5-4 score! It's not how Manitoba wanted to finish, but they should hold their heads high as this was an excellent game! Cole Maydanuk earned Manitoba's Player-of-the-Game honours.

Quebec and British Columbia would battle for gold, and it would be Quebec who earned their fifth-consecutive championship after defeating BC by a 2-0 score. What might be scarier is that Quebec, in their six games, outscored their opponents by a 39-0 count, so clearly they will wear that juggernaut title for another year with another gold medal. In the end, though, this was an incredible tournament for all seven teams when it came to how entertaining and exciting the hockey action was all week! Every team should be proud!

The final standings for the 2026 Canadian National Para Hockey Championship are as follows after the dust settled today:

1. Quebec
2. British Columbia
3. Atlantic
4. Manitoba
5. Ontario
6. Quebec development team
7. Saskatchewan

We need to get caught up with Team Manitoba at some point, so expect an episode of The Hockey Show dedicated to them in the near future. I know they probably don't want to talk about missing out medals, but they represented Manitoba well and we're still proud of their efforts. I was hoping and expecting Hockey Manitoba to post something about the team this weekend, but that didn't happen. At what point does Hockey Manitoba support this program and team?

What I do know is that Manitoba's parahockey team is made up of some of the best people in hockey that Manitoba has to offer, and every Manitoban should be trying to see these amazing athletes in action. They may not have brought home a medal from Nationals this year, but the athletes and coaches of Team Manitoba have the competitive sledge hockey scene trending in the right direction.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Stormy Night In Philly

Never are there meteorologists talking about hurricane season in the middle of May, but the Carolina Hurricanes swept through Philadelphia tonight, destroying the hopes and dreams of the Flyers and their fans. It's been a long time since a team has opened the playoffs with two-straight playoff series wins by sweeps, but the Hurricanes have written their names alongside the handful of teams who have. The scary part is that this dominance may continue as the Hurricanes now have a pile of time to rest up, reload, and prepare for the Eastern Connference Final against either Buffalo or Montreal.

Whatever the process is in Carolina under head coach Rod Brind'Amour, it's hard to argue that this Hurricanes team isn't fully committed to every aspect of their game. All four lines are dangerous when they come over the boards, goaltender Freddie Andersen looks like a Conn Smythe candidate, and the Hurricanes will now have a minimum of ten days to prepare for their next game. To say they've been dominant doesn't begin to give them the credit they're due.

Take nothing away from Philadelphia who will gain invaluable experience from this run, but they should benefit from seeing how the Hurricanes play the game. As a younger team, the Flyers have lots of room to grow and get better, so learning from an experienced team like Hurricanes about preparation, commitment to the system, and execution on the ice will make the Flyers better too.

For now, though, the Hurricanes will head home to Raleigh, take a few days to lightly practice while healing and resting, and they'll begin to ramp up as they watch the Sabres and Canadiens battle for the right to meet the Eastern Conference's best team. I made mention six days ago about the NHL's dumb scheduling potentially causing Carolina to be done before Montreal and Buffalo play Game Three, and that's exactly what happened in this sweep.

The NHL doesn't even have a schedule for Round Three published yet, but the earliest that Montreal and Buffalo could be done is Thursday while Game Seven won't be played until Monday, May 18. Obviously, longer series are good for everyone's bottom line, but do either of Buffalo or Montreal stand a chance against Carolina if their series goes the distance? I'm going to go with a very strong "no way".

I suppose that's a lesson that one can learn here: if the NHL can't figure out how to set a fair and equitable schedule, those teams who have the opportunity to take advantage of the unbalanced schedule should do so. Carolina will be well-rested, nearly healed from all their bumps and bruises, and ready to pounce on their next opponent who doesn't have this same advantage. We know NHL teams love loopholes, and this scheduling issue has created the perfect storm for the Hurricanes. No one foretold two sweeps, but here we are.

For the third time in the last four years, Carolina will be an Eastern Conference Finalist. Carolina had five days off between the second and third series last season, and lost to Florida in five games. In 2023, they had seven days off between series, and the Panthers swept the Hurricanes in that Eastern Conference Final. I'm not saying that the rest-vs-rust factor has crept in to disrupt the Hurricanes in the past, but this is one trend they certainly will try to end this season.

As of tonight, it's Hurricanes season on the east coast. Carolina swept through Ottawa into Pennsylvania, continuing its path of destruction with a couple of stormy nights in Phildelphia. The "Storm Surge" will head north once again with either Buffalo or Montreal being the next city on its path, and there may not be much hope for either fanbase if the Hurricanes roll into town at unstoppable force levels.

Based on what we saw in Ottawa and Phildelphia, sound the alarms, folks. There's a powerful storm coming to ruin hopes and dreams.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Exactly As Designed

Winnipeg's last remaining professional hockey team was facing elimination in Game Four on the road tonight, so the Manitoba Moose needed a big effort to keep their season going. Twice they had fought off elimination against the Milwaukee Admirals, but the Grand Rapids Griffins were an entirely different monster. The Moose took advantage of the Griffins not having played for a week in Game One, but Games Two and Three looked very much like the Western Conference's best team was ready to roll. Could the Moose hand the Griffins their tenth loss at home all season and force a Game Five in this series?

The Moose certainly were never out of the game in any of their three-straight losses, but it was evident that the Griffins were playing at a different level in those games including tonight's 5-2 win over the Moose. Perhaps the most telling statistic from those three losses was that Grand Rapids was 4-for-7 on the power-play despite have no power-play opportunities in Game Three. The team that wins the special teams battle usually finds itself on the right side of the ledger, and this was the case with Grand Rapids advancing tonight.

If defence truly wins championships, the Griffins certainly showed why they should be a favorite for the Calder Cup. Despite losing Game One, the Griffins outscored the Moose 11-5 in four games that saw them score nine goals over their last two games. The Griffins seemingly got stronger as the series went on while the Moose couldn't find another gear. If the Griffins carry that Game Four effort into the next series against Chicago, the Wolves will be in for a tough series.

There will need to be some evaluation done by Jets and Moose management now, and one of the statistics that has to worry them is that goaltender Thomas Milic has yet to win an AHL playoff game. There's no denying that the 23 year-old Milic has the necessary talent and drive to get to the next level, but his 0-4-0 record, 3.70 GAA, and .846 save percentage in AHL playoff games suggest that he's not quite ready despite solid regular season numbers. If he's aiming for Eric Comrie's job or, potentially, Connor Hellebuyck's job, Milic has yet to win a game when it mattered most at the AHL level.

One can argue that losing Nikita Chibrikov and Elias Salomonsson before this series started hurt the Moose's chances, and that's not wrong. However, Salomonsson's shoulder injury likely would have kept him out of this series even if he hadn't opted for surgery while Chibrikov had his core muscle surgery done once the Jets' season ended, so he hadn't been available for the Moose since the Calder Cup Playoffs began. Would they have helped if they were healthy? Absolutely, but these absences were known going into this series.

Since 2022, the Moose are 7-12 in playoff games. They missed the playoffs in 2025, but have only won the play-in series with Milwaukee this season in terms of playoff series wins. If we eliminate that play-in series, the Moose are 5-11 at the big dance with zero series wins over the last five seasons which, quite frankly, isn't indicative of a "draft and develop" model in any way. It's not like the Jets are flush with talent they developed, and the Moose are proving that whatever coaching Mark Morrison claims he's doing isn't delivering NHL or AHL results as he's been the guy in charge of the Moose since 2021.

One can argue that Winnipeg is Jets-obsessed which isn't entirely wrong, but it would certainly benefit True North Sports and Entertainment to have two successful hockey teams playing in their barn. While the Jets will always be the marquee attraction, the Moose could be the fun, affordable option for hockey fans and families who aren't willing to buy the NHL's outrageous ticket prices. With neither the Jets nor the Moose making deep playoff runs in recent memory, it seems like the entire system needs an overhaul.

If you're tracing the line as to where the Jets' and Moose's paths converge, it would be at the general manager's office. I know I'm not the owner of the Jets nor am I related to him in any way, but if I were Mark Chipman I'd be asking some very tough questions of Kevin Cheveldayoff before this year's draft. With the Jets poised to be a bubble team again next season and with the Moose being first-round exits every season, Cheveldayoff's draft-and-develop strategy has proven to be entirely mediocre at best over the last five years.

I enjoyed the five home games that Moose fans were able to see this season, but it's evident that "make the playoffs" is the pinnacle for both the Jets and Moose under True North Sports and Entertainment's current regime. Winning is not a priority despite all the lip service that's been spewed about it. If either team were to win, that's a bonus for management and a credit to the players because both coaching and management haven't set either team up for long-term success. If they had, we'd be seeing some sort of payoff of that effort put in over the last five seasons. Clearly, that hasn't happened.

Congratulations to the Grand Rapids Griffins on their four-game victory, and good luck to them as they prepare for another IHL battle with the Chicago Wolves. The Moose will return home, clear out their lockers, and disperse to wherever those players spend the summer. Their season didn't end the way they likely wanted it to end, but it finished exactly how every other season under Mark Morrison and Kevin Cheveldaoff did: an early playoff exit. Almost as if by design.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!