The Spengler Cup Final

If there's one game worth watching on New Year's Eve, it's the Spengler Cup final. Yes, I realize there's a big game at the 2025 World Junior Championship tonight involving the two North American teams and the NHL is holding their annual money-printing game, but the Spengler Cup final is all about two teams who made it through a week of hockey played by five of the best club teams in Europe plus one team of Canadians gathered from all over the globe. The two teams who made it through the week in Davos to meet in the final were Germany's Straubing Tigers and Switzerland's HC Fribourg-Gottéron with the honour of being Spengler Cup champions on the line, and it was clear that dragons were far too much for the Tigers.

92 seconds into the final today, HC Fribourg-Gottéron led 2-0 off goals by Jacob De La Rose and Jakob Lilja as Straubing immediately called a timeout to regroup. 28 seconds after the chat, Tim Brunnhuber scored for Straubing to make it a 2-1 game as it seemed like the Tigers found the spark they needed. However, that spark only lasted another 72 seconds as Nathan Marchon made it a 3-1 game by the 3:12 of the first period!

Four goals scored in 192 seconds of play had the 6267 fans at the Davos Ice Palace rocking, but we were hardly done there. Christoph Bertschy would add a fourht goal for HC Fribourg-Gottéron at 9:38 before the Swiss side was whistled for two minor penalties in the latter half of the period. The Straubing power-play could not convert on either opportunity, though, and the opening frame would come to an end with the 4-1 Fribourg-Gottéron lead intact.

Perhaps there was fatigue on the Straubing side as the final marked their fifth game in 83 hours, but I'm sure none of their players will use that reasoning for their performance today. Straubing arguably had a tougher schedule than Fribourg-Gottéron did, having eliminated both Dynamo Pardubice and Team Canada en route to their berth in the final, but I doubt anyone will give them a pass on that detail as well after a disastrous opening period. Straubing would need to rally in a nearly miraculous way if they hoped to hoist the trophy at the conclusion of this game.

Things didn't get better for Zane McIntyre and Straubing in the second period, however, as TJ Brennan would end McIntyre's night with a goal at the 4:51 mark, prompting head coach Tom Pokel to pull McIntyre in favour of Florian Bugl. McIntyre's night would end with him making 11 stops on 16 shots as the Tigers found themselves in a deep hole with 35 minutes left to play in the gold medal match.

Two and a half minutes after McIntyre found himself on the bench, his team looked to start the comeback as Mario Zimmermann scored at the 7:28 mark to make it a 5-2 game with the Tigers seemingly showing some life. However, 1:08 later, the lead was four goals once again as Linden Vey beat Bugl to put HC Fribourg-Gottéron up 6-2, and any wind in the sails for Straubing seemed to die at that point. Andreas Borgman would score at 15:32 of the period, and the Swiss side took a 7-2 lead into the second intermission.

While it seemed like the championship was a foregone conclusion at this point, it should be noted that HC Fribourg-Gottéron had never won a Spengler Cup in their team history, and the Swiss side had struggled through the National League through the first half of the season. The team is tied for eighth-place in points with 42 alongside EHC Biel-Bienne and Raperswil-Jona, but they are technically in ninth-place thanks to goal differential. They sit 16 points back of fourth-place HC Davos, and were 6-5 in their previous 11 games coming into the Spengler Cup. Could the Spengler Cup be the turnaround that HC Fribourg-Gottéron needs?

The third period saw things settle down as off-setting minor penalties to each team were handed out before Straubing was given the lone power-play of the frame. It wouldn't add anything to their score, and the Fribourg-Gottéron fans got louder as the time counted down. When the final horn sounded, all that was left to do was for HC Fribourg-Gottéron to pick up their well-earned championship trophy!

We'll have to see if this tournament changes the fortunes for the Swiss club down the stretch in the National League, but they showed the world that they were the best-prepared team at this tournament over the course of one week. The victory marks the first time that HC Fribourg-Gottéron has been able to hoist the trophy, and we'll have to see if they get the automatic invitation to next year's tournament to defend that title as they look to go back-to-back in Davos!

That will close the curtain on HBIC's hockey coverage for 2024 as I have very little interest in the NHL outdoor game today, but I likely will watch the Canada-US game at the World Junior Championship tonight. It will be a quiet day on the hockey front tomorrow, so don't expect any sort of long-winded article from me either. Instead, spend the day with friends and family and enjoy the first day of a new year.

Who knows what 2025 will bring? We'll certainly find out, but Happy New Year to each and every one of you!

Until next year, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Only Acceptable Knights?

One can be forgiven if the number of Star Wars theme nights in minor-pro hockey has reached the "too many" stage. Granted, there are a vast number of teams who simply select a character and don a jersey in that character's image, so I can understand the apathy towards Star Wars theme nights. However, when teams like the Knight Monsters and Silver Knights are picking their team names, I doubt they're focusing on theme nights, so what the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights pulled off on Saturday is nothing short of brilliant as they had part of their name on their Star Wars-themed jerseys!

We've seen all sorts of jerseys that have cashed in on the Star Wars theme, and they include Wookie jerseys, Storm Trooper jerseys, and Rebel Alliance jerseys, but Henderson seemed to have stepped up their game this year as they took the ice on Saturday as the Henderson Jedi Knights! Check out these jerseys they wore!

Anytime a team can work its name or part of its name into the theme and logo, it should be done. Yes, there was no "Silver" mentioned, but the Jedi Knights are a great spin on Henderson's name. Considering that 3000 fans were given light sabres upon entering the arena, I'd say the Silver Knights did a great job in becoming the Jedi Knights!

The only down side to this game was that the San Jose Barracuda came into Lee's Family Forum and promptly laid some smack on the Jedi Knights like they were the Sith and the Empire. Scott Sabourin scored in the first period before Andrew Poturalski added a pair of goals in the second period to make it 3-0. The Jedi Knights would respond with two goals of their own before the end of the middle frame, but a pair of Lucas Carlsson power-play goals in the third period saw the Jedi Knights fall to the Barracuda by a 5-2 score.

"Hold on, Teebz," I can hear a few of you saying. Yes, I realize that the helmet in the Jedi Knights' logo has nothing to do with Jedis whatsoever. That's a Rebel Alliance helmet worn by pilots of the rebel faction, but it's a pretty easy jump to go from Rebel Alliance to Jedis when it came to who most of the Jedis were backing. Of course, here was at least one Jedi who wore that helmet in the movies as some Skywalker kid blew up the Death Star while wearing that lid. In short, it works for the theme despite it being somewhat inaccurate.

You may be a Star Wars fan and staring at the jersey above, wondering how you can get one of those stylish sweaters. It seems that the Henderson Silver Knights are selling them through the Vegas Team Store at $170 USD per jersey. That's a little pricey for my blood and I'm hardly a huge Star Wars fan, so I'll opt out of buying one. However, if you have a Jedi at home and need a pretty cool gift, this might fit the bill for your Jedi Knight!

While the results weren't there for the Jedi Knights on Saturday, they certainly looked good as they played in their Star Wars-themed jerseys. The Barracuda may have won the game, but there's no doubt that the Force is strong in these jerseys!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - It Starts Anew

With schools being closed until the following weekend when hockey will start back up and classes will resume on that Monday, my hope is that everyone had a happy holiday whether one celebrated Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any of the other celebrations that landed over the last week. Everyone will start with a new calendar on Wednesday, and that means that the slates are wiped clean when it comes to everything that happened in 2024. Yes, some of those events will affect how 2025 starts for some teams, but a number of teams already have recruits signed and are planning for the future.

What will 2025 hold for the nine Canada West teams and the rest of the U SPORTS field? Who will stand atop the mountain in Kitchener, Ontario and hoist the Golden Path Trophy? Who is making preparations for that opportunity in future years? Some of these questions can be answered, but others will need three more months of hockey to determine. What I can tell you is that I'm going to light some fires with this article. Let's jump into the final edition of The Rundown for 2024 as we get set for everything 2025 will bring.

As Seen On TSN

Before we get into looking forward, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention an incredible intermission piece shown on TSN during the second intermission of the Canada-Straubing game at the Spengler Cup on Saturday. As you're likely aware thanks to the effort I made last weekend, former Calgary Dinos forwards Elizabeth Lang and Courtney Kollman are ripping up the league with their scoring talents, and TSN sat down with them in Davos to talk to them about their experience playing there and how they got to Switzerland for hockey!
Seriously, how cool is that? Pete Buchanan is the person responsible for posting this as he had it on his Instagram feed, so full credit to him and TSN for that incredible video with Lang and Kollman!

If this isn't being used by the Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royal Cougars to recruit players, I'm not sure what those programs are doing. Lang leads the SWHL in scoring while Kollman sits in third-place, so it's pretty clear that there's exceptional talent coming out of those schools. Add in the fact that Kollman won a National Championship with Mount Royal and is now trying to help Davos win the SWHL, and both programs should be shouting as loudly as they can about how they prepared these two alumnae for bigger things.

For Elizabeth and Courtney, keep up the great work, ladies. I'm going to follow you every step of the way as you hunt down an SWHL championship, and it is truly an honour to have watched you play in Canada West. Keep up the great work! We're all cheering for you!

Western Schedules

There's always a look ahead at who will make the playoffs and who will miss, and the next few weeks could go a long way in determining those fates for teams. Some teams have little to worry about with them being far enough ahead, so they can continue building towards a solid playoff run. Others may have faded or are fading from the playoff races and can assume the roles of spoiler. In the end, who plays whom could matter a lot, so let's take a look at who each West Division team has on their schedules as we turn to 2025 and how it may affect the playoff races in that division.

UBC: Bye, at Mount Royal, home-and-home with Trinity Western, vs Regina, Bye, at Saskatchewan, vs Calgary.

MOUNT ROYAL: home-and-home with Calgary, vs UBC, home-and-home with MacEwan, Bye, home-and-home with Calgary, at Regina, vs Trinity Western.

TRINITY WESTERN: Bye, vs Manitoba, home-and-home with UBC, at Calgary, vs Alberta, Bye, at Mount Royal.

CALGARY: home-and-home with Mount Royal, home-and-home with Alberta, Bye, vs Trinity Western, home-and-home with Mount Royal, home-and-home with MacEwan, at UBC.

Calgary sits at the bottom of the division right now, trailing Trinity Western by four points with two games in-hand. The good news is they get MacEwan for a weekend, so they can likely close that gap if they can defeat the Griffins. The bad news is that every other game in the second-half of the season will be a playoff game as Trinity Western holds the tie-breakers over Calgary right now. Eight games out of twelve against the top-three teams in Canada West is a brutal second-half schedule.

It's no picnic for Trinity Western either as they have four playoff teams scheduled on their five weekends of play. That four-point gap that Trinity Western has over Calgary could be made larger in the series they play against each other, so that has to be a weekend both teams have circled on the calendar. Whoever wins that series could very well end up being the third-place team in the West Division.

Eastern Schedules

Just like it was stated above, teams will make the playoffs and a few will miss, and the next few weeks could go a long way in determining those fates. There are two teams in the East Division who will play the roles of spoiler, so this race may be for who gets home-ice advantage in the opening round. Again, who plays whom will matter, so let's take a look at who each East Division team has on their schedules and how it may affect the playoff races in that division.

ALBERTA: home-and-home with MacEwan, home-and-home with Calgary, at Regina, vs Saskatchewan, at Trinity Western, vs Manitoba, Bye.

REGINA: Bye, home-and-home with Saskatchewan, vs Alberta, at UBC, at Manitoba, vs Mount Royal, at MacEwan.

MANITOBA: Bye, at Trinity Western, vs Saskatchewan, at MacEwan, vs Regina, at Alberta, vs Saskatchewan.

SASKATCHEWAN: Bye, home-and-home with Regina, at Manitoba, at Alberta, vs MacEwan, vs UBC, at Manitoba.

MACEWAN: home-and-home with Alberta, Bye, home-and-home with Mount Royal, vs Manitoba, at Saskatchewan, home-and-home with Calgary, vs Regina.

Regina has the top-three teams on their twelve-game second-half schedule, but they also have the bottom two teams and a series against the Bisons. This is where Regina has to beat a couple of good teams to prove that they can make some noise in the playoffs. Winning against Manitoba in Winnipeg would also go a long way in helping them host a playoff series.

The Bisons arguably have a much better schedule with only Alberta as one of the more elite teams on their schedule. There are back-to-back series against Saskatchewan and MacEwan, and it should be noted that Manitoba has lost key games to both teams in the second halves of schedules in past years. Beating Trinity Western and then carrying that momentum through to the Regina series would be ideal if the Bisons want to host a playoff series this season.

A Scheduling Note

The games being played on February 1 and 2 will not see The Rundown posted until Monday as I have been booked from January 30 to February 2 for the Female World Sport School Classic. UMFM will partner with the St. Mary's Academy Flames once again to call games via the UMFM Second Stream and on the FWSSC website for the tournament for sixth year, I believe, and we're excited to be back!

Last year, we got to see Holly Magnus win a gold medal with the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers before she headed off to the University of Alberta to join the Pandas, and this tournament always has a ton of future university stars for schools on both sides of the border. The 2025 lineup has yet to be announced, but my hope is that there is good representation from a number of provinces.

We know Manitoba will have AAA and CSSHL teams, but perhaps we'll see a JWHL team or two as well. Alberta always sends good teams as does BC, Ontario's Thunder Bay Queens are annual participants, and we've even had a few US teams come for the event. In short, the talent is amazing and the hockey is great!

You may be asking how can you catch the action? LiveBarn carried all the action, but UMFM will air the radio broadcasts for free! More on this as we get closer, so keep your eyes on this blog for details!

The Last Word

Over the last month, I have been posting a lot of stuff on Twitter where former U SPORTS players have been honoured by teams and/or leagues, and I've been anxiously waiting to see if the schools those players attended did the same or even if the conferences or U SPORTS itself would make mention of those players and the honours they received. For the most part, that has not happened which makes me wonder what the purpose of U SPORTS and its members is if not to celebrate the athletes that keep them relevant.

I know Hockey Canada came out and said they need to do more to help U SPORTS be more than it currently is, but I struggle with having Hockey Canada involved if U SPORTS itself won't lift a finger to help itself be more than it is. U SPORTS and its members cry poor and claim that there isn't enough money, staffing, or resources available for it to do more, but these are easy wins being served up by leagues like the ECHL, the PWHL, the SWHL, and other leagues that U SPORTS seemingly ignores entirely. How is this possible?

I'm not a team. I'm one guy who admittedly watches a lot of hockey, but why is it that I can post more relevant Canada West and U SPORTS news on my blog and on social media than the Canada West and U SPORTS accounts? Yes, I'm aware that they have other sports to which they're responsible outside of hockey, but I'm not generating a ton of news. I'm simply pointing out things like former Montreal Carabins forward Alexandra Labelle getting a PWHL game puck for her effort or former Manitoba Bisons forward Brett Davis being named ECHL Player of the Week.

I joked in the past that Canada West should be renamed "Canada Waste" since they do little for athletes past or present, but it seems to be a systemic thing because U SPORTS is really starting to put the "U" in "useless". I'm not excluding the individual schools or programs from this observation either, but when the conferences and league don't seem to give a hoot, why would the member schools?

Maybe things can be better in 2025. I doubt it, but hope springs eternal, right? Alberta's four teams will kick off the second-half schedule next weekend, and The Rundown will be back for that fun. After that, we'll mix in some FISU chatter and that should take us into the Female World Sport School Challenge. In short, it's a busy January and The Rundown will work to cover as much as possible!

Happy New Year, folks! See you next year!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

A Costly Practice

Inadvertently, head coach Pete DeBoer may have cost his bosses a lot of money. The Dallas Stars head coach was asked by reporters about getting younger players ready for NHL game action before the Stars hit the ice against the Minnesota Wild on Friday, and he named seven players who were at the Stars' practice facility on Thursday for what was described as an "optional skate". The problem lies in the fact that the "optional skate" that DeBoer held violated the CBA agreement's where December 26 is a mandated day off.

As reported by Lia Assimakopoulos in The Dallas Morning News, "Pete DeBoer told reporters, 'I was at the rink yesterday. We had an optional, and of course, the young guys all show up for the optionals, like, they're supposed to do.'"

Unfortunately for DeBoer, "Article 16.5 (b) of the CBA states, 'December 24, Christmas Day, and December 26 shall be off-days for all purposes, including travel, and no Club may request a Player's consent to practice on such days for any reason.'"

Needless to say, the NHL is forced to open an investigation into the matter since it's CBA-related, and it's expected there will be a hefty fine handed down to the Dallas Stars thanks to previous teams also ignoring this mandated time off. The Philadelphia Flyers were fined an undisclosed amount in 2015 after breaking this rule while the Toronto Maple Leafs were docked $100,000 for breaking this rule. While $100,000 isn't a lot in the operations of a hockey team, there's no set precendent that $100,000 will be the maximum fine either.

Based on DeBoer's comment of "the young guys all show up for the optionals, like, they're supposed to do", the NHLPA could easily argue that this "optional skate" was actually a mandatory practice for the seven players mentioned by DeBoer, namely Mavrik Bourque, Oskar Bäck, Logan Stankoven, Wyatt Johnston, Lian Bichsel, Nils Lundkvist, and Thomas Harley. And while I'm sure that DeBoer wouldn't go out of his way to violate the CBA's agreed-upon terms, it's hard to understand why he would have an optional skate without checking with someone more in tune with the CBA first.

DeBoer did attmept some damage control today as he stated that it was "voluntary ice" instead of a scheduled optional practice, but his previous comments before the CBA violation was brought to his attention would seemingly blow a hole right through that damage control. To that extent, DeBoer admitted, "I'm assuming if the league's looking into it, I made a mistake somewhere, so we'll see what that investigation comes up with."

Unfortunately for DeBoer, it's likely this investigation won't take long, and the result is that Dallas owner Tom Gagliardi will be a little lighter in the pocketbook after his coach broke the rules. What the cost will be for this holiday practice has yet to be determined, but I'd expect $100,000 to be the starting point as the NHL looks to enter CBA negotiations next month with the NHLPA on good terms.

My kingdom for "voluntary ice"? It won't be that expensive, but Pete DeBoer will likely be told to consult with CBA experts before arranging any ice time during breaks in the schedule.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Redemption Day In Davos

The Spengler Cup isn't a complicated tournament in terms of how it's played, and this might be why it's a fun tournament to watch. The basic premise through the preliminary round is not to lose twice as two losses prevent a team from advancing to the playoff round. As we saw on Thursday, both Swiss-based teams were needing wins on Friday to keep their hopes alive as Fribourg-Gottéron dropped a 3-2 shootout loss to Dynamo Pardubice while HC Davos could not keep up with Team Canada in a 6-2 loss. With both squads sitting at 0-1 records in the tournament, it was "must win" Friday for them as the two local teams needed wins over their respective opponents today to stay in the hunt for a medal round berth. Would we see one or both teams in trouble today?

Th early game had Finnish squad Kärpät Oulu squaring off against Fribourg-Gottéron as the Finns got their tournament underway. Just two minutes in, they got on the board as Saku Mäenalanen beat Loic Galley, but that lead would disappear at 6:28 when TJ Brennan tied the game for Fribourg-Gottéron. However, that even score lasted all of seven seconds as Reid Gardiner scored on the next rush down the ice following the face-off, and Kärpät Oulu was back on top at 2-1. That lead would last all of 4:14, though, as Dave Sutter levelled the score at 2-2, but Kärpät Oulu go into the intermission ahead when Viljami Juusola scored at 15:58 for a 3-2 lead.

6:35 into the second period, Fribourg-Gottéron would tie the game for the third time as Kevin Nicolet one-timed a pass from Daniel Audette past Niclas Westerholm to make it 3-3, and Fribourg-Gottéron would take their first lead seven minutes later when Benoit Jecker tipped a puck past Westerholm for the 4-3 lead. For a game that seemed like Kärpät Oulu had the upper hand, they now trailed heading into the second intermission.

Galley may have sparked Fribourg-Gottéron in a big way when he stoned Maxim Korpimaki on a breakaway before making a couple of big saves during a five-minute power-play as Marcus Sörensen was excused for cross-checking. After a couple of big saves, Jacob De la Rose scored shorthanded to make it a 5-3 lead for Fribourg-Gottéron with just under 15 minutes to play. Patrik Virta would make it a 5-4 game with 8:38 to play, but Jakob Lilja scored into an empty net to give Fribourg-Gottéron the 6-4 victory over Kärpät Oulu!

The result of that entertaining game is that Fribourg-Gottéron now has four points in the tournament (a win plus a shootout loss), Dynamo Pardubice has two points with one game to play, and Kärpät Oulu has zero points with one game to play. Fribourg-Gottéron's four points guarantees them a playoff round berth, so it comes down to the Pardubice-Oulu game tomorrow to determine who gets the other berth in the playoff round.

The math on this one is easy: if Pardubice wins, they earn first-place. If Oulu wins, Fribourg-Gottéron earns top spot in the pool while Kärpät Oulu would get second-place and Pardubice would end up in third-place. In short, it's a "win and you're in" game for both of these teams tomorrow as both teams look to improve their playoff positions!

In the "evening" game depending on where you were when this one was played, Germany's Straubing Tigers met HC Davos as the Germans hit the ice for the first time in this tournament. Things were pretty even through the first period as neither team could find the back of the net despite Straubing having the lone power-play opportunity. The intermission saw the teams tied at 0-0.

Calle Andersson would finally break the zeroes when he scored on the power-play past Zane McIntyre at 7:47 for HC Davos as the Swiss side took the lead. It seemed like Andersson wanted to erase that goal he scored when he took a double-minor for high-sticking later in the period, but give credit to Davos' penalty-killers and goaltender Luca Hollenstein who stood tall for the four minutes. At the end of two periods, Davos clung to the one-goal lead.

For the first six minutes of the third period, these two teams played tight hockey where nothing got to the net easily. And then the ceiling caved in on Straubing as Adam Tambellini scored at 6:20, Tino Kessler found room at 5:33 later, Yannick Frehner added a fourth goal 1:22 after that, and Brendan Lemieux scored his first goal for Davos at 15:30 as Davos notched four goals in 9:10 to sit at a 5-0 count. The final 4:30 didn't see any other goals scored, but the damage was done as HC Davos beat Straubing 5-0 to keep their hopes alive!

HC Davos ends their pool play with three points as they await the result of Saturday's Canada-Straubing game. If Canada wins, Davos advances as the second-place team while Canada claims first-place. If Straubing wins, Davos could still advance in second-place unless Oulu beats Canada by six goals. In short, the 5-0 shutout by Davos today put the Straubing Tigers in a very bad spot for Saturday's game. Because of Canada's head-to-head win against Davos, they cannot miss a twop-two finish unless Straubing wins by six-or-more goals.

Clearly, Saturday's contests at the Eisstadion Davos have significant impact on who will play whom in the playoff round. It would seem that Pardubice may be the favorite in the early game, but they're missing starting netminder Roman Will who looked like he was seriously injured in their opening game against Fribourg-Gottéron. Assuming that Tomas Vomacka starts between the pipes, Pardubice will need a big effort from him.

Canada comes in healthy to meet Straubing, so the Tigers will need a much better offensive effort than what they showed today if they're going to make a run at advancing. I'm not certain they have the talent to outscore Canada by six goals, but they'll see the same Canadian team that Davos did where hard work, a solid effort, and some hustle in the backcheck will be the foundation of their game.

If you haven't tuned into the Spengler Cup yet this year, now is the best time to do so as the stakes are at their highest. Two teams will be eliminated tomorrow from the tournament, and that will set up the 2-vs-3 crossover games on Sunday. Games will be televised on TSN's channels tomorrow, so make sure you check your local listings for broadcast times and channels!

Six teams remain. Four days remain. Only one team will win on New Year's Eve. The 96th iteration of the Spengler Cup is living up to its reputation of great hockey, fantastic action, and an incredible tournament!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 640

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back for the final show of 2024! With the calendar flipping to 2025 between shows, our hosts will look at the stories that hit the news this week during the holiday break while looking forward to 2025. Of course, our hosts don't have any way of seeing into the future, so don't expect many predictions outside of things to which they're already committed! It's going to be a relaxed show on this amazing day where Kwanzaa is celebrated, so settle in and have a laugh tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

It is an official holiday in Canada, and Teebz and Jason will be in the studio to discuss the first day of the Spengler Cup competition in Davos, the first day of World Junior Championship competition in Ottawa, why there's nothing "classic" about the Winter Classic, Wayne Gretzky and hockey players in politics, and an upcoming tournament to which UMFM is committed! In short, it's a good day for watching hockey and talking about hockey, and we'll be doing both on this great day where people are celebrating Kwanzaa as we get you set for the next week of hockey tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!

If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The new UMFM website's online streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store. It's a solid app.

If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat Spengler Cup, World Junior Championship, skipping the outdoor game, politicking, big events, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: December 26, 2024: Episode 640

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Two Celebrations Today

Good afternoon, good evening, or even good morning if you're reading this somewhere across the world! December 25, 2024 marks a special day as it is traditionally Christmas for Christian folks, but Jewish people are also celebrating today as Hanukkah begins today. While the gift-giving happened today for those celebrating Christmas, those who are celebrating Hanukkah will have eight nights of peace, light, and happiness to celebrate. For all those celebrating either or both holidays depending on family situations, I hope you find happiness at all points in your life and good health among friends and family!

No post today as I am spending time with family which, in my view, is far more important than some hockey chatter. There will be hockey tomorrow as Canada squares off against HC Davos at the Spengler Cup at 2pm ET/1pm CT on TSN3 while the Canadian junior team gets their tournament started at 7:30pm ET/6:30pm ET against Finland on TSN 1, 4, and 5. If you're cheering for Canada, you get two opportunities!

It should be noted that the early Spengler Cup game sees Fribourg-Gottéron and Dynamo Pardubice meet at 9am ET/8am CT on TSN 3 and 4 while the World Juniors will have Slovakia and Sweden at 12pm ET/11am CT on TSN 1 and 5, USA and Germany at 2:30pm ET/1:30pm ET on TSN 1 and 4, and Czechia and Switzerland meet at 5pm ET/4pm CT on TSN 1 and 5. The full broadcast schedule for both tournaments can be found here. Adjust your calendars accordingly.

I do want to add that there was a comment made on a post from three years ago about the Prince Albert Raiders today on HBIC . This comment had some langauge and accusations thrown at me that would come off as non-festive considering what today represents, and it is rather laughable in terms of the character examination this person did in labelling me with a few terms. Let me state again: this was a comment about my person regarding a post written three years ago about something the team and the WHL did.

Clearly, this person isn't a regular reader, but that's his or her choice to read or not read. What I do want to do is wish this person a happier 2025 because whoever wrote the comment seems quite unhappy. May the season and the new year bring you happier times, commenter. It seems like you could use a bigger dose of smiles.

That being said, I'm off to enjoy a joyous feast, so I hope your day went well and that the celebration around you is merry and loving!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

'Twas The Night Before

I took the pleasure of watching Rounders tonight as it was aired on one of the channels I stream, and I forgot how good John Malkovich is in the film. His character, Teddy KGB, isn't in the film for long until the end when he and Matt Damon, playing Mike McDermott, sit across from one another. It's another wonderful performance from Malkovich that is accented by Damon's character's poker-playing skills and Michael Rispoli's tension as Grama, but it dawned on me just how good Malkovich has been over his career in various character roles.

If you came for hockey chatter, that's not happening here tonight because Malkovich's performance in 1998 film is only one of a few I watched this evening. When one adds on the paranoid Marvin Boggs from Red and Red 2 and the hilarious Osborne Cox from Burn After Reading, it might sound starange to say that Malkovich has as much success playing oddballs as he does reading Shakespeare.

I'm not here for a career review of the 71 year-old actor, though. It's Christmas Eve, after all, and that means there's a mandatory reading of one poem on this night. For this reading, I turn to Mr. Malkovich because he is such an accomplished stage and screen presence, but also because his delivery of both the poem and the comedic elements added to this presentation are unequalled. Without further delay, here is John Malkovich on Saturday Night Live with his reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Enjoy and have a laugh!
His factual additions to the story crack me up through the whole poem because he never once breaks "character" while delivering any of the insane information he provides. This is, in my opinion, one of his best performances because of how he deadpans his way through the entire poem. I know it's not the whole poem read in full, but it needs to be posted here as one of my favorite Malkovich moments.

Because it's Christmas Eve on HBIC, here's Michael Bublé's reading of the poem as he's a part-owner of the WHL's Vancouver Giants!

Best wishes to all on this Christmas Eve, and here's hoping that Santa is good to each and every one of you. As both John Malkovich and Michael Bublé read, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Jets Deliver

This picture feels all sorts of right as I sit at work, having listened to colleagues in Toronto telling me to expect another loss at the hands of the Maple Leafs only to see Mark Scheifele score a hat trick en route to a 5-2 win by the Winnipeg Jets. I don't like to celebrate in front of others, but the ol' co-workers got some delicious, cold vengeance served their way thanks to the effort by the Jets today.

I'm not here to break down the game - there are lots of sites that already do that - but I will say that the Jets are still playing fairly well despite a stretch of games where they were hanging around .500. Are there things that need to be addressed? Absolutely. Are there holes in the lineup that may need some reviewing? Possibly, yes. Do we need to worry about it now? No, not at this moment with the roster freeze on and the Jets sitting in first-place overall.

The next few days will be a blur as I plan to be nowhere near a keyboard, so don't expect much here. There will be posts, but they're not going to be in-depth examinations or anything. If anything, they'll just be reminders that the most important thing this season isn't some junior hockey tournament or what the next big NHL trade is, but that family and friends are vitally important. Spend time with them because hockey will feature ups and downs, but those fun times watching the game and cheering on your favorite team are made better with friends and family around you.

When people say they feel the "spirit of the season", it's never experienced alone. Make sure you seek out friends and family to let them know you're thinking about them this holiday season because no one should be alone at this time of year. That's the true meaning of Christmas and the true "spirit of the season" - sharing the good times with those you hold dear!

I'll be back tomorrow with some goofy stuff, so be merry and be safe as we're two days out from the big day!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Rundown - Going Pro

Today, we'll take some time to look at another aspect of women's university hockey that a lot of people seem to ignore: what happens after these players graduate? As we know, they have degrees and can go off and work in those chosen fields, but a lot of women want to keep playing hockey as the competitive fires continue to burn. Where can they do that? Who might be looking for talented hockey players to improve their standing in their respective leagues and capture a championship? Today's all about who's playing where (and how you can watch them) on The Rundown!

I spent some time scouring all the leagues I could find as I was looking at all the former U SPORTS players who are off playing professionally at some level across the planet. Some leagues have many while other leagues do not, but the coolest part for me is being able to see how many women are still pursuing their dreams while, in some cases, travelling to amazing places to play hockey. I won't lie when I say I'm envious of some of these players based on where they call home for this season, but that's the benefit of being an outstanding player whose talents are coveted.

Let's get into these leagues as I'll start with the leagues who have the most former U SPORTS players and work down to the leagues with very few players. What should be noted is that the schools who once had these women playing for them have done very little to draw attention to the success they're having after left those respective campuses, so I'll once again fill that void. Without further adieu, though, let's take a look at who's playing where.

SWHL - Switzerland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Elizabeth Lang	HC Davos	19	18	18	Calgary
Estelle Duvin	SC Bern	15	20	20	Montreal
Joelle Fiala	HC Davos	12	19	18	UBC
Courtney Kollman	HC Davos	8	23	18	MRU/CAL
Maggie Burbidge	Fribourg	11	9	17	StFX
Lea MacLeod	SC Bern	9	14	20	StFX
Lauren Dabrowski	Fribourg	7	8	17	StFX
Rosalie Begin-Cyr	Neuchatel	8	5	19	Concordia
Kaleigh Quennec	SC Bern	7	7	19	Montreal
Holly Reuther	Langenthal	6	4	16	Calgary
Jessika Boulanger	Langenthal	5	0	8	Montreal
Dominique Scheurer	ZSC Lions	0	3	15	MacEwan
Sophie Lalor	ZSC Lions	0	0	5	Saskatchewan

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	GP	University
Sandy Heim	ZSC Lions	n/a	2.31	n/a	10	MacEwan
Dayna Owen	Langenthal	n/a	4.12	n/a	9	ALB/CAL

There is an immense amount of talent that U SPORTS has produced that is currently playing in Switzerland. As it stands, all of Lang, Duvin, Burbidge, Begin-Cyr, and Reuther lead their respective teams in scoring while Lang leads the entire PostFinance SWHL in scoring. Former MacEwan Griffins netminder Sandy Heim is among the top goalies in the circuit, and former StFX X-Women defender Lauren Dabrowski is second in scoring among all defenders.

You should be watching these games as the hockey is fast, entertaining, and quite fantastic. The good news? You shouldn't have any problem doing that as every game is offered for free via Red Sport in Switzerland and online. You can watch games on Red Sport's website or via the PostFinance SWHL site.

There are lower Swiss leagues that players can be moved to and from, and it should be noted that Sophie Lalor started with EHC Brandis in the SWHL-B league where she simply scored 25 goals and ten assists in ten games. As it stands, she's still 18 points ahead of the next closest scorer after being called up to Zurich, so Lalor was absolutely dominating that league before Zurich called.

Jessika Boulanger started with Lausanne HC in the SWHL-B where she had four goals and four assists in three games before moving up to SC Langenthal whereas Dayna Owen started the season with SC Rapperswil-Jona where she sports a 2.00 GAA in three games only to get bumped up to SC Langenthal where she's been serving mostly as a backup netminder. Life as a hockey player in the Swiss league means there could be player movement!

EWHL - Central Europe

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Hannah Tait	SKN Sabres	17	18	18	Guelph
Cassidy Maplethorpe	Almaty	18	14	16	BRK/ALB
Lauren Nicholson	Almaty	11	14	13	TMU
Breanne Trotter	Almaty	6	10	17	Mount Royal
Olivia Atkinson	Budapest	5	7	12	McG/CON
Rylee Davison	SKN Sabres	4	7	18	Guelph
Emma McKnight	SKN Sabres	6	4	7	Queen's
Roxanne Rioux	Almaty	5	4	17	Ottawa
Mariah Hinds	Almaty	3	6	8	TMU
Marie-Camille Theoret	Neuberg	4	4	6	Bishop's
Alex Gowie	Neuberg	4	4	10	CAL/ALB
Katherine Birkby	Budapest	3	3	12	Ottawa
Justine Larkin	Karnten	0	4	15	Carleton

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	GP	University
Rachel Seeley	Almaty	n/a	0.99	.963	9	TMU

We're got ourselves a good, old-fashioned OUA scoring race as former Guelph Gryphons forward Hannah Tait leads the EWHL in scoring while former Brock Badgers and Alberta Pandas forward Cassidy Maplethorpe sits three points back. There are a lot more OUA players skating in the EWHL than anywhere else, the Kazakhstan-based Aisulu Almaty has a lot of U SPORTS players, and it seems everyone is doing their parts for their respective teams while Rachel Seeley is the lone former U SPORTS goalie in the league. Her stats, however, may have other teams looking for Canadian talent!

The EWHL doesn't livestream every game, so it's harder to follow one specific team with the lack of streams they offer. That being said, they do have livestreams of their games linked on the EWHL website at times, and I often watch games on OnHockey.tv. There are some teams who stream through YouTube - EVB Eagles South Tyrol, SportFanAustria, and Women's Hockey as examples - but there doesn't seem to be one specific place to get all the games.

SDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jaycee Magwood	Lulea	4	11	24	Regina
Erica Rieder	Lulea	4	10	24	Manitoba
Emma Bergesen	SDE	2	10	21	Mount Royal
Lillian George	Leksand	2	3	21	UNB
Isabella Pozzi	Skelleftea	1	1	14	Saskatchewan
Sarah Bujold	Lulea	0	1	2	StFX
Audrey-Anne Veillette	HV71	0	1	1	Montreal
Mathea Fischer	SDE	0	0	0	UBC

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Camryn Drever	Skelleftea	5-8-0	2.20	.929	Saskatchewan

In a league considered to be the second-best professional women's league based on the number of Olympians and high-level players on the rosters, it's encouraging to see three former Canada West players doing well. Magwood, Rieder, and Bujold play for the league's best team while Bergesen has been a bright spot for a struggling SDE team. George is doing all she can in Leksand where that team is almost mathematically eliminated from the playoffs already, and Veillette joined HV71 who are battling Pozzi and Drever's Skelleftea team for the eighth-place spot in the standings. The weird one is Mathea Fischer who hasn't played yet this season despite her being listed on SDE's roster, and there seems to be no information as to why she's not on the ice for the Swedish club.

Almost all of the SDHL's games are behind paywalls despite them having a pile of players that fans want to see, but you can find games on OnHockey.tv at times. The SDHL schedule is here, so keep an eye on the offerings on the OnHockey.tv site to see some of these games!

DFEL - Germany

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Lindsey Donovan	HK Budapest	2	6	11	StFX
Lore Baudrit	ERC Ingolstadt	3	4	12	Montreal
Alix Yallowega	ERC Ingolstadt	2	1	12	Dalhousie
Dana Wood	EC Bergkamen Baren	1	2	11	Calgary
Isadora Quirion	Eisbaren Juniors Berlin	1	2	13	Moncton
Cassandra Call	Eisbaren Juniors Berlin	1	0	13	Moncton
Annalise Meier	EC Bergkamen Baren	0	1	11	Calgary

Germany is playing host to a number of former U SPORTS players as the AUS and the University of Calgary are well-represented. Lindsey Donovan is helping Budapest in the standings in their first season in the DFEL while Lore Baudrit has played all over the world since leaving France for the University of Montreal so her experience is paying off. Yallowega, Wood, Quirion, Call, and Meier are all finding their way through a very competitive DFEL for four teams. The major exception is Bergkamen where they've scored just seven goals in eleven games thus far while sitting with an 0-10-0-1 record.

The schedule for the DFEL can be found here, and it seems they have their games on the German version of Red+. It appears one may have to pay on this version of Red+, so I'm not signing up for the service. In saying that, I've never seen the DFEL on the OnHockey.tv site, but I'm going to start looking a little more for it moving forward.

NDHL - Sweden

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Alli Borrow	Farjestad BK	14	16	11	LET/CAL
Hunter Mosher	Sodertalje SK	11	12	12	Nipissing
Kara Kondrat	Team Uppsala HC	3	3	5	Saskatchewan
Adela Juzkova	Farjestad BK	1	5	11	Regina
Olivia Hilton	Rogle BK	1	2	11	Toronto
Maddie Nicholson	Team Uppsala HC	1	1	6	Brock

We head back to Sweden where the Division-1 Swedish league known as the NDHL features a handful of U SPORTS players. Alli Borrow, who seems to be scoring at will, is actually fourth in league scoring while Mosher is second on her team in scoring. Kondrat has only played a handful of games for some reason, Juzkova has become more of a defensive defender, Hilton always was a solid defensive defender, and Nicholson was moved up from Division-2 Sollentuna to join Uppsala. Perhaps that's possibly to fill in for Kondrat if she's injured?

Like the SDHL, finding places to watch these games without logins or payments seems to be a tougher ask than to find out where players are playing, so I'm going to throw it back to the OnHockey.tv site as I've watched a handful of games there. Honestly, the schedule isn't easy to follow either, so do your best when looking for NDHL games.

PWHL - North America

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Jade Downie-Landry	New York	1	1	4	McGill
Rylind MacKinnon	Toronto	0	2	5	UBC
Emmy Fecteau	New York	1	0	4	Concordia
Catherine Dubois	Montreal	0	1	3	Montreal
Kaitlyn Willoughby	Toronto	0	0	5	Saskatchewan
Alexandra Labelle	Montreal	0	0	4	Montreal

The U SPORTS numbers in the PWHL should concern Hockey Canada who apparently are going to try to help U SPORTS develop more athletes at a high level, but the six players skating on three teams have certainly carved out impressive university careers. While the PWHL hasn't played very many games this season to this point, it should be noted that there's also a pile of former U SPORTS talent working behind the benches and in front offices in the PWHL.

As you're likely aware, the PWHL signed Canadian national broadcast partnerships with TSN, CBC, and Prime Video while exclusive French-language coverage will be provided by RDS and Radio-Canada for all 30 Montréal Victoire games. The schedule of all of these broadcasts can be found here. Depending on where you live and what you have available in your cable package, Boston can be seen on NESN, New York can be seen on MSG Networks, and Minnesota has a deal with FanDuel Sports Network. Or, if you want a one-stop shop, the OnHockey.tv site carries all the broadcasts as well.

IHLW - Italy

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Olivia De Ciantis	AHC Eurospar Lakers	4	12	12	York

Goalies

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	University
Gabriella Durante	Real Torino	n/a	1.40	.964	Calgary

De Ciantis is playing a big role in helping AHC Eurostar get out to a 9-4-0-0 record and first-place in the IHLW. While former McGill head coach Kayla Tutino had announced her retirement from professional hockey in 2018, she's back and leading AHC Eurostar in scoring while De Ciantis is third in team scoring and tied for third-overall in assists.

Gabriella Durante has also played a major role in Torino's climb up the standings to a 5-5-1-0 record and fifth-place out of eight teams. Her GAA is third among goalies with six-or-more games played, and her save percentage is tops among goalies with six-or-more games played. In short, she's been a key part of Torino's success!

The IHLW schedule is here, but it seems they have no broadcast partners who are showing games. The few times I've been able to catch a game were on the OnHockey.tv site, so you may be best to check there if you want to watch either Olivia or Gabriella play.

Auroraliiga - Finland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Emma Hall‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	KalPa (Kalevan Pallo)	4	3	13	UBC

Emma Hall is the lone U SPORTS skater in Finland's top league, and she has helped KalPa to a 7-13-2-3 record. KalPa's had an up-and-down season so far where they win one and lose two, but they just don't seem to have consistent scoring.

If you want to watch Auroraliiga games, you have to pay for Leijonat TV. I just watch streams on the OnHockey.tv site. Save your cash.

Naisten Suomi-Sarja - Finland

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Miressa Makela‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎ ‎HIFK Challenger‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	3	2	2	Manitoba

Regarded as Finland's Division-II level of hockey, Miressa was injured in her only season of play with Manitoba before heading back home. She did take some time off, but it looks like she's back on the ice with HIFK's team in Finland's lower division. Two games isn't a lot of history, but those five points shows why Manitoba wanted to see what she could do as a player in Canada West.

This league is not being broadcasted anywhere. I couldn't even find a proper schedule, so these games will be tough to find.

Women's Extraliga - Czechia

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Martina Maskova	HC Banik Pribram	2	6	3	Regina

Maskova never really found her game in southern Saskatchewan, but she went home and joined a Pribram team that's been pretty solid over the years including a 12-0-0-0 run this season to begin Extraliga play. While she's certainly not the top scorer just three games into her season, Pribram does have the top six scorers in the league and seven in the top-ten scoring list. Needless to say, Maskova has a pretty nice setup going back in Czechia.

Not surprisingly, there aren't many broadcast options for the Women's Extraliga. That might be ok, though, as the league is on a break until January 25, 2025. In any case, there's a login and cost on the Czech Ice Hockey TV site. I have yet to see the games shown on the site, but the OnHockey.tv site might be your best bet.

WCIHL - China

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Danielle Fox‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎	‎ ‎ ‎KRS Shenzhen ‎ ‎ ‎	12	15	24	TMU

Don't expect much information on this league. Danielle Fox is part of the Shenzhen team which seems to be stacked with North American talent every year, and Shenzhen usually wins the WCIHL every season. Take nothing away from what Danielle is doing there, though, as 27 points in 24 games is nothing to shrug off.

Because it's China, there are no TV feeds nor is there even a schedule of games that I can find without learning Mandarin.

FFHG Féminin Élite - France

Skaters

Name	Team	G	A	GP	University
Emmanuelle Passard	Jets d’Evry-Viry	34	32	7	Montreal

No, I didn't miss a number in the games played number above. Emmanuelle Passard really does have 66 points in seven games. She leads the Jets in points, and they currently have 113 goals-for and only eight goals-against. I'm not saying that the Jets are the favorite in the FFHG Women's Elite league, but they do have seven players in the top-ten scorers in jumping out to a 7-0-0 record.

The schedule for the French women's league is here, but their YouTube channel seems filled with only men's hockey. That being said, you can try your luck with the OnHockey.tv site, but French women's hockey may be tougher to find.

In total, there are 64 former U SPORTS players shown above playing in twelve professional leagues across the globe, representing 35 professional teams and 26 U SPORTS programs. If that's not an impressive number to you, I'm not sure what else I can say to convince you that U SPORTS women's hockey has a pile of talent in it. My hope is that Hockey Canada would notice this, but I'm very aware that they don't read this blog.

Every Canada West team except Trinity Western has at least two players playing professionally this season, and I'm pretty sure they could have had one had Neisha Germann gone back to Neuberg in the EWHL as she did last season. Calgary leads the way with nine players who wore Dinos colours, but they do share three of those players with other teams as Courtney Kollman suited up for Mount Royal and both Dayna Owen and Alex Gowie were Pandas. Saskatchewan has five players playing pro, UBC has four, all of Regina, Mount Royal, and Alberta can claim three, and both Manitoba and MacEwan have two players in the professional ranks. In total, 27 former Canada West players are skating professionally.

Potentially, there could be a lot more playing as well, but circumstances change. As mentioned, Neisha Germann didn't go back to the EWHL, all of Anna Purschke, Tatum Amy, and Autumn MacDougall aren't in the SDHL any longer, Alex Poznikoff retired from the PWHL, and Bailee Bourassa is following her nursing career rather than playing another season in the SDHL. Danielle Stone's situation in the SDHL changed last year, Lilla Carpenter-Boesch moved on from the SWHL, and Jordan Kulbida left the EWHL behind.

As you can see, the talent coming out of Canada West and the other three conferences is considerable, and these players need to be recognized for what they're doing now and what they did at their schools while attending those campuses. Once again, The Rundown is proud to post this kind of information and recognize these women for all that they've accomplished, and I hope that you'll watch them play with their new teams just as did when they were playing for the U SPORTS team(s) you follow.

The Last Word

This was a long entry that took a lot of time to compile and write, so I hope you enjoyed the look at all the players professionally. These women still are, in this writer's view, some of the best to have ever played the game at any level, and I wish them all the best this season and beyond, even if that beyond takes them away from the game.

For all players, coaches, staff, fans, parents, and former players who make this game so good, I hope everyone has a very merry holiday season, that health and happiness find you in whatever form you desire, and that everyone is surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones during this season. It's the most wonderful time of year, and then we get the rush of playoff races before the big dance starts!

Happy holidays, everyone! All the best to you and yours!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I've Heard This One Before

December 21, 1983 should be a date that sticks in the minds of all hockey fans in Winnipeg. For those that have bveen around long enough to see the NHL's Winnipeg Jets leave the city and the WHL's Winnipeg Ice leve the city, there was a void left in Winnipeg hockey fans' hearts back in 1983 before it became reality in the summer of 1984. Today is the anniversary of the the announcement that the WHL's Winnipeg Warriors would be leaving Winnipeg for greener pastures in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for the 1984-85 season.

Founded as an expansion team in 1980, the team struggled from the moment they went head-to-head with the Winnipeg Jets for a slice of the hockey fan market in Winnipeg. Attendance problems were evident through their first season of play, and that problem plagued the franchise until the packed up their bags and headed west. What I find interesting is that the Warriors had been warning people that low attendance numbers would force a move like this, yet it seems like no one bothered to listen in the early-1980s.

This article from the Brandon Sun sums up that situation.

As the article clearly states, the Warriors had "drawn about 1,900 fans at 16 home games" through the 1983 portion of the '83-84 season, and it was about 1100 fans short of 3000 fans needed to break even. As the author of the article pointed out, just 837 fans came out to watch the Kelowna Wins beat the Warriors 5-4 in overtime which meant that over 14,000 empty seats in the Winnipeg Arena watched that game. Yikes.

It would appear that the breaking point happened sometime in late November or early December as the Warriors were sold to a group of 25 investors from Moose Jaw who were moving the team to the Saskatchewan community after four woeful seasons in Winnipeg. In their four campaigns in the Manitoba capital, the Warriors made the playoffs just once, being swept by the Lethbridge Broncos in three games in 1982-83. The 1983-84 record of 9–63–0 stands as the second-worst record ever in WHL history, and three of the four seasons saw them finish with less than 60 points.

What is baffling to me is that at the time the article was written - December 21, 1983 - the Warriors had a 7-24-0 record, but would finish the season with a 9-63-0 record. That means from December 21 until the end of the season, the Warriors went an incredible 2-39-0 before the arena went dark. Goaltender Doug Lunney, who played 50 games that season, finished the campaign with a 9-36-0 record, a 6.91 GAA, and an .824 save percentage. His backup was Jamie Dubberley who went oh-fer the season in 36 appearances as he finished the 1983-84 season with an 0-25-0 record, a 9.68 GAA, and a .764 save percentage! Holy moly are those crazy numbers!

In any case, the Warriors announced they were moving on this day back in 1983, and it was because they went head-to-head with an NHL team for fans, it seems. Having a poor product didn't help them, but needing 3000 fans per game as a demand seems like a pipe dream back in the early-1980s. Heck, seeing those kinds of demands today is still a hope and prayer, but at least we know that hockey has learned from its own history when it comes to building successful franchises.

What's that line about not knowing history and being doomed?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Spengler Roster

The one hockey tournament that I look forward to every year when it comes to watching hockey on TV is the Spengler Cup played in Davos, Switzerland. Would I love to attend this tournament some year? Absolutely, but I also like not spending $10,000 on vacations. In saying that, the Spengler Cup is a fun tournament where players that teams seem to have forgotten pop back up thanks to their selection to the Team Canada roster. This year, however, there appears to be less surprises thanks to who was selected to go to Davos by Team Canada management.

The 26-player roster was named today, and it shocked me that 13 players currently skating in the American Hockey League were named to the team. Usually, there are a handful of guys who come over from the AHL to help make up Canada's roster, but a full 50% of the roster this season is from the North American developmental league. Will that give Canada any sort of advantage? We'll find out starting on December 26, but let's take a look at who is going to Switzerland as part of their holiday plans this year.

Team Canada

Forwards

Name	Team	G	A	GP	League
Daniel Carr	Lugano	6	16	29	NLA
Philip-Michaël Devos	Ajoie	15	7	30	NLA
Tanner Fritz	Rapperswil-Jona	0	0	0	NLA
Logan Shaw	Toronto	4	14	25	AHL
Manix Landry	Ambri-Piotta	8	8	31	NLA
Curtis McKenzie	Texas	6	8	26	AHL
Joseph Carroll	Wichita	8	6	17	ECHL
Jonathan Hazen	Ajoie	4	7	19	NLA
Charles Hudon	Ontario	11	11	24	AHL
Phillippe Maillet	Ambri-Piotta	6	10	22	NLA
Brett Seney	Rockford	4	13	26	AHL
Brandon Coe	San Jose	1	5	15	AHL
Josh Jooris	Geneve-Servette	4	5	28	NLA
Sam Gagner	Free Agent	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

This might be one of the least offensively-gifted Spengler Cup teams that Canada has sent to Davos in a while. Just two players have double-digit totals in goals while players like Daniel Audette, Derek Grant, and Michael Joly were all left off the roster. Perhaps Canada was looking for more speed as they went with younger AHL players, but the players from Switzerland all have miles on their skates. I'm not exactly sure what Canada was aiming for in their build of this forward group, but they may have win with defence this year.

Defencemen

Name	Team	G	A	GP	League
Thomas Gregoire	Kloten	6	11	32	NLA
Layton Ahac	Abbotsford	0	0	4	AHL
Kodie Curran	Ambri-Piotta	1	4	23	NLA
Noel Hoefenmayer	Laval	1	7	13	AHL
Colton White	Utica	1	7	20	AHL
Madison Bowey	Cleveland	0	4	22	AHL
Jonathan Aspirot	Calgary	2	13	25	AHL
Matt Irwin	Free Agent	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mac Hollowell	WBS Penguins	0	16	22	AHL

Again, the complete lack of offence shown by this group has me puzzled as to what Team Canada was doing when asking players if they want to play in Davos. Bringing seven defenders with AHL experience who have five goals between them doesn't scream "offence from the blue line". This group will need to defend well if they're going to challenge for a spot in the final.

Goaltenders

Name	Team	Record	GAA	Sv%	League
Dylan Ferguson	Iowa	3-4-0	3.30	.900	AHL
Colten Ellis	Springfield	8-5-2	2.80	.916	AHL
Antoine Bibeau	KooKoo Kuovola	6-10-7	2.67	.902	Liiga

Team Canada is putting a lot of faith in three AHL-level goaltenders, two of which are backup netminders for their teams. Bibeau has played in big games before, but his best years between the pipes came before the pandemic. Ellis may win the starting job just by being the best goalie Canada has on its roster, but he's going to need help to get Canada to the final. Ferguson is a fine goaltender as well, but he needs to make more saves than what he's shown in Iowa.

Things won't be easy on Boxing Day as Canada has a showdown with HC Davos in their first game, and Davos has all sorts of talent playing for them. Adam Tambellini is tied for sixth-place in Swiss league scoring, they have Filip Zadina and Julius Honka skating for them, big Klas Dahlbeck and known pest Brenden Lemieux will likely be on the ice, and they have to get through netminder Sandro Aeschlimann who sports a 1.99 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

Depending on Canada's result in that game, they will play Germany's Straubing Tigers on Friday or Saturday, but Straubing won't be a pushover either as they were in the Champions' League playoff bracket, they boast former Flyers forward Taylor Leier and former Jets forward JC Lipon, Philip Samuelsson, Nelson Nogier, and Justin Braun control their blue line, and Zane McIntyre is their starting netminder. Straubing has a ton of experience and skill, so Canada will be in for another test regardless of a win or less against Davos.

This team could either surprise a lot of people - myself included - or disappoint a number of fans, but it will be up to Gerard Gallant, Dave Hakstol, and Mike Kelly to get them playing as a team that looks more like a polished squad than a group of guys thrown together a week before the tournament starts. If nothing else, though, I want to see Canada work their tails off in out-hustling their opposition. Canadian teams that do that often win at this tournament, so it will have to be sixty-minute efforts every game.

The Spengler Cup tournament starts on Boxing Day. Are you ready?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!