The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back tonight with a massive show as our hosts get you into the Pledge-O-Rama version of The Hockey Show! Not only will there be some prizes we're offering for people who pledge to our show during the hour we're on the air, but we're also welcoming a guest whose making history and smashing barriers before she's old enough to legally enjoy an adult beverage! We'll chat with her tonight as the 2024 Pledge-O-Rama version of The Hockey Show gets rolling at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason are proud to welcome the woman to the right that is making waves in the ECHL as we're joined by Fort Wayne Komets Media Assistant Fiona Quinn! Fiona's been keeping stats, helping with broadcasts, and rewriting record books - literally - for the past four years with the Komets, but she made a little history this past season when she stepped into the play-by-play chair to become the first woman to call a Komets game in their 72-year history! We have lots to go over with Fiona as she's seen goalie fights, goalie goals, Kelly Cup celebrations, and Indiana Tech hockey while she works towards her sports management degree at Indiana Tech, and we'll get her thoughts on who may win this year's Kelly Cup, ECHL additions and subtractions, Brett Brochu, the PWHL, future plans, and more! It should be an incredible chat with a woman who is making a name for herself at 19 years-old, and you can hear our interview with Fiona Quinn 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!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat with Fiona Quinn, Fort Wayne Komets Media Assistant, about how she got started with the team, some major moments in Komets history, setting her own historic moment, everything else she's involved with in Fort Wayne, a pile of ECHL notes, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
My planned evening of watching hockey was interrupted by my need for sleep as I'm going to have some fun tomorrow morning. As you may know, 101.5 CJUM-FM - where The Hockey Show is aired - is currently running its fundraising telethon until 8pm CT on Friday. The effort is going well as we near the $20,000 mark of the $28,000 goal set by management this year, so thank you to everyone who has donated already and everyone who will be donating to a show that occurs later in the week. The listeners that support UMFM always come through in big ways, and we're so grateful to have your support to make the station better!
All of the details are here for why Pledge-O-Rama is happening, and there's an opportunity to get some great UMFM shwag with your donation. As with any donation, tax receipts are also available if you're looking to one-up the tax man in 2024, so choose wisely when it comes to what you want. In both cases, you're getting something great for helping us out, and we're happy to do that as a show of our appreciation for your support. If you haven't donated or weren't aware you could support the station in this manner, the details are directly above for getting your pledge into the station and where you ask any questions about the nature of Pledge-O-Rama and for what we'll be using the money.
As for me, I'll be up before the sun breaks over the horizon as I'll be working the Wednesday edition of the UMFM Pledge Morning Show from 6-10am, so that means a 4:30am alarm has been set. I'll be playing lots of newer Canadian music along with a few key older Canadian musicians, I'll have some music news to report, and we'll have a blast setting up your Wednesday as you get set in the morning.
Speaking of which, that's coming quickly, so I'm off to bed. See you on the UMFM Pledge Morning Show tomorrow, and thanks for supporting great local radio that's a part of your community!
The Metropolitan Division might be the weakest division in hockey this season. Yes, I'm aware the New York Rangers and the Carolina Hurricanes are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, but the gap between the second-place Hurricanes and third-place New York Islanders was a 17-point chasm between the two teams. Only the Washington Capitals made the playoffs with less points than the Islanders, yet a few pundits went on record stating that the Islanders had a shot at upsetting the Hurricanes despite that 17-point difference. Clearly, I disagree with these pundits, but tonight may have been the perfect example of why the Metropolitan Division's third-place team had zero chance in winning this series.
Trailing 1-0 in the series, the New York Islanders jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game Two this evening before the Hurricanes broke out of their slumber in the second period. In what looked like an all-out commitment to defence, the Islanders seemed to wilt under intense pressure from the Hurricanes as Carolina outshot New York 29-5 through the final two periods. That shot advantage pulled the Hurricanes within one goal at 10:43 of the third period as Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis cut into the deficit, but the final three minutes were bonkers.
I'm not setting this one up. I'll let the video do all the talking.
Holy chaos, Batman. Sebastian Aho whacked home the puck at 17:45 to make it a 3-3 game off the Andrei Svechnikov partial fan on his one-timer, and Jordan Martinook would capitalize on a mistake by the Islanders' Noah Dobson nine seconds later to put the Hurricanes up 4-3 when he banked the puck in off Semyon Varlamov. Add in an empty-net goal by Jake Guentzel, and the Hurricanes hold a 2-0 series lead after their 5-3 win tonight over the stunned New York Islanders.
According to the NHL statisticians, Carolina sent 110 shot attempts towards Varlamov while the Islanders sent just 28 pucks towards Freddie Andersen. The final tally was a 39-12 shot count in favour of the Hurricanes, but this is the kind of disparity between these two teams that should have been obvious. How anyone believed that the Islanders were going to win four of seven games against the Hurricanes is a mystery, but it was clear tonight that the Islanders are going to have to do a lot more to simply win one game.
Despite it only being Game Two, tonight's game may be the one that broke the Islanders for the remainder of this series. All it took was nine seconds of play and two Hurricanes goals in that span, but the Islanders held a lead for 57:45 of tonight's game before losing by two goals. I'm not sure there's a lot that Patrick Roy can say to his team that will change its fortunes, but the Hurricanes showed everyone tonight that they'll make a team pay if it makes mistakes and takes its foot off the gas pedal.
Usain Bolt ran the 100-metre race in a world record time of 9.63 seconds at the 2012 London Olympic Games. The Carolina Hurricanes may have crushed the New York Islanders' hopes of an upset in about the same span of time this evening.
Is everyone alright after the explosion we saw in downtown Winnipeg? The video to the left was taken by John Sitarek who was at the game tonight, and the explosion I referenced above was in response to the 13 combined goals that the Jets and Avalanche scored tonight. Only two other Game Ones in the history of the NHL have seen that many goals scored, and you can find which games those were down below. Tonight, though, everyone needs to breathe, smile, and enjoy the moment as the Jets hold a 1-0 lead over the Avalanche after tonight's 7-6 victory. Game Two is just 48 hours away!
Only eight times this season has Winnipeg's opponent scored five-or-more goals on the Jets including tonight, and the Jets had lost each of the previous seven games. Despite finding themselves down 1-0 early, the Jets rode the power of the Whiteout to seven tallies tonight in their victory despite the last couple of minutes being a little tense. Nevertheless, the Jets prevailed, and are 15 wins after from the promised land and three wins from the second round.
Shockingly, defensive hockey was tossed out the window early by both teams as the track meet began in the first period thanks to a few giveaways, some questionable passes, and solid team play. Valeri Nichuskin put the Avalanche up 1-0 just past the six-minute mark, but the roof nearly came off the Canada Life Centre at 8:02 when the Whiteout exploded on Josh Morrissey's marker. Watch and listen to this crowd reaction in Winnipeg as the Jets tie the game!
I'm not saying that the Avalanche need a goalie, but Alexandar Georgiev needed to make a couple of key saves in this game to give his team a chance. Instead, Georgiev's struggles in the last two-and-a-half weeks continued, and his .696 save percentage in this game certainly isn't good enough at any point in the season, but specifically in the postseason. Take nothing away from the Jets, but Georgiev has to be much, much better if the Avalanche are going to have a chance.
A 3-3 game after 20 minutes became a 4-3 game through 40 minutes of play, but the Jets seemingly turned on the afterburners in the third period when Adam Lowry scored his second goal of the game at 3:31 and Kyle Conner ripped a power-play goal home 2:20 later to make it a 6-3 game. Artturi Lehkonen's power-play goal made it 6-4 just 38 seconds after Connor had scored, but Connor would strike again at 8:54 to make it a 7-4 game. The Avs wouldn't go quietly, though, as Cale Makar scored just past the midway point of the period and Casey Mittelstadt made it a one-goal game with 30 seconds to play, but the Jets would lock down the final half-minute to secure the win in front of 15,225 fans.
As I mentioned, NHL.com's game notes stated that "[o]nly two other Game 1s in an opening-round series have combined for at least 13 goals" which is pretty crazy when one thinks of all the Game Ones that have taken place in the NHL's history. According to the history posted, "[t]he Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings combined for 18 in 1982, and the Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings scored 14 in 1985," so the Jets and Avalanche still needed a few more goals to reach those lofty scores, but having the third-highest scoring Game One in NHL history is pretty incredible.
I'm sure both coaches will want to tighten things up heading into Game Two, so we'll have to see how the teams respond. Will Jared Bednar go back to Alexandar Georgiev after a rought night, or will Justus Annunen be ready after missing tonight's contest with an illness? Does Rick Bowness look to upgrade his blue line defensively with veterans Colin Miller and/or Nate Schmidt ready to go? Decisions will be made, practices will be skated, and we'll see how things look on Tuesday. I'm almost certain, though, that neither coach wants a second track meet like tonight's contest!
The Whiteout will fill the Canada Life Centre and cover the streets surrounding the arena on Tuesday night, and the Jets will look put the Avalanche in a 2-0 hole in their series. 15,225 people inside the building will be loud as they push the Jets to repeat their seven-goal performance tonight while 20 players in white will try to quiet the crowd. Playoff hockey is alive in Winnipeg once more, and Jets fans are putting the league on notice when it comes to the decibel level inside the barn!
One thing you'll find on this blog more than anything as the playoffs roll on is the always-present ABT sentiment that I bring. ABT is, of course, "Anybody But Toronto", but it's something that has lived on this blog for a long time with the heavy influence that the Maple Leafs have on the Toronto-based sports media. I assure you that it has nothing to do with 1967, but that just adds a little fuel to the ABT fire when it comes to playoff hockey.
Jake DeBrusk scored twice in Boston's 5-1 victory over Toronto, so Toronto now trails in the series 1-0. It's far from over, but the Leafs looked dejected after mistakes led to goals while their own frustration in only beating Jeremy Swayman once will likely lead to a complete examination of the team's game in Game One. High-priced Leafs forward William Nylander sat out with an undisclosed injury, but I'm not sure his presence would have helped.
Boston can put Toronto in a serious hole on Monday if they can win Game Two at home, setting up what becomes an unofficial must-win for the Leafs in Game Three. If the Bruins can play as well as they did tonight in capitalizing on Toronto's gaffes along with their solid special teams play, this series may be shorter than what a number of people had predicted. We'll know more after Monday night, but the initial game between these two Original Six foes was decidedly in one team's favour just like the regular season series was.
Did the Leafs win? Let's go to Ryan Reynolds for the answer.
We already knew there were sixteen teams preparing for the opening round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs tomorrow, but The Hockey Show was busy last night getting sixteen people registered for Survivor: NHL Playoffs! If you called in, both Jason and I want to thank for registering for the contest. We filled all sixteen spots in approximately 40 minutes, so we had an incredible response to the contest being run this year. If you missed out on the opportunity, you'll unfortunately have to wait until next season for the contest to return, but that's what fourteen NHL teams are doing right now as they watch their peers compete for the hardest trophy to win in all of sports! Who got which team? Who is against whom in the opening round tomorrow? Let's find out!
We'll start in the Eastern Conference since they have the only games scheduled tomorrow as the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes kick things off followed by the Original Six battle between Toronto and Boston. Here are the matchups for Round One!
It should be noted that last year's champion, Mike, and last year's finalist, Wayne, are both in the same conference this year. That means only one of them have a shot at one of the two grand prizes this year, so there's a little bit of a bonus for the other fourteen entrants! There should be some solid series in the East, and I'm already pumped for a few of them!
The Western Conference gets its side of the playoffs going on Sunday when the Winnipeg Jets host the Colorado Avalanche while Nashville Predators fans are going to have to stay up late to see them battle the Vancouver Canucks. Here are the matchups in the wild West!
Tom's a previous two-time winner of the contest, and he'll see his Kings having their hands full with Jared's Oilers. That dogfight in the Central Division featuring late entry Vegas will only see one of Dallas, Winnipeg, Colorado, or Vegas advance to the conference final as three of the heavyweights out west will be gone before the final. The West can literally be won by any of the eight teams, so get yourself settled in for what appears to be high drama in Western Conference!
As stated, sixteen people are now competing for the grand prizes in the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest on UMFM, and we'll have updates on the show this week. The good news is that none of the series are scheduled to play Game Four before Thursday next week, so everyone has a week to relax before exit interviews start! Enjoy the hockey, folks, and good luck to the sixteen teams and the sixteen individuals looking for playoff success!
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, has one purpose today when it comes to hockey: getting you entered into the greatest hockey radio contest on the face of the planet! Tonight is all about getting sixteen people registered and entered into the 2024 edition of Survivor: NHL Playoffs, and that means you need your phone handy between 5:30 and 6:30pm CT so you can call the show at 204-269-8636 to enter! You can't win prizes if you're not entered, and we have some solid prizing that's on its way to the station. We'll discuss some of that tonight between calls as we kick off Survivor: NHL Playoffs tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
For those of you who don't read the blog regularly, the rules for the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest can be found here. Beginning slightly after 5:30pm CT, the phone lines will be opened, Teebz and Jason will begin taking calls, and we'll get sixteen people setup on Survivor: NHL Playoffs island where their teams will compete until only one is left standing. If you want to be that final survivor in the NHL Playoffs, you have to call us tonight at 204-269-8636 to get entered into the contest so you can potentially win some awesome prizes! Jason is already a little envious of those grand prizes, but we'll discuss that all tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
I have had a few questions about Survivor: NHL Playoffs, and I want to stress that this contest is available to all listeners inside and outside of Winnipeg as we do use the mail to send prizes to winners, so make sure you're tuned in if you're listening outside of Winnipeg! You're more than welcome to participate in the contest! In saying that, I should note that we do have a few people who reached out via social media or email to inform us that they'll be travelling in places where cell phone usage in a car could cause legal problems, so we've granted them the option of texting us with the number they wish to choose. These texts will be added in the order they are received tonight, so don't think there's some advantage in that strategy.
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!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason find out who the sixteen people are for the 2024 edition of Survivor: NHL Playoffs, and we want to wish everyone the best of luck in choosing a number with a random team. May the odds be forever in your favour tonight exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
Once again, I am on the road tonight as I am scheduled to be at a league meeting for the upcoming slo-pitch season. Generally, these meetings are pretty easy-going, and the guys and gals running the league are fantastic in their preparation for what may come during the season. In short, it's always a good time at these meetings as the other eleven team representatives get along fairly well despite the competitive nature of some. We don't usually have to worry about a Mr. Burns-type person stacking a team with MLB all-stars for this league, so the discussions are pretty tame with most of the league directors updating everyone from last season. Easy-peasy for a Wednesday eve.
Because of this get-together, my normal opportunities to watch hockey will be curtailed until later in the evening depending on what time the meeting adjourns. For those wondering, "Homer at the Bat" was the name of The Simpsons episode that first aired on February 20, 1992. Among the players chosen for the episode, pitched Roger Clemens, infielders Wade Boggs, Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, Don Mattingly, catcher Mike Scioscia, and outfielders Ken Griffey Jr., Jose Canseco, and Darryl Strawberry all voiced themselves on the show. For those not aware, Homer Simpson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on May 25, 2017 thanks to this episode.
Here is Terry Cashman singing "Talkin' Softball", a modified version of his song "Talkin' Baseball", for this memorable episode.
The blog is closed tonight because I'm off to do something that I only get to do once per year: celebrate my Dad's birthday. There's no denying that Dad's getting older, so every chance I get to spend a birthday with him and the family is important to me. One of the things Dad loves is barbecuing that comes along with summer, and his birthday today is kind of the official kick-off to that season. Tonight, we share in one of his favorite meals as my brother is grilling up hot dogs on the barbecue, and it'll feel like sitting at the game with a hot dog and a beverage as we watch the Jets and Kraken battle on the big-screen TV!
My Dad and I share a love of hockey despite him being a Bruins fan forever - judge accordingly - but he's been following the game closer thanks to this radio thing I do. Because of me exposing him to the women's game more, he's now a deeply-invested fan of the women's game, talking about how he enjoys the women's game as much as the men's game with their emphasis on speed, skill, and checking with purpose as opposed to making a highlight reel.
Dad was my co-pilot on the way to Saskatoon for the 2024 U SPORTS National Women's Championship, and there was lots of banter about the teams and players there. My Dad met Laurier Golden Hawks and Markham Thunder legend Liz Knox at the tournament and had a great discussion with her. He's been a regular watcher of PWHL games, and we have regular discussions about those games, the players and coaches, and where the next expansion teams may land in order to open more opportunities for more women. Needless to say, it makes me smile knowing Dad can chat a little hockey with Liz Knox... even if he didn't know who she was other than "the goalie coach for Toronto". Yes, I informed him of her legend status.
Because it's Dad's big day, I'm closing down the blog for the night so I can grab a hot dog and a beverage with the family, watch the Jets and Kraken play, and chat some puck with them. Happy birthday, Dad, and here's to more conversations about hockey and more chats with hockey legends without knowing it!
I had mentioned to few people that my hours at home were involved in a project I had been asked to do, and tonight was the night where that project was revealed. I was invited to be a guest at the St. Mary's Academy Flames' season-ending banquet by head coach Larry Bumstead as we collaborated on creating tribute videos for the graduating players who were moving off to new opportunities at a number of places. I won't be posting very much about the banquet here mainly because it's something for Flames and not the public, but I did want to thank them again for having this goofy media guy at their year-end party where I seemingly don't fit.
To Larry, Rob, Terry, Kennedy, and Carol-Ann, thank you so much for everything you do for the team and for the girls, but thank you for allowing me the honour of capturing the spirit of the four graduating players in the tribute videos. I'll fully admit that I don't know the girls as well as these five people do in any capacity, but, after having conversations with Larry about the four graduates, my hope was that the tribute videos captured both their love of playing for all five of you and for St. Mary's Academy along with the spirit of each of the girls. Thank you for this opportunity, and I appreciate all the compliments received about the videos.
To all the parents, thank you again for letting me into the St. Mary's Academy world and treating me as if I belonged there despite me knowing how much of an outsider I actually am. I know Larry didn't let anyone know about the tribute videos so my presence there may have been a surprise, but it felt like being back at the Female World Sport School Challenge with how welcoming and inviting you all were. Thank you again for being one of the best groups I've worked with and alongside this year and every year.
To the players who are returning to the Flames next season, I have no idea what Bummer has planned, but you've seen the mad genius at work with his idea for the four videos done for Quinn, Chiara, Addison, and Mia. While I helped bring those videos to life, Bummer's already looking to do some more fun stuff for next season. Be prepared for another fun-filled Flames season in 2024-25, and congratulations on all your successes on the ice and in the classrooms this season! You hold the torch high, ladies!
To Quinn, Chiara, Addison, and Mia, the future is bright with you walking towards it. Each of you has a story you're writing that I am confident will end in nothing but good things. Quinn's adventures in Regina will be incredible to watch, Chiara's work at the University of Manitoba will be unparalleled, Addison's already scored a hole-in-one with her efforts in golf and she'll shine brightly at Bowling Green, and Mia's passion and dedication to the game will make the Saint Mary's Huskies that much better next season. Thank you for allowing me to capture your personalities and spirits in these videos you didn't know were coming. I admittedly don't know each of you beyond a professional level, but it's not hard to see why Bummer was so excited about his leadership group this year. Well done, ladies, and I know you're going to do well at your respective next stops!
My thanks also go out to Chef Sergei and his staff at The Press Box restaurant for the incredible meal they served for this evening, and one really should check out the amazing menu he's prepared if one visits the Hockey For All Centre in Winnipeg. It's delicious, modern dining with a fantastic bar that offers all your standard adult beverages plus some local craft offerings. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Cajun chicken sandwich they serve there, but the menu has lots of delicious food to experience!
In summary, I had an incredible night of amazing food, seeing people I admire and respect, and watching the next generation of great leaders take those steps with their final Flames gathering. Thank you to all who appreciated the videos I made, and I truly hope it captured the spirit and the personalities of the four graduating players. I am humbled by all the kind words, and I hope you'll allow me back into the Flames family next season if I'm invited.
You're going to have to cut me some slack today because I normally don't make it habit to see the other side of midnight. If you noticed the 10:30pm time on the Denver Pioneers article yesterday, that's because I was up late to watch the only AIHL team that I'll cheer for in the Melbourne Mustangs. While the game had a 2pm start in the Victoria capital, it had an 11pm start time on Saturday night for those of us in the middle of North America. I was writing yesterday's article as I waited for the Mustangs to take the ice for the first time in 2024, and the end result was a lot of fun for the home side as they began their Goodall Cup defence!
The Mustangs hosted the 1-2-0 Brisbane Lightning on Sunday after the Lightning fell to the Melbourne Ice by a 5-2 score on Saturday. Former Bisons head coach Mike Sirant's new team was looking to bounce back by taking down the defending champions, but they'd need a big effort from the squad as they played their second game in as many nights. Former Bisons defender Mitchell Dyck was making a big impact in his AIHL rookie campaign with a strong start statistically, but the Lightning needed a sixty-minute effort from the entire roster.
The champs got on the board early when Chris Lawrence struck at 4:59 to record the Mustangs' first goal of the season, and this one might have been a little sweeter for the 37 year-old because it's the first goal he's scored as a dad! Congratulations, Chris, but I'm going to warn everyone that we're not done with Lawrence just yet. As it stood, the Mustangs took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission in a game where mistakes were leading to chances.
The second period saw the teams alternate in terms of who scored. Melbourne's Thomas Flack made it 2-0 at the 5:11 mark before Brisbane's Anthony Barnes scored his first of the season on the power-play to cut the deficit in half at 8:57. The Mustangs would restore the two-goal cushion with Chris Lawrence's second goal of the game - this one while shorthanded - at 10:10, but the Lightning would respond with a Mitchell Dyck's third goal of the season at 16:32 to make it 3-2. Lawrence, though, was en fuego in this game as he buried his hat trick goal at 19:29 to make it 4-2 for the Mustangs after 40 minutes!
Before we get to the third period, I have a question: is throwing one's hat onto the ice surface following a hat trick being scored just a North American thing in ice hockey? I didn't see one hat hit the ice for Lawrence's hatty on early Sunday morning, so maybe they don't do that in Australia? If someone has answers, let me know!
Melbourne might have salted this one away early as Dean Klomp added a power-play goal just 63 seconds into the final frame, and Matt Knox made it a 6-2 game at 1:48 when he scored his first AIHL goal in his career. Knox would add his second AIHL goal at 10:56 to make it a 7-2 game, but the Lightning's Sam Hodic chipped away with his power-play goal at 12:08 to make it 7-3. Anthony Barnes added his second goal of the game with 3:19 to play, but it was too little and too late as the Mustangs opened their Goodall Cup defence with a 7-4 win over the Brisbane Lightning! Sebastian Woodlands picked up the win with 11 saves on 15 shots while Nicholas Novysedlak suffered the loss after stopped 32 of 39 shots he faced.
Was this the kind of game that will make coaches happy? No, but there are enough things that the Mustangs did right that they should be able to build off this win heading into next Saturday's clash with the Perth Thunder (5pm Aussie time/2am CT). Getting a big game out of Lawrence, Scott Timmins, Dean Klomp, and Ty Wishart is a good sign for the top players skating for Melbourne this season as the foursome combined for four goals and seven assists. The Mustangs will need that production if they hope to repeat as champions.
Brisbane will return home after taking two beatings from the Melbourne AIHL squads. Being outscored 12-4 in the two games played at the O'Brien Icehouse means there's lots of video for the coaches to review, but it's never good starting the season 1-3-0 while allowing five-or-more goals in all four games.
It was a good first game for the Melbourne Mustangs skating as AIHL champions for the first time since 2015, and we'll see if they can send the fans home in Melbourne with back-to-back wins next weekend when they host the 3-1-0 Perth Thunder in what should be an intense, uptempo game between two solid teams! Will I be awake for it? It's not looking good, but I'll have to see if I can sneak in a nap on Friday or something to make that work!
I'll be honest in telling you that I didn't think the University of Denver was going to be victorious. I knew a little bit about the Pioneers' roster based on the fact that they have ten Canadians, four Californians, and two Europeans skating for them this season, but they didn't have the big names that the other three schools seemed to boast as they entered the Frozen Four weekend. Perhaps, though, that was their strength because this Denver team played four lines with the same consistent effort and had a goaltender who simply went supernova while making stops in his crease. In the end, the Pioneers showed that it didn't really matter what names were on the roster as long as the school's name appeared on the trophy.
Calgary-born netminder Matt Davis might have rewrote the NCAA Frozen Four goaltending books with his performance. The former Edge School and AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints netminder spent one season with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL before landing in Denver where he's been nothing short of spectacular statistically with a 34-7-3 record over three seasons with a 2.19 GAA and a .919 save percentage. In his first full season as a start this year, the junior goaltender went 23-5-3 with a 2.34 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
What he did in the Frozen Four makes those stats look like a lazy beer league game. In four games, Davis stopped 139 of 142 shots he faced for a .979 save percentage, and was the first goaltender to shut out Boston College this season with Denver's magical 2-0 win today. And he showed off some of that magic with saves like this.
ESPN's John Buccigross may have said it best when he exclaimed that "Matt Davis is out of his mind" after watching him deny Ryan Leonard of what looked like a guaranteed power-play goal. That was a ridiculous save, and it's one of the reasons that the Denver Pioneers are the NCAA Men's Hockey Champions today.
In the four games that Denver played in the NCAA Tournament, they never scored more than two goals in any game. Tristan Broz was the hero in the 2-1 overtime win over Massachusetts, Sam Harris scored the game-winner in Denver's 2-1 win over Cornell, Broz was once again the hero as he scored his second overtime winner in Denver's 2-1 overtime win over Boston University, and Jared Wright had the opening goal and game-winner for Denver in their 2-0 win over Boston College in the championship final. In total, 13 players recorded points on the eight goals the Pioneers scored.
Head coach David Carle built his team well, and he'll only lose forward Connor Caponi and defence McKade Webster, Denver's captain, through graduation this year. With virtually his entire roster returning for next season assuming there are no players who transfer out, there's a strong belief that Denver may be poised for back-to-back championships following their NCAA-record tenth national championship. Freshman defender Zeev Buium will be drafted in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this season, but it seems almost assured that he'll return for one more season with the Pioneers.
Take nothing away from Boston College's run to the final as they beat some very good teams to reach the final game. Sometimes, good teams run into hot goaltenders, and it was pretty clear from the stats and the highlight above that the Eagles run into a goalie who was on a completely different level in this tournament. With the likes of Will Smith, Cutter Gauthier, and the aforementioned Leonard looking at NHL careers once they leave Boston College, there will be other big games in which they'll play. Today, though, the Pioneers were the better team for sixty minutes when it mattered.
Congratulations go out to the Denver Pioneers on their incredible run to the NCAA National Men's Hockey Championship! While there may be a target on your backs next year after winning this title, everyone wants a shot at the champs. That's part of being the best, and to the victors, go the spoils!
If there's one thing I never tire of seeing, it's goals scored by guys who usually prevent them. We were treated to another goaltender goal tonight in the AHL, marking the fourth time it's happened this season. We'll get to those three other netminders who have done it, but tonight's goal happened in Hartford where the Springfield Falcons and the Hartford Wolf Pack were both fighting for their playoff lives. Neither of those teams has clinched a spot in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs, but Hartford's Louis Domingue helped his team in a big way tonight.
Domingue is a 32 year-old journeyman goaltender who was drafted in the fifth-round at 138th-overall in 2010 by the Arizona Coyotes. Since making his debut in 2014-15 with the Coyotes, Domingue has made appearances for six other NHL teams while spending most of last three seasons in the AHL. That's not to say that Domingue hasn't played meaningful games as he searched for opportunities. One may remember his play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs a few years ago when the Pittsburgh Penguins ran into goalie injury trouble.
In July 2022, Domingue signed with the New York Rangers where he was the main goaltender for Hartford as he awaited opportunities behind Igor Shesterkin and Jaroslav Halak. Shesterkin wasn't going anywhere in the offseason in 2023, but the Rangers acquired Jonathan Quick who made Domingue's path to the NHL a little more difficult once again. As such, Domingue has played one game in two seasons for the Blueshirts, but he made the most of it as he won the game over the Wild, has a 1.00 GAA, and a .962 save percentage after stopping 25 of 26 shots he faced in his Rangers era thus far.
The good news is that Domingue has been solid for the Wolf Pack at the AHL level where he's 36-20-12 in 71 games over two seasons, and his 14-8-4 record this season should likely have earned him more starts. He did get the start tonight, though, and the Wolf Pack and their fans were likely happy about that after he went and did this.
As I mentioned above, Domingue helped his team in a big way tonight as that insurance marker that he scored gave the Wolf Pack the 5-3 victory over the Thunderbirds, clinching a playoff spot for Hartford with the victory! For those asking, this is just the second time since 2014-15 that the Wolf Pack have qualified for the playoffs, so it was a rather big night for the AHL franchise this evening!
Domingue joins the likes of Strauss Mann, Alex Nedeljkovic, and Jaxson Stauber as the fourth goaltender to score in the AHL this season, and one has to wonder if there's something in the water at the AHL level. We know Domingue enjoys spicy pork and broccoli before starts as his pregame meal which the other three netminders don't share, so four goals in one season at the AHL level is a pretty incredible feat! Well done, AHL netminders!
Once more, here's the updated list of AHL goalies scorers.
Darcy Wakaluk, Rochester – Dec. 5, 1987 at Utica
Paul Cohen, Springfield – Mar. 28, 1992 vs. Rochester
Robb Stauber, Rochester – Oct. 9, 1995 at Prince Edward Island
Christian Bronsard, Syracuse – Oct. 30, 1999 at Rochester
Jean-Francois Labbe, Hartford – Feb. 5, 2000 at Quebec
Chris Mason, Milwaukee – Oct. 15, 2001 at Utah
Antero Niittymaki, Philadelphia – Apr. 11, 2004 at Hershey*
Seamus Kotyk, Milwaukee – Apr. 17, 2005 at San Antonio
Drew MacIntyre, Manitoba – Feb. 20, 2008 at Chicago*
Chris Holt, Binghamton – Mar. 19, 2010 vs. Rochester
Reto Berra, Lake Erie – Jan. 16, 2015 at Chicago
Jonas Gustavsson, Bakersfield – Mar. 24, 2017 vs. San Diego
Alex Nedeljkovic, Charlotte – Mar. 10, 2018 vs. Hartford
Tristan Jarry, W-B/Scranton – Nov. 14, 2018 at Springfield
Maxime Lagace, Chicago - May 25, 2019 at San Diego**
Collin Delia, Rockford - Dec. 17, 2021 at Texas
Lukas Dostal, San Diego - Mar. 2, 2022 at Colorado
Jesper Wallstedt, Iowa - Nov. 12, 2022 at Chicago
Pyotr Kochetkov, Chicago - Feb. 3, 2023 vs. Manitoba
Strauss Mann, Laval - Oct. 18, 2023 vs. Rochester
Alex Nedeljkovic, W-B/Scranton – Nov. 17, 2023 at Providence
Jaxson Stauber, Rockford - Feb. 16, 2024 vs. Chicago
Louis Domingue, Hartford - April 12, 2024 vs. Springfield
NOTE: asterisked goals are OT goals. Double-asterisked goal is a playoff goal.
23 men have their names in the AHL record book for recording a goal while stopping pucks, and it's pretty crazy that more than a third of those names have been added since late-2021. As we know, goalies are improving their stickhandling skills every year, though, so maybe we shouldn't be so surprised. What once was an outlier for goalie skills is now a required necessity to play the game!
Congratulations to Louis Domingue on the goal and the win tonight, and to the Wolf Pack for finding their way back to the AHL's Calder Cup Playoffs after missing out far too often considering the history of the franchise! Maybe Domingue can notch a playoff goal too?
The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, has a busy show planned for tonight as we get you set for the greatest contest on radio today. Before we get to those details, though, there are a few hockey stories that our hosts will work through as there are details and information that require discussion, and there's a kickoff for the AIHL defending champions this weekend as the Melbourne Mustangs host the Brisbane Lightning in their first action of the season. We'll get into that before diving into all the necessary details for Survivor: NHL Playoffs tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
We can't really avoid talking about the story, so Teebz and Jason will look at the current Arizona Coyotes situation, how it relates to Salt Lake City, whether they move to Utah or not, and all the other details that need to be considered before the end of the season. As stated above, they'll preview the season opener for the Melbourne Mustangs on April 14 as the defending AIHL champions face Mike Sirant and the Brisbane Lightning, and the final half-hour will be entirely about everything you need to know to participate in Survivor: NHL Playoffs next Thursday! It's an episode that big on details and information tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
I have had a few questions about Survivor: NHL Playoffs, and I want to stress that this contest is available to all listeners inside and outside of Winnipeg as we do use the mail to send prizes to winners, so make sure you're tuned in if you're listening outside of Winnipeg! You're more than welcome to participate in the contest!
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!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason discuss relocating franchises, kicking off a new season, every last detail about a contest, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
It's that magical time of year once again. It's when the grass starts to turn green, the leaves start budding on trees, the ice and snow recede to places no one needs to think about until October, and the NHL begins its annual 16-team battle to determine which team will be crowned as the Stanley Cup champion. With the latter event about to settle into life for the next two months, The Hockey Show is preparing for another postseason of fun where 16 listeners get a shot at claiming the title of "champion"!
I've already received a few questions about whether or not Survivor: NHL Playoffs will return this season, and this post is a flag on the beach that says Survivor's NHL Island is open for business once again this year! As you may have heard on the radio show over the last couple of weeks, our take on a Survivor contest is returning to the airwaves again as we look to crown a winner, award prizes to worthy competitors, and bestow fame and glory on the final entrant standing as The Hockey Show's 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs survivor!
In reality, there's no island in a tropical climate nor a boat that will get you there, and our annual show budget of $0.00 says Jason and I will never broadcast from an island in the south Pacific. However, if you're aware of the Survivor pools that are run between friends or at the office, ours is based on the same idea where you pick a random name of one of the contestants, and that person on Survivor is your person for the run of the show. If he or she is voted off the island, the game for you is over. In our contest, though, we put our own twist on the game so it becomes much more hockey-centric.
This is where you come in as Jason and I will be seeking sixteen people to call The Hockey Show on April 18, 2024 where each of those callers will choose a number from 1 to 16. Each of those sixteen numbers will have a corresponding playoff team assigned to it randomly. Whatever number you've chosen will reveal your team for the playoffs, and that team becomes YOUR team in a similar random fashion to Survivor pools. All you have to do is be near your phone that evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm Central Time, call us, and choose one of the numbers on the board to find out what playoff team you'll be rooting for this year!
If you need a real-world example of how this works, let's say that Jason were to call in and choose #6. We flip that card over to reveal that #6 has the New York Rangers under it. Officially, Jason's team is the Rangers until they're eliminated or they win, and card #6 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Jason will be cheering as a Rangers fan this spring until they're done playing.
Following Jason's call, let's say that I call in next and select #13 as my number, revealing the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas would become my team until they're eliminated or they win, and card #13 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Wash, rinse, repeat until there are no numbers and teams remaining.
If you think you're up for this, you'll need to have your radio tuned to The Hockey Show on April 18 and have your phone close to you. Before you commit, though, what we haven't told you yet is that there's a twist in all of this radio fun. And this twist is where things get crazy fun for everyone involved.
Just when you think you're out, you're still in the contest until "Tribal Council". You may be wondering how a radio show does "Tribal Council", but we already know your team was eliminated so you've technically been voted off Survivor's NHL Island. However, every episode of Survivor ends with the contestant voted off doing their exit interview, and that's precisely what you will do: you'll deliver an exit interview for your team! We'll call you, set up the quick two- or three-minute chat about your team, and then you're officially done with the contest. Easy-peasy, right?
Some of you may worry about being heard on the radio, but I assure you it's just like talking on the phone. In other words, don't think we're going to make it sound weird or anything. But knowing that this is going to happen, what might you say? You're free to talk about how you're disappointed that a specific player didn't show up in the playoffs or how you never thought there would be an upset this early or how you're just lucky that your chosen team made the playoffs. Or you can be like Jacob and talk about your team embarrassed you.
While the CBS version of Survivor promises a big cash prize and whole bunch of prizes from sponsors - both of which The Hockey Show doesn't have - we will be offering up some prizing that aligns with our lack of budget. There will be some smaller prizes handed out as "challenge prizes" much like the network reality show does, and those challenges are as follows:
First shutout recorded in the playoffs.
First hat trick recorded in the playoffs.
First goaltender point recorded in the playoffs.
First team eliminated from the playoffs.
First to advance from the second round to the third round.
First team to score seven goals in one game in the playoffs.
First upset of the playoffs.
The first team that accomplishes any of these challenge goals will earn their Survivor player a corresponding prize! The prizes have yet to be collected, but we've done hockey books, gift cards, and other assorted smaller prizes in the past, so expect much of the same this year. Any prizes earned through challenges will be handed out while supplies and challenges last and in the order they were completed! Needless to say, teams can earn more than one prize in this challenge part of the contest, so choose wisely when it comes to the randomly-distributed teams! Or just choose your favorite number. Either works!
Just like the TV show, we do offer prizes for the finalists! The grand prize winner who captures the Survivor crown will take home their choice of an NHL jersey plus a few additional prizes! The finalist will get jersey not chosen by the winner as a runner-up prize, so you're going home with a prize as long as your team makes it through three rounds which is pretty awesome when all you had to do is call us!
As a new wrinkle to this year's contest, The Hockey Show will also be asking if you plan on supporting UMFM's Pledge-O-Rama event that runs between April 19th at 6:30pm until 8:00pm on April 26th. For anyone who enters the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest AND donates to Pledge-O-Rama, we'll put you into an additional draw for even more prizes! You help us, we'll reward you - it's that simple. Read the linked article above about all the Pledge-O-Rama details and get your pledge into UMFM for a chance to win even more shwag!
I should also be upfront and inform you that we have some requirements that need to be met before you can participate. The good news is we won't need a medical team available like CBS does for their version of Survivor, but we do have a few must-have REQUIREMENTS for anyone to participate. They include:
You must call into the show on Thursday, April 18 between 5:30pm and whenever we fill all the spots in the contest. If all 16 spots aren't filled within the hour, Jason and I will get creative to fill the empty spots. Don't complain - you had an hour to make one phone call!
You must have a phone number and an email address. If you're calling us, I'm pretty sure you have at least one of these already. If you have neither, are you even alive?
A desire to watch your chosen team's progress in the NHL Playoffs. You don't need to follow them religiously, but it's better to know something if/when your team is eliminated.
Beyond that, this is a fun contest meant for laughter with a few rewards for those who get lucky. It's not to be taken seriously in any way, and it's a nice way for us to reward our loyal listeners with some free gear. If this has enticed you to listen for the first time or come back to the show after not listening, welcome to the show and here's hoping you get into the contest! Just remember, though, that if your team gets bounced, we're calling you for that exit interview. If that scares you in any way, work through that fear!
Be ready, folks, because this contest always is fun for everyone involved. Like CBS' Survivor, only one person can be crowned as "survivor" in this contest, and we're ready to kick things off on April 18! Here's hoping you'll call in for the best radio contest in hockey!
There are hockey players whose seasons and careers leap of the page statistically when compared to the rest of their peers, and it often brings up a question of "Was Player X that much better than everyone else" or some variation of it. Sometimes, it's just a player finding himself in the right circumstances where he plays mainly injury-free and is able to capitalize on a lot of opportunities. Far more rarely, though, does a player's career simply blow everyone else's career numbers away. Today, we'll take a quick look at why Wayne Gretzky's records may be challenged, but it's very doubtful anyone will ever take a run at Gretzky's point toal when he finally hung up the skates.
I'm pretty certain everyone knows that even if one took away all of Gretzky's goals, he'd still hold a 42-point lead over Jaromir Jagr for the most points all-time, but a Redditor with the handle "r/dataisbeautiful" took the data comparison to the next level by graphing all players who have scored 1000 NHL regular season points AND 100 NHL playoff points to see just how good the best of the best NHL players are. Feast your eyes upon these statistical plot points.
That's pretty insane, right? One person did note that there aren't many red dots on the map, and that's likely going to change in the coming years with Stamkos, McDavid, and Draisaitl sitting just outside the 1000-100 point cutoffs, but just look at the top-right corner and tell me that's not impressive. Yes, Messier, Jagr, Howe, and Francis were good in the regular season while players like Kurri and Glenn Anderson stepped up their games in the playoffs, but no one is anywhere close to what Gretzky did in both seasons. Only Crosby appears to be on the right trajectory, but he's light years behind Gretzky's production based on current stats.
That little guy in the top-right corner? I wouldn't worry about that little guy. He never seemed to have a problem in the offensive zone.
Back in the day, long before the internet and cell phones, there was a total solar eclipse that happened across North America in 1979. Like the one that happened today, a number of cities and people got to experience the total blackout of the solar eclipse that happened, and it got me thinking about what hockey happened that day when one considers there were NHL games and the IIHF Women's World Championship being played today. A number of the women playing in Utica were out with their eclipse glasses to see the moment the moon crossed in front of the sun, so one has to wonder if the 1979 solar eclipse had any effect on the teams playing that day.
Let me be clear in saying that there is zero causation or correlation between the celestial event and how any team fared following the eclipse today or back on February 26, 1979. Anyone who wants to use the eclipse as a factor in any score or any result is welcome to do so, but I'll dismiss those associations immediately. It's an eclipse and they happen often, but it just so happens that these two dates - today and February 26, 1979 - feature total solar eclipses that are visible in North America. In short, eclipses did not lead to wins or losses.
Back on February 26, 1979, though, there were two NHL games that day after North America was wowed by the eclipse. Coincidentally, the WHA had no games scheduled for that day as three games were played on February 25 and two more were played on February 27, but the day in between had zero WHA players on the ice for games. That's just a crazy coincidence considering Winnipeg saw the full eclipse and the Jets were not playing that day.
The early game on February 26, 1979 saw the Toronto Maple Leafs visiting the Buffalo Sabres in a game where fisticuffs started the game, but goals seemed to settle things down. After Buffalo's Dave Schultz and Toronto's Joel Quenneville got familiar with one another, Lanny McDonald scored his 27th goal at 8:16 of the first period as the Leafs took the lead. Toronto's Dave Hutchison and Buffalo's Larry Playfair dropped the gloves three minutes later as both took a five-minute break after their skirmish, but Toronto held the one-goal lead through 20 minutes of play.
Don Luce would bring Buffalo even with his 19th goal at 4:59 of the second period, and he'd make it a 2-1 lead at 12:12 of the third period when he notched a 20th goal. Ric Seiling's 16th goal at 18:37 would be more than enough for the Sabres on this night as Don Edwards stopped 25 shots to secure the 3-1 win for the Sabres over the Maple Leafs. Paul Harrison took the loss for the Leafs as he stopped 27 shots in this game.
The late game saw another Canadian team hit the road as the Vancouver Canucks headed south to Los Angeles for a game against the Kings. This game had no displays of pugilism, but there was a star who lit the lamp early as Marcel Dionne scored his 43rd goal of the season at the 7:31 mark to put the Kings up 1-0. Charlie Simmer would add his seventh goal at 18:06 as Dionne and Dave Taylor both recorded two points in the opening frame, and the Kings went into the break with the 2-0 lead.
From Simmer's goal onward, it was a goalie show as Vancouver's Gary Bromley and Los Angeles' Mario Lessard stopped everything sent their ways, and that meant that the final horn saw the Kings emerge victorious with a 2-0 win. Lessard stopped all 24 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season while Gary Bromley stopped 37 of 39 shots he faced.
If you're wondering what happened after the "eclipse day" games, all four teams would make the playoffs that season as part of the preliminary best-of-three round, but none of these four teams faced one another. Philadelphia beat Vancouver 2-1 in their series, the Rangers swept the Kings 2-0 in their series, Toronto upset Atlanta with a 2-0 series win, and Pittsburgh upset Buffalo in their series by a 2-1 count. Toronto would be swept out of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens in the following round.
What's cool is that the Maple Leafs and Canucks were also playing games tonight as they seem to be the NHL's "total eclipse teams". The Maple Leafs hosted the Penguins in a game where they won 3-2 in overtime as Austin Matthews scored his 65th goal of the season while the Canucks were playing host to the Golden Knights in a game where they won 4-3 where Conor Garland scored a hat trick and Brock Boeser scored his 40th goal of the season.
The NHL should put a note on their 2044 schedule to have the Leafs and Canucks play against one another in some sort of special game because the next total solar eclipse will happen on August 22 or 23, 2044. That seems like it would be way too early for NHL games, though, so maybe the Leafs and Canucks will get a break that day. Of course, there could be some international tournament like the World Cup of Hockey being played, so who knows how the game will change over the next twenty years?
I hope you were able to see the eclipse today if you were in an area where it was visible. I was not in one of those areas, so my eclipse experience was minimal. I guess I'll just have to wait until 2044 for the next blackout, and it's almost assured there won't be any hockey being played that day by Canadian NHL teams.
In honour of Logan Boulet and the tragedy that happened to the Humboldt Broncos six years ago, this is the only thing being posted today. If you want to make a difference in someone's life, think about organ donation like Logan Boulet did. Organ donation can save lives, and six of Logan Boulet's organs have done that after he passed away on April 7, 2018. People don't talk much about assists that change the world, but organ donation can be that assist for someone needing an organ to survive. Take some time to consider this option.
In memory of Logan Boulet on Green Shirt Day, HBIC will step aside. He may be gone, but he changed lives with his decision to donate his organs. That's why today is special.
There's a woman defending nets in the OUA who will likely be suiting up at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy that you may not know very well. Unless you were following the OUA's progress this season, you probably didn't know that she finished the season with a 15-4 record on the strength of a 1.03 GAA and a .951 save percentage that saw her pitch five shutouts. She won't be skating for Canada or the US or any of the other bigger countries when teams take the ice in Milan, but we're seeing teams build outward from their goaltending and this women give her country of origin a strong foundation on which they can build. Who is this masked woman? Let's find out!
Guelph Gryphons goaltender Martina Fedel was born in Trento, Italy, but her hockey career has taken her all over the map. She has played in Slovenia, Sweden, and Canada mostly, but she's been on Italy's national hockey roster since 2018 when she was playing for SDE's Division-2 U16 team. Her representation of her home nation continued this week when she played for Italy at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship Division-1B tournament!
You may be wondering how a girl from Italy found her way into hockey when Italians live and die through their soccer teams, but Fedel grew up in grew up in Baselga di Pinè, about 20 kilometres from Trento proper, where hockey is far more popular in the mountainous region. She picked up the game in Fondo - about an hour away - but she wouldn't remain in Italy.
After her dad was transferred to Slovenia for work through a Swedish truck and bus manufacturer, Fedel joined Olimpija Ljubljana in the Slovenian women's league. She didn't play much - just five games - but the youngster was just 13 when she got her first action, so she still had some room to grow as player and a person! Dad's work in Slovenia didn't last long, and the Fedels were on their way to Sweden in 2016 as they landed in Stockholm. It was here where her hockey career took off thanks to joining the SDE organization.
"It's a very different level, both for boys and girls," she explained about the hockey in Sweden to Martin Merk of the IIHF. "It's faster in Sweden, they play more competitive. Everyone in Sweden who plays hockey at our age wants to get somewhere in hockey and that's what I would like to do, go to college, play in a high league. I'm happy that I moved there and play in Sweden."
Fedel's work in Sweden and on the international stage was enough for head coach Rachel Flanagan to be convinced that Fedel would be a good addition in Guelph, and she recruited the netminder to join the Gryphons as Fedel looked to continue to improve her game with an eye on 2026. Since joining Guelph in 2021, Fedel has gone on a tear through the OUA, compiling a 43-18 record on the strength of a 1.21 GAA and a .944 save percentage. Perhaps even more unbelievable is that Fedel currently has more OUA shutouts with 19 than she does losses in her U SPORTS career!
So why am I chatting about Fedel today? Well, Fedel was in Latvia this week helping Italy try to attain a promotion to the IIHF Women's World Championship Division-1A tournament - aka the main tournament featuring all the big teams like Canada and the US - and she was showing the world that the Italians may not be an easy out in Milan despite Italy's lack of success on the international stage!
The Italians started the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Great Britain in game where they threw everything at the net, but Britain's Nicole Jackson was stallar in helping her team win despite Fedel stopping 29 of 30 shots she faced. The Italians would fall 3-2 on April 1 in a game where Fedel served as the backup, but an 0-2 start didn't put the Italians in a good spot in this tournament, especially with teams they needed to beat behind them and more difficult foes awaiting.
April saw the Italians bounce back with a 2-1 win over Poland in what amounted to a must-win game if they wanted any shot at medalling. Fedel was solid again, turning in another 29-of-30 save performance to help the Italians find victory. That led to Friday's game against the powerful Slovaks who had had any trouble in the tournament in posting a 3-0 record, and it was here that Fedel showed why she's likely a lock on the Italian Olympic roster for 2026 in Milan.
Fedel stopped 40 of 42 shots sent her way in helping Italy defeat Slovakia to pull their record even at 2-2. Having been outshot 42-16 by the Slovaks, it seemed clear that this game was played mostly in one end of the ice, but two goals in the final 5:02 of play, including the game-winner with 30 seconds on the clock, pushed Italy past Slovakia. Depending on the results of the final game, there was a chance that Italy could still medal despite those two early losses!
The final contest went early this morning as Italy met Slovenia, and the Italians would need to take care of their own business before worrying about anyone else in the pool. A win would move them into bronze-medal positioning while a loss would mean they'd miss the podium. Aside from an Arwen Nylaander shot that eluded her, Fedel backstopped the Italians to a 6-1 win as she stopped 14 of the 15 shots she faced in this game. The win moved Italy into third-place with nine points, but they'd have to wait and see what happened between Great Britain and Latvia to know what medal they earned.
Latvia's Linda Rulle played the heroine for the host squad as Latvia defeated Great Britain 3-2 in their game, vaulting the Latvians into second-place while the Italians finished in third-place! Statistically, Fedel finished the tournament as the top goalie, surrendering just five goals in four games of work while stopping 112 of 117 shots she faced. In short, she was 3-1 with a 1.26 GAA and a .957 save percentage in this tournament! What's weird about her statistical dominance is that she wasn't named as her team's Player of the Game in any game, and Slovenian goaltender Pia Dukaric was named as the tournament's Top Goalkeeper. Bit of a head-scratcher there, IIHF?
Anyway, it would seem Martina Fedel will lead Italy into the 2026 Winter Olympics as their netminder when that tournament gets underway. Italy isn't going to be one of the favorites, but they have shown they have enough talent to compete with the likes of Slovakia, Latvia, and Great Britain, so it wouldn't be a stretch to see them skating with the likes of Japan, China, or Denmark. Beating any of the teams ahead of them in the rankings would be a huge boost for the sport in Italy where growth on the women's side could propel Italy into the top championship annually.
Women's hockey could take another big step forward with a solid showing by Italy in the 2026 Winter Olympics Games that they're hosting, and that effort will likely feature a woman we've had the pleasure of watching every weekend over the last three winters in Martina Fedel. If you're looking to watch a future Olympian in action, check out the Guelph Gryphons next season because Fedel has established herself as one of the best netminders in the OUA and across Canada.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that she'll be recognized for the same greatness across the world once the rest of the world witnesses Martina Fedel's game. If Italy needs a player for marketing hockey, specifically on the women's side, Martina Fedel's skills and abilities should be on full display when it comes to selling the game. Congratulazioni all'Italia per il suo solido torneo!
If there's one type of movie that seems to resonate in pop culture for a while, it's the throwback comedy to the coming-of-age time in our lives. The last really good film in this genre was Superbad, released in 2007, as it combined the humour and crudeness of being a teenager with days before cell phones, iPods, and other current "necessities". In saying that, I had the chance to watch Snack Shack tonight, and the Paramount-produced comedy is pretty fun tale of laughs, summer romances, and learning responsibility.
No hockey chatter here on the blog tonight as I'm opting to embrace summer more, so I'm sorry to disappoint if you came for that. There will be more of it tomorrow, but a good story combined with a few moments of insanity keeps my brain engaged. Besides, I have stuff I need to be up early for on Saturday, so it was a quiet night at HBIC Headquarters with some popcorn and a good film.
Like the review I provided for Road House a couple of weeks ago, don't expect to see the writers, producers, or actors in Snack Shack working on Oscar speeches. It's pretty well-known that goofy teenage movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Fast Times at Ridgemont High don't win major industry awards, but Snack Shack is a solid, fun movie with a good story and good performances by the main stars. Conor Sherry and Gabriel LaBelle play AJ and Moose, respectively, as the stars of the film while Mika Abdalla's Brooke is the center of their romantic interests while being a foil for AJ's insecurities. Nick Robinson, David Costabile, and the always-excellent Gillian Vigman provide solid supporting roles as well.
Snack Shack takes place in the Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1991 based off where director Adam Carter Rehmeier grew up. The movie was filmed on location in Nebraska City on a budget of just $4.5 million with secondary filming sites including Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Statesman's Park. Despite the film's modest budget, the work that went into recreating a 1991 feel in each scene can't be overlooked, and some major kudos need to be given to Production Designer Francesca Palombo, Art Director Chioma Thompson, Set Director Bezhan Nazari, and Costumers Anaïs Castaldi and Hannah Greenblatt.
Snack Shack is where we meet 14 year-olds AJ and Moose who are better known for their money-making schemes before setting their sights on buying the operating rights to the local swimming pool's snack shack. At a city council auction, they overspend by a considerable amount to win the auction, and AJ's parents are none too pleased with the "investment" made using AJ's savings that were supposed to be for college or buying a car.
As you can imagine, the two boys begin making handfuls of money at the snack shack, but their attentions are divided as Brooke, the new lifeguard, enters the picture. AJ finds out she's staying next door to him, but his complete lack of self-confidence around Brooke allows Moose an opoortunity to ask Brooke out. This, of course, throws AJ and Moose into conflict, but Brooke finally confides in AJ that Moose really isn't her type. As such, the romantic interest is rekindled, but how will the two boys handle this problem while trying to co-manage their business? Can the snack shack survive the summer?
The movie is R-rated for good reason as there are multiple scenes where language, alcohol and drug use, some sexual material, and smoking are all scene or referenced, so this isn't a movie made for younger viewers by any means. If you can handle those situations, though, there are some very good scenes in the film where AJ is forced to mature quickly based on the moment. The film isn't preachy in its messaging, however, and it tells an authentic, albeit fictional, story of one summer in Nebraska City in 1991. Overall, Adam Carter Rehmeier put together a very good film.
While Conor Sherry gives an outstanding performance as AJ and the cocky-yet-unsure Moose is well-represented by Gabriel LaBelle, it was Mika Abdalla's performance as Brooke that stole the show for me. She's the calm in AJ's twisting world, and her ability to have a leading presence while playing almost a supporting role in this film has me wondering which blockbuster she's going to land in next. She's a phenomenal actress whose natural beauty makes it hard to ignore her on the screen, and I hope Hollywood finds more roles for her.
As I mentioned, Snack Shack won't be setting records for Oscar nominations by any means, but it's a fun summer movie that should take you back to simpler days where making money and trying to find freedom from curfews were the norm. There aren't many laugh-out-loud moments in the film, but the comedy is smart as a smile will creep across your face as the story is told. It's just funny enough not to feel dramatic, but the story is well-told, Rehmeier gets incredible performances from his actors, and the nostalgia of the 1990s is felt throughout the film. In short, Snack Shack is one of those films you'll enjoy and wonder why more film-makers aren't telling these kinds of stories.
Teebz's Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 stars)
Snack Shack is streaming Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and the Cineplex Store. The movie was produced by MRC, Paperclip Limited, and T-Street produced the film, and was released on March 15, 2024 in select theatres only by Republic Pictures, a division of Paramount Global.
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