The Hockey Show - Episode 734

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with our two usual gunslingers as Sophie is already booked as she tries to take over the world. That leaves our two opinionated hosts to discuss a number of hockey topics from this past week, and they may even chat about something fun as well! What may that be, you ask? Well, you're going to have to find a seat, a radio or internet-connected device, and tune into The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will look at what seems to be a "canary in the coalmine" situation when it comes to the Vegas Golden Knights' sellout streak ending. There are lots of reasons for it, but the comments on one blog along with comments collected by the author might surprise you when it comes to why Vegas saw a pile of empty seats last Thursday. Beyond that, our hosts will chat about a coach being dismissed, the continued misuse of public funds to help billionaires, a significant drop in fans in one market, and something big happening in the Winnipeg market near the end of October! It's going to be a busy show with lots of chatter, so make sure you're ready for the discussion 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 examine a harsh reality, a vacant job, misappropriation of funds, empty seats, a fun event, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: October 15, 2026: Episode 734

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 731

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the UMFM studios tonight as both hosts are back on a somewhat normal schedule! There has been a pile of news that has happened in the last two weeks and our hosts will dive into a number of stories, but they also have some adventures to discuss as they have been busy while away from the studio. Of course, the regular chatter about all of hockey's bigger stories will eat up the majority of the hour, so get yourself ready tonight for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will look at a number of stories including politics in hockey after Alexander Ovechkin appeared in a Russian political advertisement, the kerfuffle around the Edmonton Oilers' personnel, rule changes that will make two leagues more watchable, book reviews done by each of our hosts, Kevin Hayes and his future, PWHL recent announcements, and anything else we can squeeze into the hour of fun! It should be a show where opinions are stated about a number of topics, so make sure you have your device connected tonight to 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 politics in hockey, vetting your people, making hockey better, good reading material, walking away quickly, women's hockey news, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: September 24, 2026: Episode 731

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Rule Change Friday

I don't think I'm in the minority here when I say that I like exciting hockey. Having been through the "dead puck" era of the NHL when some version of the trap was used by almost every team, watching hockey was a chore in that era where teams looked to prevent mistakes and were far more comfortable winning 2-1 while preventing their opposition from scoring more than two goals. Good defence hasn't taken a backseat in the NHL as we still see strong defensive teams, but no fans fo to hockey games to watch a clinic on how to stifle offensive hockey. Fans like offence, fans want offence, and two leagues today instituted rule changes that should help generate more offence in games and situations. Thee rule changes won't solve every problem when it comes to overall scoring in these leagues, but it shoudl give fans some hope that offensive hockey is being prioritized when it comes to entertainment value.

We'll start in the WHL who announced three rule changes today. The first two included implementing a coach's challenge for offside goals and adding an officials' review of major and match penalties, but the one I want to focus on in the "no return" 3-on-3 overtime. As you likely have seen in European leagues, teams in overtime can move the puck up the ice, but once they cross the centre ice line they are forbidden to retreat to their defensive zone unless playing defence. The numbers show this is a good rule.

The third rule today is exactly that - a "no retreat" overtime rule. Teams in the WHL will be forbidden to possess the puck in the defensive zone once they cross the centre red line, and this should promote more games being decided in overtime based on what we've seen in other leagues. We're one step close to banning the shootout!

In all seriousness, the Champions Legaue has been using this rule and tracking metrics, and it's not hard to see why this is better for the game. Here are their numbers and MHL (KHL junior circuit) numbers:

• Shot attempts increased by 51% in overtime overall.
• Alternating shot attempts increased by 53% as both teams played more offensively in trying to end the game.
• Puck possession changes were up 23% as teams simply could not retreat into their own zone and regroup.
• Attacking zone swaps increased by 17% as teams forced turnovers and moved the puck more.
• Games completed in overtime increased by 12%.
• Officials approved "no retreat" overtime by 87%, fans by 64%, and Champions League clubs by 63%.
• In the MHL, overtimes averaged 2:14 in length with this rule.
• The MHL saw 67% of games decided in overtime rather than the shootout, giving fans more entertainment.

In short, this overtime rule works because it forces teams to play offensively which results in more mistakes and more goals. Less shootouts are better for the game, so I'm happy to see the WHL adopt this rule rull-time! Now if we could reinstitute tie games....

That aside, we'll move to the AHL where they also made a couple of minor changes to their rules today. The two rules that shouldn't affect too many plays are an expanded video review process to give coaches more options for challenges and using video review for awarding goals for pucks entering the net on a continuous play despite the referee blowing the whistle. Both of these situations do happen so these needed some altering, but it's the third rule that could affect some teams' decisions when it comes to using video review liberally.

Starting today, the AHL announced that any "team’s first failed coach's challenge will result in a bench minor penalty for delay of game. Subsequent failed challenges in the same game will result in double-minor penalties" which is an excellent addition to the video review rules because there is nothing worse than a ten-minute delay after a goal is scored because some coach believed a player's skate was a millimeter offside. If he's right, good on that voach. If he simply wanted a timeout for his team, a minor and subsequent double-minor penalty should curb the enthusiasm over video reviews.

The AHL doesn't publish any numbers on video review challenges, but it seems clear that the Board of Governors wanted to see changes by implementing these new rules. Whether or not this cuts down on the number of coach's challenges seen in the AHL will be determined, but I'm very sure there aren't a lot of coaches willing to put his team down a man for four minutes after one unsuccessful challenge.

Both of these rules in these respective leagues should keep the pace of games moving and make the games more entertaining. The WHL will likely see more games decided in overtime which is always a good thing, and the AHL should see less long delays when video review of a play is needed as failed challenges will now see teams penalized more heavily. As Champions League stakeholders show with their approval ratings, fans, teams, and officials are fans of more entertaining games alike, and the NHL would be wise to start looking at these kinds of changes to make their product better overall.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Some Good From A Lot Of Bad

It isn't often that professional hockey teams fold in the middle of a season, but the team with the jersey to the left - the UHL's Mohawk Valley Prowlers - were one of the few pro teams who did fold midway through their campaign. The team only lasted in Utica, New York from 1998 to 2001, so it's not like they had a massive impact on the community in their short existence. However, there are a few notes to examine when it comes to the Prowlers calling Utica home for parts of three seasons. Let's look at the Prowlers announcing their financial issues and what happened from there.

According to a report from The Associated Press on February 8, 2001, the Prowlers sought bankruptcy protection, depending on who you believe, sometime between Friday, February 2 through Tuesday, February 6 after telling a judge that the team was "spending more than 40 percent than it takes in". Citing total assets of $1.7 million and liabilities of $3.94 million, it's not hard to see why the team was suffering as it was spending $1.40 for every dollar made.

With the announcement, the players on the Prowlers' roster voted to strike in knowing that they likely weren't going to be paid until the bankruptcy matter was resolved. Rumours of missed salary payments totalling $40,000 and missed rent payments forcing players to be evicted from their apartments gave the players all the necessary motivation they needed not to play, and the team had no way of borrowing money to make their payroll while under bankruptcy protection despite owner Jack Tompkins saying that the players were owed only $5667 due to creditor protection. As a result of the team being unable to honour their contractual obligations to the players, the entire roster was declared as creditors owed money. Would ever get the money owed?

As the headline from the Syracuse Herald American stated, the Prowlers were forced to use replacement players for their scheduled game on February 11, 2001 against the BC Icemen. For those wondering, the "BC" stands for Broome County as the Icemen called Binghamton, New York home, but they took the ice against a Prowlers team that literally was made up of whoever the Prowlers could find who wasn't under contract. The end result was an 18-4 blowout by the Icemen, and Prowlers' management vowed that Wednesday's game against the Icemen would also see replacement players take the ice in Prowlers uniforms. Based on those results from Sunday, it would appear that their Prowlers needed professional players back.

It seems that Mohawk Valley wasn't done dealing their contracted players, though, as the Prowlers traded 12-goal, 35-point centerman Harold Hersh to Quad City on Monday, February 12. That's one way to satisfy one creditor as Hersh would finish the season in Quad City where he'd score 16 points in 19 games before adding six points in 11 games en route to a UHL championship!

The AHL's Lowell Lock Monsters would pick up a player from the Prowlers as well as they added noted bruiser Andre Payette from Mohawk Valley. Tye 6'2", 205-pound Payette had already made a name for himself in the UHL, scoring nine goals and 18 assists while racking up 244 PIMs in 45 games. Lowell added Payette to their lineup to replace noted pugilist Kip Brennan who returned to the OHL's Sudbury Wolves after it was discovered he still had junior hockey eligibility.

Apparently, business continued as if nothing ever changed for the Prowlers as they waived Quintin Brickley who never even played for them while claiming John Dowd from New Haven. On the other side, former leading scorer Jay Mazur, who was delcared a free agent following the bankruptcy filing, signed with New Haven to strengthen their lineup. Clearly, things were starting to crumble in Mohawk Valley, so it seemed like the inevitable was on the horizon.

On February 22, the final nail in the coffin was hammered as the Mohawk Valley Prowlers closed their doors on the season and on the franchise. With the team officially in bankruptcy proceedings, trustee Michael Balanoff oversaw the proceedings of how the team would repay its creditors which, as the article states, included over 1000 season-ticket holders. Of course, players were also included in the list of creditors, but any players still under contract and on the Prowlers payroll were officially made free agents by the UHL and were able to sign with any team of their choosing. Most players went on to find a new team by the start of the following season, but there was one replacement player whose statistics caught my attention as I was researching another story. Depending on when, he may have been part of the 18-4 loss against the BC Icemen back on February 11.

This young man is Terry Craven. In this picture taken on February 21 as the Prowlers cleared out their lockers following the announcement of the team folding, the 24 year-old had played a total of seven professional minutes of UHL hockey - one with the Asheville Smoke and six with the Mohawk Valley Prowlers. He had 24 NCAA games to his name with the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts where his GAA and save percentage weren't going to get him scouted by NHL personnel, but he could be a decent goalie with a little seasoning in the UHL.

I'm not here to bring down Terry Craven in any way because he clearly got stuck in an untenable situation. Playing for the Prowlers while the franchise crumbles is not one that any player would want, but Craven's numbers are hard to ignore. Consider the following:

In his six minutes of standing in the blue paint for the Prowlers, he surrendered five goals on 11 shots and suffered his only professional loss at the UHL level or above in terms of his professional career. That is heartbreaking to read for a kid just trying to find his way into pro hockey, but Craven's record will show his Prowlers time with an 0-1-0 record, a 46.75 GAA, and a .545 save percentage. Just brutal!

There is a bright spot, though: Craven did get picked up as a goaltender for the ECHL's Lexington Men O'War in 2003. He spent two minutes on the ice in the ECHL with Lexington and made one save, but the Men O'War clearly saw something in Craven by bringing him in as an EBUG after spending nearly two years out of hockey!

Terry Craven's story won't be a 30-For-30 on ESPN or a Netflix special, but he did get nine minutes of professional hockey under his belt. Two-thirds of that time came in a Prowlers jersey where he was thrown to the wolves, but Craven did spend two minutes in an ECHL game where he officially made one save and finished with a 0.00 GAA and a 1.000 save percentage. The Prowlers franchise may have died in 2001, gone for good, but Terry Craven wasn't quite done.

Sometimes, out of the worst situations, good things happen. While Terry Craven never had a long or propserous professional hockey career, he did stop one puck in the ECHL with the Lexington Man O'War which is more than a lot of other good goaltenders can say they did. Who knows if that would have happened had it not been for the UHL's Mohawk Valley Prowlers franchise hemorrhaging money.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Road Trip: Cancelled

Every year, I look at the schedules of the teams near HBIC Headquarters and try to map out a potential road trip where I can see as many games as possible. Normally, there are all sorts of things that get in the way where the total number of games that I could see drops to a few, but this year seemed to have the stars align for such a trip. Based on the title of this article, however, I have decided against taking this trip and I'll discuss why below. For now, let's take a look at my proposed trip, destinations, and costs involved for this trip into hockey's heartland.

I'll break this down by stop as it makes more sense for me to illustrate the games I had planned on seeing with a little context. Some might be more of a head-scratching reason than others, but I'm looking for variation, not repetition, and unique hockey locales. You'll notice I include ticket costs, approximate hotel costs (because I didn't book those nights officially), and incidentals like food and merchandise at the game. All of these factored into the costs I was planning while travelling. Time's wasting, so let's get rolling!

DULUTH, MINNESOTA

The first leg of this trip would have seen me travel to Duluth where the Bulldogs women's team would host the St. Cloud State Huskies on December 4. I have been itching to see Ève Gascon play with the Bulldogs more often, and knowing the success that Laura Schuler has had with that program meant that I'd likely be walking the halls of AMSOIL Arena and taking in a lot of history. St. Cloud State has former Finnish standouts Mira Jalosuo and Noora Räty behind the bench as the program rebuilds, so I was curious about their progress as well.

DISTANCE: 613kms (7 hours)
TICKET COST: $17.00
HOTEL COST: $220 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (Castle Danger beverage and Burnt Ends)

MANKATO, MINNESOTA

Saturday night would see me in Mankato where I'd attend the Mavericks men's hockey game as they hosted Bowling Green. I have never been to Mankato, but I've heard good things about the city from former women's player Alexis Paddington, so this had to be a stop on this trip. Goaltender Raiden LeGall and defender Sam Court are from Manitoba while former ECHL forward Ty Cheveldayoff plays for Bowling Green, so there are few players to watch. On top of that, I have a Mavericks jersey I can wear so I can blend in as a local!

DISTANCE: 377kms (4 hours)
TICKET COST: $20.00? (not available yet)
HOTEL COST: $140 with free breakfast and pool
INCIDENTALS: $30 (local beverage and Wiste's Meat Market)

DES MOINES, IOWA

Sunday would be a bit of a rush, but I'd have to be up early and on the road for Des Moines, Iowa for the 3pm game between the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and Iowa Wild. Being that I'm quite familiar with both teams thanks to the Moose and that no roster decisions have been made for either team yet, this game was more of a luxury in seeing an AHL game in another city. I do have an Iowa Heartlanders jersey I could wear, but I'm not certain how welcome those would be at a Wild game. Being that I'm me, though, I'd wear it anyway.

DISTANCE: 336kms (3.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $31.00 in section 114
HOTEL COST: none
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA

You have noticed the "none" for hotel costs above, and that's because I'd high-tail it back to Minneapolis after the game (weather permitting). I'm not going to lie, though - this is the one that broke my enthusiasm. The Edmonton Oilers are visiting the Minnesota Wild on this evening, and I thought I could take the opportunity to see all of McDavid, Draisaitl, Kaprizov, Hughes, and Boldy in one rink. I'm not a fan of either team, but I'd gladly wear my Oilers alternate jersey to the game and take the abuse from the Wild fans. However, I look at that $200 price tag on the ticket and think "I haven't spent one-third of that amount in seeing three games". The NHL is too expensive.

DISTANCE: 399kms (3.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $178 in section 122
HOTEL COST: $93 x 3 nights with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $10 (I already spent enough)

RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA

I'd need to be on the road early on Wednesday to cover a thousand kilometers. However, an ECHL game featuring the Orlando Solar Bears and Rapid City Rush is one I would not want to miss. Mount Royal's Shane Farkas just signed with the Rush, former NHLer Brady Keeper is on the protected list for this season, and Seth Fyten, brother of former Bisons captain Caitlin Fyten, is also on the list. And when am I ever going to see the Solar Bears play? This was a must-see event.

DISTANCE: 939kms (8.5 hours)
TICKET COST: $48.50 in section C
HOTEL COST: $90 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA

I'd have to hustle again on Thursday to land in Fargo where I'd be heading to Scheels Arena on Friday night for the USHL game between the Des Moines Buccaneers and the Fargo Force. Being that I've never been to a USHL game and knowing Fargo's drive for winning, I expect this one to be a fun night. I have no ties to any of the players, but crossing another league off the list after attending a game is a personal goal. If you count the NCAA's women's game as being a different league, that would be six different leagues in seven days!

DISTANCE: 130kms (1 hour)
TICKET COST: $20 in section 110 bought in advance
HOTEL COST: $140 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA

The last stop is obvious as no hockey trip through the middle of the US would be complete without a UND game. The Fighting Hawks are scheduled to battle the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday, and there are literally a handful of tickets remaining for either day. As such, I'd be sitting in the nosebleed section, so one game will be enough for me. They play their annual White-Out Game on Saturday so I'd opt for Friday's game where the 701 Night promotions will run, but the cost of tickets was surprising.

DISTANCE: 130kms (1 hour)
TICKET COST: $80 in section 111 bought in advance
HOTEL COST: $160 with free breakfast
INCIDENTALS: $30 (some sort of local beverage and food)

CONCLUSION

By Saturday, I'd be home and getting back into an everyday routine after spending a week on the road watching hockey in an arena virtually every night. Some will say I'm insane for planning something like this out, and there may be some truth to that. After all, the dollar figures that I'd need to make this happen are greater than I want to spend. I'll break this down so you get what I mean.

TOTAL TICKET COSTS: $394.50 USD
TOTAL HOTEL COSTS: $1029 USD
TOTAL INCIDENTALS: $190 USD, but this likely would be less.
TOTAL KILOMETERS: 3032kms including leg back to Winnipeg.

Between the costs totalling $1500, the addition of gas and food while travelling, and any required contingency money needed, I'm looking at a $2000 USD cost for this trip, and that's just not something for which the budget will allow before Christmas. Pushing the costs higher would be the exchange rate, and this trip suddenly went from fun to expensive with a final total nearing $3000 CDN for a week of hockey games. I'd love to make something like this happen, but it's simply not in the cards when it comes to spending wisely.

On this Labour Day, this is what I laboured over as I looked to go on an adventure. Unfortunately, that won't happen this December 4-11 due to the escalating costs, but it would have been fun to watch seven games over eight nights from six different leagues!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 725

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back in the UMFM studios with all sorts of hockey stories that need discussing and examining. There are a handful of stories that once again cast shadows onto the sport, and we're not about to shy away from these stories because they have to be made part of the normal conversations if we're going to make a difference. There will be some tough stories to hear tonight along with our normal chatter about dumb stuff, so get yourself ready for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will discuss a disturbing local hockey hazing story that saw a player lose his suspension appeal, an OHL team billet on trial for terrible crimes, Hockey Canada's acceptance of a decision made on five of its former players, the insanity surrounding the USHL franchise that is supposed to be expanding into Phoenix, an AHL team likely moving, an NHL getting radio back, the same team having its TV broadcast get worse, the horrible ending to a contest, and anything else we can squeeze into the hour! It should be a fast-paced show, so make sure you're set and ready for 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 about unremorseful players, criminal billets, codes of conduct, arena problems, relocation foreshadowing, radio noise, TV noise, bad jerseys, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: August 13, 2026: Episode 725

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

What's All the Buzz?

I rarely get to enjoy a good baseball game from the perspective of a fan because I'm usually working in the pressbox for the local professional team. Last night, however, I broke free from the pressbox and sat in the patio area with a pile of my colleagues from my day job where we got to watch the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball team don a new identity as they searched for their sixth win in a row! If you came here for hockey chatter, there will be some at the end as I relate this fun night of baseball back to hockey, but this article is all about having a good time as a fan, enjoying a beautiful night on a patio, and watching the home team as a fan rather than a stats guy for the first time in a long time! And if the Goldeyes could beat Lincoln, that's even better!

If you have a larger group who wants to attend a baseball game, the patio at Blue Cross Park is a great way to get that group to the ballgame. The Malibu Patio, where we sat, holds 65 people and located right in the left field corner above the Goldeyes' bullpen. The sightlines are incredible from this location as you can see virtually everything happening in the park, and it didn't hurt that this was prime seating for the fireworks display scheduled after the game!

The patio has serving staff assigned to it and a private bar so that the group never would never need to venture far if it needed food or beverages. We declined the serving staff as there were many different requests for food, but the private bar was used all night and was a solid added benefit. Combined with the patio tables, umbrellas, and bar-like seating around the railing, the Malibu Patio as perfect for a group of our size to enjoy a night at the ballpark!

The Goldeyes debuted their one-time-only alternate identities last night as they took the field as the Manitoba Mosquitoes to welcome the Lincoln Saltdogs to town, and the Mosquitoes were buzzing early in this game. Five runs in the first inning followed by two more in the second and four more in the third inning put the Mosquitoes up 11-0 early on the Saltdogs, and it seemed like all Manitoba had to do was nurse that lead. Adding to the fun was pitcher Ryo Kohigashi as the league's third-best pitcher for strikeouts was dealing again on Friday night, striking out nine Saltdogs to push his total to 79 this season. That leaves him ten punchouts back of the league lead, so the Fish have a hurler who could win one of the key stats races before the season is over! But the bigger question was if the Mosquitoes could keep the win streak going.

Despite surrendering four runs in the top of the fifth inning, the Saltdogs would get no more as the Goldeyes used that early run support to cruise to the 11-4 win on a gorgeous night at the ballpark. No homeruns were hit on night, but centerfielder Noah Marcelo led the way with three RBIs to pace the Goldeyes. On the fun side, Lincoln's Cary Arbolida struck out to send the fans home with free pancakes, and Lincoln's Nick Schumpert went home with a platinum sombrero after striking out swinging five times in the game! Ouch!

After the game wrapped up with high-fives and handshakes on the Goldeyes/Mosquitoes side of the field, the fireworks display literally happened right in front of us, giving us the best view of the night sky. A handful of brightly-coloured explosions brought oohs and aahs from the crowd that stayed behind for the display, and the kids who were part of our group were absolutely thrilled with the spectacle!

Some people ask me why I love minor-league professional sports, and it's stuff like this where the local team dons a new identity for a fun night at the ballpark or rink. We've seen lots of teams rebrand to represent their communities, and I honestly love that minor-pro teams do this as often as they do. I get that the professional teams are tied to their communities as well, but minor-pro baseball and hockey teams always seem to have fun rebrands and jerseys they roll out every season. Seeing these ideas come to life is so much fun!

If you want to know why I support leagues like the AHL and ECHL more than I support the NHL, it's for this very reason. Sports are supposed to be fun and every time a minor-pro team rebrands or has a crazy bobblehead night or some other zany promotion, the end result is a fun night at a stadium or arena. Our group had a blast last night, there was a buzz about the Mosquitoes jerseys and how good they looked, and the Mosquitoes showed up in a big way to send the crowd home happy. Add in good food, good baseball, an awesome fireworks display, and ticket prices that didn't put anyone into financial distress, and the end result was an incredible night at Blue Cross Park in Winnipeg.

I'm not telling you not to cheer for your favorite NHL teams and players, but I am saying you should go support the minor-pro teams whenever you can. Having fun nights as the Manitoba Mosquitoes, in my view, should be encouraged as often as possible so we see more fun jerseys like the Manitoba Polar Bears and the Winnipeg SeaBears' Space Jam jerseys. And if minor-pro teams can attract more fans with these fun rebrandings and a winning attitude, that helps the minor-pro franchise and the community it serves in a big way!

I'm off to the ballpark again tonight, only I'll be doing stats in the pressbox. There's serious buzz coming from downtown Winnipeg, though, as the Goldeyes search for their seventh win in a row and their third series win in a row. Maybe the bigger question is who could have thought that Manitobans would love Mosquitoes?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 723

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is diving into the financial side of the game tonight with a significant look at what's been happening over the last week when it comes to hockey and media. You likely know about Amazon getting into Canadian hockey broadcasts, but there are a number of other money-related stories from the hockey world that need some discussion tonight. We'll dive into those stories because, as fans, our hosts see problems on the horizon in the game that need addressing tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will take a look at the deal between Rogers and Amazon and discuss why it happened, why Amazon's day moved, and what we might be seeing as a bigger problem in hockey. Beyond that discussion, they'll chat about Columbus cutting its radio play-by-play in favour of simulcasted TV play-by-play, Hamilton Hammers ticket prices, a new Hall-of-Famer, a contest coming to a close, and the insanity that will be travel for one league this season. There's a lot of topics tonight that will have a money theme to them, so you'll want to be ready for an hockey's untrained finanical audit by two radio hosts 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 about financial bubbles, bad deals, bad broadcasts, inflated prices, honoured players, elimination processes, unnecessary travel, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: July 30, 2026: Episode 723

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Priced Out Of The Market

As you likely know, I'm not a hockey executive. Frankly, with the state of economics in hockey right now, I'm not sure I'd want to be working in a front office at the moment because it seems like everyone is either delusional or insane. Or maybe both. Being that I'm not qualified to diagnose anyone as senile, though, it became somewhat hard to ignore that the new AHL team in Hamilton might be on a fast track to another relocation thanks to their ticket prices. Welcome to professional hockey, Hamilton! Bring your wallets!

I want you to remember that we're talking about an AHL team that finished in fourth-place in its division and lost to the fifth-place team in the qualification round. The Bridgeport Islanders were a 34-30-8 team last season, and only made the playoffs twice in the last five seasons where they didn't win a round. This will be important.

First, here's the seating map at TD Coliseum for Hammers games.

Feel free to click on the image to see it larger, but the season-ticket costs for 36 home games in Hamilton range from $875 up to $2238 per seat. If you're doing the calculations for a per-game cost, the cheapest seats are $24.31 per game while the most expensive will seat cost you $62.17 to watch the Hammers. While these prices aren't financially crippling at a per-game rate, $62 to watch a middle-of-the-road AHL team seems like the supply-and-demand pricing atrributed to hockey tickets may not be entirely true. At all.

If you go down the road to Toronto where the Calder Cup champions play, the Toronto Marlies have their season ticket prices posted.

How is it that the Calder Cup champions have less expensive tickets than an AHL who has done nothing except change its name and logo six times in its existence? One can argue that Toronto's saturated professional sports market forces the Marlies to keep their prices lower, but that doesn't explain why Hamilton's tickets cost more.

If supply-and-demand is the factor for AHL tickets, the Belleville Senators are the only professional team in Belleville, Ontario which sits two hours east of Toronto. You'd expect them to follow Hamilton's idea of charging a little more to come and see them due to the demand for their tickets, yet, as you can see to the right, that's not the case. The cheapest ticket in Belleville is $4.31 less than Hamilton's cheapest ticket, yet the B-Sens have just as many Calder Cup playoff appearances and series wins as the Hammers. If you're scratching your head over these AHL ticket prices, you're not the only one.

I want to call your attention to the sections on Hamilton's seat map to emphasize just how insane this pricing model is that the Hammers conjured. Sections 105-107 are priced at $1808 for the season if you sit there ($50.22 per ticket). However, if you want to sit in an aisle seat, that's going to cost you more. In fact, $328 more ($9.11 per game more). An aisle seat in that section will set you back $2136 ($59.33/game) as opposed to the guy sitting next to you who paid $1808. Since when did sports teams adopt airline pricing for seats?

I like an aisle seat as much as the next person, but there is no way I'm paying more for an aisle seat when I'm already paying for the most expensive seats in the building. I get that's how the supply-and-demand model works, but this is taking it a step beyond acceptable. If I want to sit with my friends in seats 1-4 in row 12 in section 107, why am I paying more than my three friends? How is that fair?

NHL ticket prices are ridiculous to begin with, so I'm not making those comparisons. We have a total of one ECHL team in Canada, so comparing AHL and ECHL prices won't make much sense to Canadian hockey fans either. Comparing the AHL markets across this country to one another does make sense when it comes to supply-and-demand theories, and there are a total of zero AHL teams adjusting their pricing for tickets to see the Hamilton Hammers play. Belleville's home opener is against Hamilton, and they didn't raise their prices because tickets to see the Hammers simply aren't in demand.

Congratulations to the City of Hamilton on getting an AHL team whose ticket prices are higher than any other AHL team in the country including the defending Calder Cup champions. Enjoy your fourth-place team at premium prices while you can because I suspect there won't be many people in the stands at these prices. And I say that because the Hammers likely won't be in Hamilton long unless the team's profit-driven philosophy changes... which doesn't seem likely.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Benny, Mick E., and Icy?

Virtually every team on the planet has a mascot. They usually have the role of being an ambassador for the team while entertaining fans, but mascots are usually in a one-to-one relationship with a team. Rarely do we see mascots moving between teams, but there have been a handful who have made the transition from one team to another like Youppi! in Montreal and Sparky the Dragon on Long Island. There is one mascot in hockey, however, who has worked for a number of teams in his career, and one of those teams was the Winnipeg Jets despite him not being listed as an official mascot in the team's history nor being credited for his work!

The mascot pictured above is Icy D. Eagle who appears at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for every Fort Wayne Komets game. What's cool about Icy is that he didn't start out as the Komets' mascot, but moved to join the Komets after the Salt Lake Golden Eagles moved following the 1993-94 season to become the Detroit Vipers. It's reported that Icy made the trip to Fort Wayne for the 1994 IHL All-Star Game and fell in love with the Komets and the fans, but he officially became the Komets' mascot in the 1994-95 season!

I'll tip my cap to Friend of the Blog Fiona Quinn who is doing exemplary work in compiling the full history of the Fort Wayne Komets. Fiona's been working at this project for a few years now, and she reached out to me with an interesting question. It reads,

"Hi Teebz!!! I have a question. In 1994-95, Icy was in Winnipeg for a game and we were wondering if there was any way you could find a picture of him up in Winnipeg?"

At first, this question had me confused because the 1994-95 season would still be when the Winnipeg Jets were playing here before their move to Arizona. As we know, the Jets had a mascot in Benny, so having a second mascot in the arena who wasn't affiliated with the team didn't make much sense. However, I trust Fiona's research skills, so this sounded like something that needed a little investigating.

According to what she could find, she believed the games where Icy appeared in Winnipeg happened on March 10 and 11, 1995. After a quick check online, the Jets did indeed have back-to-back games that weekend against the Dallas Stars and the Los Angeles Kings, so the possibility of Icy being in Winnipeg became a little more real.

The next place I went to check for evidence of Icy's visit and appearance in Winnipeg was the newspaper archive. 1995 was long before the internet became what it is today, so the newspaper archive likely held the answer. As you can see to the right, Tim Campbell had documented Icy's visit to Winnipeg at the two games on Thursday, March 9, 1995, so we got one step closer to seeing some sort of visual evidence that Icy was at the Winnipeg Arena. 1995 was a tough era for images being online, so this is where I hit a wall.

Despite me looking for any and all newspapers who would have covered the Jets, Stars, and Kings, none of them seemingly had photographers who captured the work done by Icy in Winnipeg. I get that an opposing team's mascot wouldn't likely appeal to Stars fans or Kings fans, so I can understand why they wouldn't have made a big deal out of Icy being in Winnipeg. However, you'd think the Winnipeg newspapers would make some mention or grab a pciture of Icy being there outside of the small blurb above, right? Apparently not.

Not all hope was lost of finding an image of Icy, though, as I hit YouTube to see if the full games were posted to their site. The March 11 game against Los Angeles came up first, and it was produced by Prime Sports which covered the Los Angeles Kings. I had my doubts that a Kings-backed broadcast would show anything other than Kings content, and those doubts were confirmed as there was no mention nor video evidence of Icy on the Kings' broadcast that day.

My last hope was the January 10 game against the Dallas Stars, and this one gave me more hope as Winnipeg-based CKND produced this broadcast! I scrolled through the action as I watched for any sort of crowd shot that may include Icy, and my faith in local broadcasting was restored at the 19:06 mark as John Garrett was speaking!
We now have visual evidence that Icy D. Eagle was in Winnipeg for the Jets-Stars game on March 10, 1995 while wearing a Winnipeg Jets jersey with #0 on it and working as a Jets mascot! Fiona is correct!

Honestly, I didn't even know this happened. Benny was the only mascot I ever associated with the Jets, and Mick E. Moose only came about thanks to the Manitoba Moose who played in the IHL and AHL. At no point was I aware that Icy D. Eagle had a two-game stint as a Winnipeg Jets mascot if it wasn't for Fiona's dedication to the Fort Wayne Komets' history. I'm not sure if the Jets are even aware about Icy's appearance as I can't find any information that links Icy and Winnipeg outside of that Winnipeg Free Press blurb posted above.

Major stick-tap to Fiona Quinn and her outstanding work as the Fort Wayne Komets' team historian for sending me down this path. Not only would I have not looked for this piece of hockey history had it not been for Fiona's prompt, but I wouldn't even have associated Icy with the Winnipeg Jets. Her effort in researching this led me to Icy being a Winnipeg Jets mascot which has blown my mind because I had no idea this even happened! Was Icy the only mascot who got this opportunity? Where was Benny in all of this? How many other mascots got this kind of opportunity with the Jets? These questions may go unanswered thanks to time, but we can officially say, thanks to Fiona's relentless research on all things Komets, that Icy D. Eagle was a Jets mascot for at least one game!

Don't be fooled by other ornithological mascots like Gulliver in San Diego or Swoop in Philadelphia when it comes to which bird mascot is the best. Icy D. Eagle holds that title, and is a regular in the nominations for the annual ECHL Mascot of the Year award. He's beloved for his antics at Komets games, he's an outstanding ambassador for the Komets' brand, and he's clearly good enough for an NHL team as the Winnipeg Jets wanted him for two games in 1995!

Because she is entirely responsible for me doing a deep dive into Icy's time in Winnipeg, please check out the Komets all-time record book edited by Fiona and Komets' radio play-by-play broadcaster Shane Albahrani. And when I say edited, I really mean "did all the research and compiled all the information". These two are vitally important cogs in the Komets organization considering all they do for the team and Komets fans, and I'm forever grateful to call Fiona a friend!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Final Day

The HBIC Music Festival comes to a close today on this third day of looking at musicians wearing or holding hockey jerseys, and it's a day where every other league outside of the NHL gets to shine. Honestly, if I were a touring musician, I'd want more of these lesser-known teams in my closet because that's the sign of a true hockey fan. In saying that, though, these musicians seen today are doing their part in supporting the lesser-seen teams! Of course, if you know of a band or artist I've missed, please send the image(s) through to me via email! Don't forget to check out all the jerseys over at the HBIC Musicians in Jerseys database, but let's get into the final day of music fun at this summer's HBIC Music Festival!

We'll start on the international stage where we find two Canadian artists sporting the maple leaf! Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau looks like he's ready to take the ice in his Team Canada jersey, and Our Lady Peace's Raine Maida shows his support for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off! Hands up for those good ol' Canadian boys!

We move to the EIHL who has a couple of acts at the festival. The Sheffield Steelers gifted Def Leppard with personalized jerseys for each band member while Rod Stewart shows his support for the Coventry Blaze! For those that are unaware, Liam Stewart, Rod's son from his marriage with model Rachel Hunter, played as a forward for the Blaze in the 2016-17 season and has represented Great Britain internationally! In that 2017 season with Coventry, Liam scored nine goals and 20 points in 49 games before moving to Guildford in 2018!

We'll move to the AHL who sent two musicians to the festival as well. Rapper Trippie Redd might be the only musician I've seen in a Bridgeport Islanders jersey while Dan Campbell of rock band The Wonder Years shows off another AHL team who no longer exists in his Philadelphia Phantoms jersey! Two former teams for one league!

We'll get to see the PWHL debut their first acts at the HBIC Music Festival as well this year! PVRIS vocalist Lynn Gunn took the stage in a Boston Fleet jersey, guitarist and keyboardist Leandra Earl of Beaches was spotted in a PWHL Toronto jersey from the Sceptres' first season, and Jonathan Cain of Journey took the stage and played the keyboard in an Emma Greco Vancouver Goldeneyes jersey!

Of course, there were some musicians sporting jerseys from CHL and USHL teams this year. Simple Plan's Chuck Comeau was on the ice in an autographed Quebec Remparts jersey while also sporting a black Quebec Remparts jersey, Shockwire wore a Peterborough Petes jersey in a video, Cape Breton's own Sunsetto took the stage in a Cape Breton Screaming Eagles jersey, Mitchell Tenpenny took the stage in a Calgary Hitmen jersey, Bailey Zimmerman was on stage in a Sioux Falls Stampede jersey, and, in one of the most awesome photos ever, Jon Bon Jovi showed his support for the Sudbury Wolves by wearing one of their jerseys! How awesome is that last image?

We have a strange jersey that was seen at the festival as guitarist Greg Leskiw of The Guess Who was on stage beside Burton Cummings in what looks like a WHA Winnipeg Jets jersey, but the WHA Jets never wore that design! Further to this, the Johnstown Jets never wore a diagonal "Jets" sweater either. I have no idea whose jersey it is, but he's wearing #25 on the back as well. If you want to take a closer look, the footage of the concert can be seen here. If you know whose jersey Leskiw is wearing, drop the info in the comments!

We have a couple of SPHL jerseys making appearances at the HBIC Music Festival this year! Journey's Jonathan Cain sported an Evansville Thunderbolts jersey on stage as he played guitar, and Bailey Zimmerman was on stage in a Huntsville Havoc "Retro Rush" jersey! That Huntsville specialty jersey is awesome!

The ECHL had one act on the HBIC Music Festival stage as Journey's Jonathan Cain was on stage wearing a Worcester Railers jersey!

The BCHL makes a rare appearance on the HBIC Music Festival stage, but Shockwire was wearing a Chilliwack Chiefs jersey in a video!

And the final act for the HBIC Music Festival takes us to the NCAA world where Jonathan Cain of Journey was on stage in a University of South Carolina Gamecocks jersey! For those unaware, the Gamecocks are the defending AAU College Hockey Division 1 Champions after being ranked fourth in the nation last season! Winning the national championship and having Journey on your side? That's a great season!

That officially clears out the folder on my desktop of all the musicians in jerseys! I'll start looking for and collecting new images once again, but that's a big job off the checklist. Again, if you want to send in a band or musician for the database, please send the image(s) through to me via email! Just be sure you check the HBIC Musicians in Jerseys database first so we're not duplicating work!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

The Hockey Show - Episode 721

The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, is back with some new introductions, some more hockey stories, and some opinions from our two hosts about everything happening in hockey. It's been a fairly quiet week for a lot of the hockey world as schedules were released for the NHL today which flooded social media, but there were still stories to hit the wires this week that need to be discussed. Our hosts will dive into those newsworthy pieces tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!

Tonight, Teebz and Jason will criss-cross the globe as they look at stories from a number of places. They'll discuss failed executives becoming senior advisors, Winnipeg locking up Cole Perfetti, a pile of notable Canada West and U SPORTS men's hockey players landing in professional leagues, Victory+ losing a major client, a weird situation in Ukraine, a potential new destination in Australia, and anything else that may cross their paths. There's lots to discuss and about which our hosts will opine including a few non-hockey stories, so make sure you're ready to roll for 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 UMFM website's 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.

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 unearned jobs, good deals, good opportunities, bad economics, weird conscription, new venues, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!

PODCAST: July 16, 2026: Episode 721

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

Hamilton Goes Nuts And Bolts

There was a pile of news that happened today across this great country when it came to sports radio, but I don't want to dwell on the negative brought on by Rogers Communications and their buffoonery. Instead, I want to head down the road from Toronto to one of the cities that make up the Greater Toronto Area - the GTA - in the southeast portion of Ontario. For as muc as Hamiltonians will tell anyone that they're different in all walks of life compared to Torontonians, they still occupy space in the GTA. Like Toronto, though, they're now an AHL city once again as the Hamilton Hammers will begin play this season. Today, we got to see their jerseys!

I want it on record that I still hate the team name. I'm not here to win any points with Hamilton or its fans, though, so seeing the rest of the jerseys could potentially improve the logo's overall aesthetic or it could drag them down to 1994 levels of hate like the Islanders' Fisherman jerseys got. So what do they look like, you ask?

The design isn't actually that bad if I'm being honest. Simple arm and hem striping keep the hockey sweater look alive, there's good contrast with that horrific logo, and the numbers are easily readable. I'm not a fan of the drawstring necklines anymore, but I don't see a lot of problems here with the Hammers' jersey. The absence of the shoulder yoke isn't even a problem as it allows that solid blue colour to really stand out against the white ice in arenas, so I think the Hammers and, by proxy, the Islanders did a fairly good job here by keeping it simple. There's no wave jersey template, so it's not like they're going to get Fisherman hate spewed at them.

The back of the jersey is just as clean in its design with easily-readable block letting for the name and a standard block font for the number. The two-colour sewing allows the blue to pop with a little more colour from the orange outline, so that works nicely. I'm not fan of the AHL and CCM logos in the middle of the hemstripe as that's all sorts of gaudy and self-aggrandizing, especially when you consider that CCM's logo is already on the neckline as well. If the league dropped the AHL logo back down to the bottom of the jersey and eliminated the second CCM logo, things would improve drastically for the back of the Hammers' jerseys. Because that they don't allow me to do AHL corporate deals, my opinion is simply that the logos look terrible placed where they are.

Hamilton likely won't look bad next season when they take the ice as long as no one is focused on their logo. These are clean, simple jerseys that look like traiditonal hockey sweaters, and that's a good start to the Hammers' legacy in Hamilton. They aren't going to move a lot of jerseys because they have catchy colours or an awesome design, but the Hammers will look like a hockey team anytime they wear their jerseys. That's a win despite the logo on the front.

Should Hamilton be wearing colours that aren't the same scheme as the New York Islanders? Yes, absolutely. However, the limited scope of their colours works well in this design, so here's hoping the Hammers can rise to the occasion in spite of their logo. They aren't flashy, but they're the nuts and bolts of what a hockey jersey should look like.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!

I'll Celebrate His Achievement

It's becoming apparently obvious that the people who run the conferences and the Canadian university hockey league simply don't care about taking easy wins. Some may point to the fact that university hockey in Canada has been over for a while and that school is out for the summer, but you'd think there would be someone at the wheel guiding the good ship U SPORTS and its conferences and member schools forward. I say this because the man pictured above in Joel Ward was named the head coach of the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights on June 25, and not one of U SPORTS, the AUS, nor UPEI have a single mention of it on their websites. For a man celebrated as the best player to come out of UPEI's program, you'd think someone would have written something about it, right? I guess that someone is me.

Joel Ward was born in North York, Ontario and grew up dreaming of playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. His parents, Cecilia and Randall Ward, were immigrants from Barbados, and they fell in love with the sport as Mom and Dad cheered for all three of their hockey playing sons. Joel, the youngest, was a mainstay on North York minor hockey rosters as he grew up, but there was talent in young Joel.

Joel worked hard and earned some looks from scouts, resuling in him being drafted in the 15th round of the OHL draft by the Owen Sound Platers where he'd make a bigger name for himself. In four seasons from 1997-2001, Ward played 235 games where he scored 76 goals and 152 points including a 62-point 2000-01 season that earned him a professional shot with the WCHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs that saw him skate in eight playoff games without registering a point.

UPEI head coach Doug Currie reached out to Ward to offer him an opportunity to join the Panthers men's hockey team, but Joel was still chasing his NHL dream as he had a professional tryout with the Detroit Red Wings. He didn't crack the Wings' roster in 2001, so Ward collected his gear and headed east to Charlottetown where he landed at the University of Prince Edward Island ready to play hockey!

As Currie's recruiting was rebuilding the Panthers following a 13-loss season in 2000-01, the Panthers struggled out of the gates in 2001-02, starting the season with a 4-7-3 record. UPEI would finish with an 8-6-0 second half as they showed some improvement, but UNB would sweep them out of the playoffs in their best-of-three series. Ward, however, was on fire the entire season as he registered 13 goals and 27 points in 22 games to be named Panthers Rookie of the Year.

UPEI started the 2002-03 season slow again, as they were 1-4-1 in their first six games, but they'd finish the first half at a 6-6-3 mark as they found their groove through November. Things fell off in the second half as the Panthers struggled to a 5-8-0 record, but they'd make the playoffs as the sixth-place AUS team before being swept out of playoffs by third-ranked StFX. Ward, to his credit, continued to show his talents with an 11-goal, 26-point season, earning him the Panthers' MVP award and an AUS Second Team All-Star selection!

There were big changes in 2003-04 as Doug Currie was out as head coach, replaced by former National Champion UNB head coach Mike Kelly. The other big change was the Panthers moved back to MacLauchlan Arena on the UPEI campus after last playing there full-time in 1974-75. That change happened in January, and the Panthers played the first half at the Charlottetown Civic Centre where they finished with a 7-6-1 record as looked forward to their new home.

After moving into MacLauchlan Arena, the Panthers rattled off three wins before going winless in five. They'd finish the second half with a 6-7-1 record for fifth-place, and Dalhousie would beat them in three games in the playoffs. Ward was once again impressive in his play, scoring 14 goals and 38 points to be named as the Panthers' MVP and an AUS Second Team All-Star again. He would add a little more hardware to his trophy case, though, as he was also named the AUS Most Sportsmanlike Player! Could he add a championship?

The 2004-05 season saw the Panthers start slow once again, but they would turn that slow start into a 6-5-3 record by the December break. An 1-5-2 January was as ugly as things can get, but the Panthers found their stride with a 4-1-1 finish to the campaign at 11-11-6 and in sixth-place. Another two-game sweep at the hands of Saint Mary's ended the season, but Joel Ward had the university hockey world talking. He brought home the Panthers' MVP award for a third-straight year and was named the AUS MVP after leading the conference in scoring with 16 goals and 44 points in 28 games!

He wasn't done racking up hardware, though. Along with those honours, Ward was named a First Team All-Star, a CIS First Team All-Canadian, won the nationally-awarded R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award as the most sportmanlike player in the nation, and was named UPEI Male Athlete of the Year for 2004-05! And while the AUS Championship and CIS National Championship never materialized, it's pretty clear that Joel Ward made an impact in PEI while skating with the Panthers.

Ward would sign with the AHL's Houston Aeros for the 2005-06 season, and that would be the start of an amazing professional hockey career that saw him play for four NHL teams including Minnesota, Nashville, Washington, and San Jose. He was never traded, moving only through free agency when teams sought his services. Over his professional career, Ward played 209 AHL games, scoring 38 goals and 86 points in three seasons, and 726 NHL games, totalling 133 goals and 304 points in eleven seasons. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 2006 from UPEI while skating with Houston and Minnesota.

Joel Ward is one of the most decorated players to come out of UPEI's program, and he joins the likes of Dave Cameron, Doug MacLean, and Al MacAdam as former UPEI Panthers players who have had the privilege of being a head coach at the AHL level. Again, this is an achievement that should be celebrated by a U SPORTS school and program at the very least, but the last thing posted on the UPEI men's hockey page came on March 3, 2026. The AUS could have an easy win with a story, but their most recent post was on May 27, 2026.

Ok, so maybe this is more of a social media celebration thing, right? Well, the UPEI Panthers posted nothing on Twitter and nothing on Instagram. The AUS hasn't posted anything on Twitter since January 13, and they have nothing on their Instagram. The U SPORTS hockey account last posted on Twitter on February 3, and their last Instagram post was in 2017. The main U SPORTS Twitter account has three posts about former Western player Olivia Ghosh-Swaby and flag football, but none about Joel Ward and his appointment to head coach in the AHL. Ditto for their Instagram feed. That's unfathomable.

I'm excited to see what Joel Ward can do in his AHL coaching debut. I think he has the make-up to be a solid coach as he was always a good communicator, understood systems well, and certainly can relate to players who are chasing down their dreams in the AHL. I'm also happy to give Joel Ward some celebration for this achievement as a former U SPORTS player because he's earned everything that has been bestowed upon him including this opportunity with Henderson.

It just amazes me that I'm always the only person talking about U SPORTS hockey when there are stories that could promote the programs and leagues just sitting there. There won't be any easy wins for Joel Ward next season, but I'm sure he prefers to earn every win.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!