The Robb Hunter

August 25th, 2009 -- New Site

2009-08-25T16:09:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

For those of you who have seen me around the rink all training camp with an audio recorder and you've stopped to ask what I'm doing with the blog well.... There's a new site I'm contributing to that just launched this afternoon. The guys who are running it are pretty cool.

It's www.ajhlfan.com Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Thanks to everyone who followed TheRobbHunter.com over the past year.

July 29th

2009-07-29T06:29:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I've been working on a new project which will expand on this site. Look for something come Mid August.

I hope you're all having a good summer. Less than a month to training camp!

JULY 15TH

2009-07-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kirk Belyk (20) AND Marc Antoine Juneau (19). If you ask Belyk's billet here in Bonnyville he will be happy to tell you 'Bely' is going to lead the league in scoring this year. Then he adds a "if he can stay healthy" disclaimer.

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Sporting events I would not care to attend:

The NHL All-Star game
The NHL Skills competition
The MLB homerun derby
The Senior Bowl
The NFL Pro Bowl (if they move it out of Hawaii, otherwise I'm there)
The World Series of Poker
Any Golf or Tennis event that isn't a major. Actually I would sit at the 16th at the FBR Open.
Professional Bowling.

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Thinking about ya AG. Hope you're doing alright.

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A whole series of articles on some shannaigans at the 2009 RBC Cup costing Summerside the chance to host the 2011 RBC Cup.

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Keep your eyes on the AJHL.ca transaction page. There's a few more futures deals coming down.

JULY 10

2009-07-10T07:30:00.001-07:00

I hear Kent Fox of the Calgary Royals has been traded to Brooks for Future Considerations.

Kent turns 19 ... today. Happy Birthday.

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My In-Laws are great. They treat me really well and I'm thankful for that because everyone has heard In-Law horror stories.

Anyways, regardless of how nice the In-Laws are I just don't see myself becoming a hard core camper. I'm sorry. I'm trying here. The one good thing is that I know the wife's parents don't read the blog.

So to the person who does read my blog and decided on Wednesday to tell my mother-in-law that I don't like camping with her ... you are a moron. I mean are you just that dumb?

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From: Deb Thomas CLMH VP Business

Cold Lake Minor Hockey would like to remind all returning hockey players that the registration deadline for the 2009- 2010 hockey season is July 15th. Please call the Cold Lake Minor Hockey office for more information at 594-5050 or visit our website at www.clmh.com. Office hours are Monday through Thursday 4:30-8:00pm. See you - on the ice!

JULY 9TH

2009-07-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Joe,

I am saddened to hear you won't be able to make it to Vancouver this coming February. I was hoping to see you there but I understand if you don't feel you can make it. The traffic issues would probably be a pain anyways. If you are planning on now catching the games on TV, and I assume you are, then I would like to point out that you don't need to be in Burnaby to enjoy a big screen TV, surround sound, a comfy couch and a cold barely based beverage. I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you out to Bonnyville for the week of February 21st - 28th.

It will likely be pretty cold in Bonnyville in February but we should have our first Tim Hortons open by then and we could probably get you set up with a week's worth of hot chocolate. I should also add I don't have surround sound and my TV isn't that big but I do have a very comfortable couch and if you have room after the hot chocolate the barely based beverages will be plentiful.

If you are doing some consulting work for Steve during that week, don't worry, the cell coverage on the acreage is just fine. We don't have an internet connection but it's only a 15 minute drive into town where I have a key to the Kool 101.3 offices and we can let you check your facebook, or whatever it is that you need to do.

Finally, while it could be snowy we don't own a snow blower and we wouldn't make you do that even if we did. If the driveway is snowed in we have some very nice neighbours who come by to plow us out. Perhaps you could meet them while you are in town.

Anyways, I hope you are doing well and if you can make it that would be great. If not that's okay too.

Cheers and hope to see you soon,
Robb.

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How bad must Andrew Raycroft feel? The former Rookie of the year signed a 1 year $500,000 dollar contract with the Vancouver Canucks. The next day the Canucks signed Aaron Rome to a 1-year, $545,000 contract. The 25-year old Rome played eight games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, picking up one assist. He also added seven goals, 21 points and 153 PIM in 48 games with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch last season.

Rome will likely do his best to get the Moose back to the Calder Cup making $45,000 more dollars than Raycroft who will spend his time backing up Roberto Luongo.

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Anyone spend the time, or the money, watching games over the internet from either the WHL or the BCHL last year? You might want to look into it because there might be an opportunity to watch some AJHL (more than just the Canucks) games next year.

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Two days after my Radulov comment I get to see how it feels as guess who has Jiri Hudler. Had been contemplating a trade for close to a month. I guess that one is off the table for me. Darn.

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Big congratulations to former Bonnyville Pontiacs spark plug Chris Jung. Jung accepted a scholorship offer from Fredonia College. The Sandy, Utah native put up 23 points in 71 games while adding 55 penalty minutes for the Pontiacs over two season before being traded to North Battleford of the SJHL last year in exchange for Rick Cey. Fredonia gets one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet off the ice and a pretty good player on the ice to boot.

JULY 6TH

2009-07-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

How about Don Phelps ripping Dany Heatley in the Calgary Sun this morning? For the sake of my fantasy keeper league he can whine all he wants but he better not end up in Europe as the guy who had Radulov found out KHL points don't count.

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Speaking of my keeper league the guys on the 'Baber Red Eyes' better watch out as he had both Alexei Cherapanov and Luc Bourdon. Keep your head up Mike Cammalleri.

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Went camping on the weekend so I let the mind wonder a little bit and I decided camping, to me, is like the Ottawa Senators.

You have Dany Heatley who is like sitting around a camp fire. It's great, he scores 50 goals and what's better than sitting there watching a fire it's sort of the best part of camping.

You don't really get cell phone coverage which is kind of like Jason Spezza. It's wonderful not to have to worry about work calling you but sometimes you'd like to check in on the world as much as the home teams goaltender would like to see Jason wonder on back into his own defensive zone every now and again.

You can go fishing. Fishing is fun. Daniel Alfredson is fun. No one argues he's a good player but he's the captain of a team who's locker room is obviously a mess. Same kind of mess as having to clean the boat, clean the fish and wash that fish smell off your hands.

The weather is pretty much any Sens goalie over the years. Sometimes terrific and sometimes just downright horrible. What are you going to do?

Wade Redden is definitely water skiing. It used to be good but now it's all about Wake boarding.

I had a really good one for Chris Phillips but can't remember it for the life of me. Either way it ended up with me posting a link to him scoring on himself. Feel free to fast forward to 1:47.

Individually all of these things are pretty good but put them together and they don't make the playoffs. I don't like camping. I don't really get it. I don't find it relaxing but the wife does so camping we go.

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67 more days until opening faceoff.

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Do the Pontiacs really have to play at 8:30 on Friday night of the Showcase and then 1:30 on Saturday afternoon? Ouch.

July 3rd

2009-07-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Good Luck to Pontiacs assistant coach Ryan Pollock who gets married tomorrow in Regina. Enjoy the Rider game tonight. Here's hoping for a sunny day for you and Amy.

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A get well soon to Pontiacs trainer Kim Sydora who has been under the weather lately.

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If you are an Oiler fan do you still want Dany Heatley? If you are an Oiler fan is Dany Heatley still on your Team Canada 2010 roster? To the fan of any NHL team would you trade a Stanley Cup victory by your favorite team next year for a 2010 Canadian gold medal?

JUNE 29th

2009-06-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

It was a big weekend off the ice for the Alberta Junior Hockey League as 6 AJHL players were selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

The highlight was Camrose Kodiaks Defenceman Dylan Olsen being chosen in the first round, 28th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks.

A pair of former Spruce Grove Saints were drafted with defenceman Kevin Connauton becoming a Canuck 83rd overall and goalie Kieren Millan going to Colorado with the 124th selection.

Connauton is currently a member of the University of Western Michigan and was a teammate of Lucas Isley's before Isley's return to Bonnyville in January.

Kris Foucault (foo-co) left the Canmore Eagles at the trade deadline to join the WHL's Calgary Hitmen and will now head to Minnesota's rookie camp as the Wild used thier 103rd overall pick on him.

And two current Okotoks Oilers went in the 5th round. Corban Knight 135th to Florida and Derek Rodwell 144th to New Jersey.

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So Olsen doesn't go to the Flames but there's nothing wrong with the Blackhawks and how about getting Scotty Bowman to call your name at the NHL draft. I wouldn't care that he needed a yellow sticky note to remember what name to say. Scotty freakin' Bowman stepped up to the podium and asked you to join his team... Yes Sir.

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Millan was spectacular in games 1 and 2 against Bonnyville in the first round of the 2006-07 playoffs. The Saints went up 2-0 in the best of 5 and while packing up the broadcast equipment I told the boys in the booth at the Grant Fuhr arena I would be seeing them again on Friday (would be game 5). That turned out to be one of my few accurate predictions and nothing felt better than walking back into the booth at the GFA. Too bad the Pontiacs couldn't pull it out in the end.

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In that Spruce Grove series Justin Fontaine was held off the scoresheet in games 1 and 2 before adding 8 points in the next three games. Fontaine is back in Bonnyville for the summer, after another successful season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and is playing shortstop for the Dirty Mitts in the mixed modified slowpitch league. Also on the Dirty Mitts is Philadelphia Flyer forward Jon Kalinski. They aren't in first place in slowpitch but they would make one heck of a hockey team.

Kalinski is actually going to miss the year end slowpitch tournament because of a camp with the Flyers. I would like to see him call up Paul Holmgren and try and tell him he can't make it because he has ball commitments.

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Sitemeter tells me there are a regular number of readers from Lethbridge. I want to know who you are because I know you aren't any of my friends who live there and my parents are in Germany right now so ... who are you? Cam Creighton's family?

Anyways I do have some friends living in Lethbridge and one of them just opened the Marble Slab Creamery on University Drive. I would appreciate it if you went to check it out as I know I will be next time I can make it back down South.

JUNE 26TH

2009-06-26T12:47:00.001-07:00

It's draft night tonight and friend of the Blog Dustin Nielson is in Montreal.

I caught up with him this afternoon. If he survives the night I will try and get a hold of him tomorrow once we know where Olsen and Knight are going and if anyone else from our league will have their name called.

JUNE 25TH

2009-06-25T08:39:00.000-07:00

From GM/Head Coach of the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs Chad Mercier:

The RJ Lalonde Arena, a building we all have spent countless hours enjoying, is in need of new boards and upgrades. The Centennial Centre has a grant available however more funds are needed to complete this project. As a former Bonnyville Minor Hockey Player I am calling out to all former Bonnyville Minor Hockey, Jr. B, Jr. A and Senior players to come together with individual donations for this cause. The Bonnyville Jr. A's have agreed to provide all administration costs and game night recognition costs for this fund raising effort. The real winners will be all the Future Minor Hockey players and youth that will use this facility for years to come. This will improve the condition and safety of all players involved. All funds raised will e going towards these upgrades. All contributing Alumni will receive their name on a plaque that will be located in the RJ Lalonde Arena and will also be honored at a Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiac game as guests of the Pontiacs this winter. Here is our chance as former players that have been through the Bonnyville Hockey system, a system that has given us so much, to give back a little.

-Chad Mercier "Bonnyville Minor Hokcey 1981-1991"

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Chad came on the morning show this week to talk about the fund raising and I also asked him how the team was looking heading into next year.

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Kudos to old friend Dave Tymo for keeping tabs on Dylan Olsen while hosting the morning show in Camrose on Cam FM. Tymo spoke with Kodiaks coach Boris Rybalka this week and Rybalka passed along the news that Olsen had spoken with 29 of the 30 NHL teams with San Jose being the only team he hasn't spoken with.

Good luck tomorrow night Dylan. Have fun with it.

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Had a chance to listen to a pair of American sports talk show hosts discuss the Hall of Fame Class of '09. Good on them for talking hockey but they described Brian Leetch as a great defenceman (true), pretty much the reason the Rangers were able to break their Cup drought (he had some help but sure, true), possibly the best American born defenceman of all time (possibly), and maybe the best defenceman ever to play the game (not even close).

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Also had a chance to catch an interview with one of my favorites, Cassie Campbell. Campbell was actually my first "big" interview when she joined me between periods on a St. F.X. broadcast during the CIS finals in Regina. I was so nervous I forgot her name when throwing to commercial break before the interview. Thankfully she didn't have the headset on yet and I was able to remember it during the break and wrote it down so I wouldn't mess it up during the interview. I now write down everyones name when they come up to the booth for an intermission interview regardless of who they are.

In her interview this week Campbell was asked about her current job with Hockey Night in Canada. She says she's getting more comfortable with it and is even doing some of her interviews live now. She says her first "big" interview was with Craig MacTavish and while recording it she went blank and couldn't remember his name. I know how she feels.

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Cold Lake Minor Hockey is looking for coaches for next year. Check out clmh.com for more info as their deadlines are coming up fast.

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With the creation of the 2009/10 season stats on whatever stats software package it is that the league uses the Bonnyville Pontiacs are back atop the North Division standings!!!

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Randy Johnson has the greatest nickname in all of sports "The Big Unit" but young Oakland Athletics pitcher Josh Outman has the best actual name. He's a pitcher named Outman... how great is that?

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Howard Cosell had some great thoughts on 'Jockocracy'.

June 17th

2009-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

It’s just over 2 months until veterans report for training camp… oh fitness testing, what a great day that is!

While the NHL season wrapped up less than a week ago there is already a question on HockeyTalk about when the AJHL schedule comes out. Despite the fact the CFL exhibition season kicks off tonight with the Riders in Edmonton there are still those of us who can’t wait for hockey training camps to start.

Camp brings a sense of hope and anticipation to every team as well as a number of story lines that play themselves out as the season approaches. I will be curious to see which veterans worked hardest in the summer, can someone show a Matthew Register esq. year over year improvement and become a dominating force? For that matter how much better can Matthew Register get? How will Marc-Antoine Juneau look after off season knee surgery? Who will end up with a letter on their jersey?

While it’s good to catch up with the vets camp is even better because of the rookie battles. Some come in with a little experience after having a cup of coffee in Bonnyville because of the injury problems with the Pontiacs last season. Kevin Carthy was named Best defensive forward in the AMHL last year playing for the Knights of Columbus out of Edmonton and I’d be interested in having Carthy line up on one goal line and Devon Kalinski line up on the other and then watch them collide at centre. Carthy will join fellow KofC teammates Blake Leask, Dante Burrelli and possibly Derek Hutton at Camp. Leask is a slick, puck moving defenseman who got into 4 games last year with the Pontiacs while Hutton was scoreless in one appearance. Burrelli did not play in Bonnyville last year but had 11 goals (7 on the Powerplay) and 7 assists with KofC. Also repping Edmonton and showing up at camp will be goaltender Zach Weissbach.

Speaking of players who spent some time in Bonnyville last year Steven Jean, who played with Lloydminster (not that we hold that agaisnt him) in the AMHL and dressed for seven Pontiacs games, will be up here for camp come August.

As always there will be a contingent from Saskatchewan showing up at camp which includes a couple-three players I will be interested in checking out. ’91 forward Jake Towriss is listed at 5’9 and 160 lbs and had 38 points in 42 games with the Saskatoon Contacts. Towriss added 3 goals and 5 assissts in 10 playoff games and football fans will recognize the name as his father Brian Towriss is the head coach of the CISpowerhouse University of Saskatchewan Huskies. His battles in the SMAAAHL will continue in camp as he faces off against Saskatoon cross-town rival Eric Peterson who had 32 points in 34 games with the Blazers and the word is Peterson can “outright fly”. I’m also interested in seeing Dillon Curry of the Swift Current Legionaires. Curry put up 32 points in 43 games with a S.C. team that didn’t make the playoffs last year.

This is just a sampling of what I'll be looking for once camp commences during the second half of August but maybe the best part of camp will be seeing the players I don’t know anything about. What kind of local flavour will last years RAMHL champion Northeast Panthers be able to provide? What other surprises do Chad and Ryan have up their sleeves in regards to recruits? How much of Tyler Henry’s hair will have grown back?

June 16th -- nice work Cutter

2009-06-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

Former Pontiacs Captain Craig Cuthbert committs to Regina. Release available at ajhl.ca and bonnyvillepontiacs.com

June 15th -- handshakes

2009-06-15T05:37:00.000-07:00

Like most people on Friday night I was glued to the T.V. watching game 7. I say most people because I was at a birthday party for this girl on our softball team. Kind of figured the game would be on in the background and that most if not everyone would be watching it. Turns out the game was on but I found myself to be all alone on the couch watching the game while everyone sat outside on the deck. Sure it was a nice night but what is wrong with people? The wife was a little irritated that I was being anti-social but understood it was game 7 and she was fighting a losing battle. Next year I'm faking food poisoning and staying home.

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So by the end of the game I was cheering for Detroit. Not so much rooting for the Wings as I was pulling for overtime. I just didn't want this series to end. I'm not a Red Wings fan and I'm not a Penguins fan. I think Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Nick Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg are four of the best players in the world but don't feel any particular need to cheer for anyone of them. I felt relatively impartial about the whole thing.

While impartial on the series I do take the handshakes pretty seriously as I do believe they are something that makes our sport so great. Whether it's the Pontiacs, the Panthers, the Mintos or the X-Men I've always described the post series handshakes as one of the best moments in all of sports.

By now most of you probably think I'm going to pile on Sidney here but I wanted to look something up first.

The 2008 Stanley Cup Celebrations the Red Wings celebrated for 2 minutes and 11 seconds before the handshakes began.

Now we get to the 2009 Stanley Cup Celebrations and Kris Draper says "Nick was waiting and waiting and Crosby never came over to shake his hand". Well with the help of YouTube we see that Nick's "waiting and waiting" was 2 minutes and 15 seconds before the handshakes began. A whopping 4 seconds longer. That's a pretty long time there Kris. If only Nick knew Tai Chai he could have put Crosby in some sort of head lock during those four seconds.

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Sorry about the lack of blogging lately. It's been pretty quiet around Pontiacs camp and I've been spending my prime blogging time in the morning reading the fantastic NHL entry draft team by team reports the guys over at the Pipeline show are doing. Check them out over on the right. Those guys do great work.

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Stanley Cup and Star Wars. It doesn't get better than this.

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I've got a meeting with Chad Mercier this morning so I'll get some sort of report as to what the team has been up to and pass it along.

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Happy Birthday former Pontiacs forward Adam Wright.

June 2nd -- 60 games

2009-06-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

Blame the Olympics for all of it!!

The AJHL has reduced their number of regular season games from 62 to 60 for a number of reasons, one of which is the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

There have been rumblings at the board level for a couple of years there are too many games being played in the AJHL with a number of prime weekend dates being taken up with Showcase weekend, All Star game, World Jr. A Challenge, CJHL prospects game and now with the league trying to avoid conflicts of their games with the Team Canada games at the 2010 Olympics it seemed like the right time to reduce the overall number of games being played.

Teams will gain from the reduced costs on the hockey operation side of things and the games that will be taken away will, for most teams, be low revenue generating weekday contests.

The two games from the schedule which will be lost are the extra home and away game which was played against a traditional divisional rival. For instance, the Bonnyville Pontiacs will now only play Lloydminster 6 times a year instead of 8 making the early season contests for the Challenge Cut all that more interesting, not that the coaching staff of either team cares about the trophy as much as the two points on the line.

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There had also been talk of a midseason game played against the BCHL which would take the place of each leagues all star game. While there was discussion there was disagreement as to whether this should be played with all star teams or with top prospect teams. The game would also have taken place very close to the start of the Olympics and there is worry having any event in BC close to the Olympics will make it tough to find sponsorship as attention will be elsewhere. Expect talk of this type of matchup to continue and I would be shocked if something wasn't in place for the 2010-11 season. In the mean time Fort Mac gets the all star game.

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In case I don't get to the blogging tomorrow for some reason happy birthday voice of the Storm Jeff Hensen. Jeff also gets congrats on another child. Way to go bud.

June 1st -- Post Summer Meetings

2009-06-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

Pontiacs Coach and GM Chad Mercier was at the AJHL Summer Meetings over the weekend and had this to say.

His talk of training camp actually made my day better this morning.

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Why isn't there a TV network out there showing the AHL finals? Or are they and I'm just completely missing it?

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A pair of AJHLer's have been added to Hockey Canada's 2010 WJHC summer evaluation camp roster.

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Voice of the Bobcats John Spigott had a great piece in the Meridian Booster last week about the summer happenings in Lloyd.

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The judged name Marry (or something) on 'So you think you can dance' is by far the most annoying judge on ANY of the reality shows. It's bad but I find myself wishing physical harm upon her.

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Fred Rinne's take on the Fran Gow highering in Drayton can be found here.

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Lucas Isley's cousin Ty Carey won a RAMHL championship last year with the NE Panthers and here's to hoping his hockey season next year goes better than his performance on the ball diamond last night. ;)

May 28th -- Summer Meetings

2009-05-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

16 AJHL coaches in a room for a day. Should be interesting.

The AJHL coaches meetings run today in Red Deer before the governors get together for the AGM on Saturday.

I caught up with AJHL President Craig Cripps to get his thoughts heading into the meetings.

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After making a major purchase at Duty Free in Heathrow Airport in London I am curious if anyone in Bonnyville is up for a Scotch tasting. Just a note but if you are ever in Lethbridge and into your scotch give the Andrew Hilton for their scotch tasting calender. They tend to run September through December and offer some high quality samples.

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More pub for the Old Man's Book... Check it out... if you want your copy signed then drop by the Andrew Hilton in Lethbridge weekly from September through December.

MAY 26 -- Back to work.

2009-05-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

FROM AJHL.CA

BONNYVILLE, AB – The Bonnyville Pontiacs and NewCap Radio’s KOOL 101.3FM announced today that they have agreed to terms to continue broadcasting games for the 2009-10 season. For a third consecutive season, KOOL 101.3FM will continue to be the flagship radio station for all 60 Bonnyville Pontiacs regular season hockey games as well as the AJHL playoffs. Play-by-play man, Robb Hunter, has also signed on for a third season.

The Bonnyville Pontiacs are one of the only AJHL teams committed to broadcasting all regular season and playoff games via radio, keeping fans up to date on the road and at home. Game broadcasts will be available locally on 101.3FM as well as www.1013koolfm.com.

NewCap Radio’s KOOL 101.3 is a family friendly format that plays new adult hits along with songs their audience grew up with. They play a variety of hit songs from the 80’s, the 90’s and Now!

It has been a pleasure working with the Pontiacs organization and with the AJHL, while it will be our third season covering every single Pontiacs game it will actually be my 4th year calling games for the club as Kool's "Pontiac experiment" started with a feature "game of the week" what seems like way back when.

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They play a variety of hit songs from the 80’s, the 90’s and Now!

Or as Assistant Coach Ryan Pollock tells me on a regular basis "you guys have the most messed up play list I have ever heard. You're the only station in world that will randomly throw on Britney Spears right after Nirvana and I think I heard you guys play Guns and Roses once."

I don't pick the music although I do enjoy the variety.

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Memorial Day is great for afternoon sports coming out of the States but that left nothing on last night. Had to watch the season finale of Survivor which the wife had PVR'd before our trip to Germany. The reunion show didn't get taped and we ended up missing the final vote to see who had won. I had to call my old buddy Dave Tymo to find out what happened. Dave used to be morning man at Kool before taking a job in Camrose. He is doing well and is looking forward to hockey season starting again to try and get me back for losing a bet when the Pontiacs beat the Kodiaks early in the year last season and he had to travel up to Bonnyville and sing the national anthem before the rematch.

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The Windsor Spitfires lifted the Memorial Cup on Sunday which allows me the opportunity to once again post one of my favorite YouTube videos.

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Trip was good. Spent most of the time in Munich, Germany with a quick side trip to Salzburg, Austria. Interesting pictures to follow.

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Luca Toni is a bum.

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Too bad about Canada's Sledge Hockey team dropping the semi to the USA while I was away. Like I told Matt Cook though, better to let them have the World Championships this year then lose in the Olympics next year. Matt is currently back packing through Europe.

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Congrats go out to the Voice of the Oil Barons Dustin Nielson on his recent engagement.

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My favorite vacations are the ones I take oversees. I've been to Europe 4 times, lived in Asia for 4 years when I was younger and am looking forward to where ever I can get to next but always, EVERY single time I travel, I realize just how much I love this country.

See you in a fortnight

2009-05-08T05:06:00.001-07:00

THURSDAY -- more audio

2009-05-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey folks,

Some more audio from Banquet night:

Ross Herzog

Tyler Henry

Tyler Pugh

Julien Laplante

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Who did CBC get working the camera for Game 3 of the Canucks/Hawks series? I almost got sea sick trying to follow the play. Hopefully they figure it out tonight.

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I see from Rod Pedersen's blog that the Pats have a shortlist of two. Check it out.

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Canada's National Sledge Hockey Team takes to the ice this weekend for the start of the 2009 National Championships being played in Ostrava in the Czech Republic.

Interesting Times

2009-05-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

With the Regina Pats letting go of their coaching staff earlier this week I see Pontiacs head coach Chad Mercier's name popping up as a possible replacement.

This from The Pipeline Show official website at http://www.thepipelineshow.blogspot.com/. Their link is in the blogroll to the right:

5. Chad Mercier-Bonnyville Pontiacs-AJHL

Chad was an assistant coach in Regina for 5 seasons, serving under Lorne Molleken and Bob Lowes. He was passed over for the job when Curtis Hunt was hired, and Mercier headed north to Saskatoon to rejoin Molleken. Mercier is a former Pats goaltender and has strong ties to the club. For the past 3 seasons he's been the bench boss in Bonnyville and led the Pontiacs to a 35 win season and a 4th place finish this year. Mercier reportedly received an interview last year and could be on Brent Parker's radar again this season.

4. Marc Habscheid-Nowhere

Habscheid's name has come up for nearly every vacant WHL job in the last couple of years. But what also usually follows is word that he wants to much money and to much control. He was fired after one season in Boston when Dave Lewis got the axe, and is still getting paid by the Bruins, so he's pretty picky about what job he'll take. He was interviewed last year as well, and was in the running for the job in Prince George from what I heard, but his terms were to high for both teams. He does bring plenty of WHL experience as he coached for 7 years in Kelowna and Kamloops winning the Memorial Cup with the Rockets in 2004. He also coached Canada at the World Junior Championship in 2003.

3. Boris Rybalka-Camrose Kodiaks-AJHL

He's the biggest long shot on the list and some of the polish has come off his reputation after a down year in Camrose this year, but he's won plenty in the past. Up until this year the Kodiaks were perennial RBC favorites and have produced plenty of great players. Mason Raymond, Joe Colborne, Mike Connolly. The question is would Rybalka leave a very cushy gig in Camrose for a possible rebuilding club in Regina?

2. Curtis Hunt-Binghamton Senators-AHL

Did Brent Parker make the move on gassing his head coach today because Curtis Hunt suddenly became available again? I have a hard time believing Hunt would leave the AHL to return to the WHL, but if he was going to be let go by Ottawa for the second time it could happen. Hunt was fired along with Craig Hartsburgh but was given the head coaching job for the Sens farm team in Binghamton. He led the baby Sens to 15 wins in their last 32 games but came up 2 points shy of a post season berth. His name came up several times today in conversations I had about who replaces Derkatch.

1. Dean Brockman-Humboldt Broncos-SJHL

Many people don't know this but I've been told Brockman very quietly received an interview last year before the Pats settled on Dale Derkatch. Did they go for sizzle instead of steak? Some people think so. Brockman is the SJHL's version of Boris Rybalka with more bling. He's coached the Broncos for 11 years and has won 40 plus games the last 3 seasons, including 48 a year ago when Humboldt won a National title beating Rybalka's Kodiaks. The Broncs have won the SJHL title the last 3 years including 08-09 and are back at the RBC looking to defend their title.

Like the Boys said, Mercier would be more likely than Rybalka because of his ties to Regina although both seem to be in pretty good situations right now I'm sure both would at some point in the future want to move up. Is the future for Mercier right now?

With a new contract signed last summer security isn't an issue and I would imagine money isn't either, he has family in town and with a young daughter and newborn son I would think he appreciates the support system. There is also a feeling of unfinished business in Bonnyville. Mercier has been here three years now and has put together solid teams in the last two seasons and with his comments at last Saturday's awards banquet, "it's time to break down that door", it just doesn't seem like the timing is right.

However, these jobs don't come available very often and there has got to be a pull to want to go back to a team you grew up playing on and that gave you your start to your coaching career.

Mind you this is all mere speculation from a bunch of junior hockey bloggers that don't have much else to do but speculate. I have not spoken to Chad about his feelings and I certainly have not talked to the GM of the Pats Brent Parker about who his short list candidates might be.

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Flaming and Milllard are great. I had a chance to work with Flaming when I covered the Edmonton Oilers for Sportsticker. They both really know their stuff.

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Want more Mercier speculation check out Rod Pedersen's blog. Pedersen hasn't offered his short list yet but many of his readers have and if you can't trust a person who posts annonymous comments on a blog then who can you trust.

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Speaking of the Awards Banquet, I did catch up to Chad Mercier after his speach.

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This audio from the players was supposed to be up yesterday if some lady hadn't slammed into my car when it was parked at the Muller Plaza. My poor car was just minding it's own business when Whammy .... oh well. Instead of getting on the blog I spent the day getting estimates.

Denis Fontaine

Michael Westfall

Marc-Antoine Juneau

Jeremy Gerhardt

Ashton Hewson

Steven Seigo

Craig Cuthbert

FRIDAY

2009-05-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Edmonton Oil Kings took a late round flier on AJHL tough guy Darren Kramer of the Grande Prairie Storm in the WHL's bantam draft. Yes it's a draft of guys born in '94 but the Oil Kings used their last pick of the draft on the '91 born Peace River native with an eye towards next year instead of adding just another prospect.

Oil Kings General Manager Bob Green had a chance to watch Kramer in game 2 of the Doyle Cup in Vernon and liked what he saw from the Storm's penalty minute leader.

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Mark Letestu and the rest of his WBS Penguins kick off their second round AHL playoff series in Hersey tomorrow night.

Letestu had 4 assists in 5 games in the first round.

Jon Kalinski had a goal and two assists in four games but is wasn't enough as his Phantoms were swept out of the first round. Good to see Kalinski doing so well after such a devastating leg injury earlier in the year knocked him out of the Flyers lineup.

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I've been told we aren't allowed to call it Swine Flu anymore because it is upsetting the pig farmers in Canada. My news director hasn't said anything about not calling it 'choking' anymore because it might upset Sharks fans.

WEDNESDAY -- A couple things I was asked to pass along.

2009-04-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

I was asked by a good friend in Brooks to post this again.

The Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) are looking to fill the position of Trainer / Athletic Therapist. The successful applicant should have experience in working with a hockey team, equipment management and repair, and extensive experience in skate sharpening. Added experience or background in Athletic Therapy would be considered an asset.

All interested applicants may forward a cover letter and resume to the Brooks Bandits Hockey Club, attention Brian Curran, by email to bbhockey@telusplanet.net or by fax to 403-501-0162.

For more information, contact:
Brian Curran, GM / Head Coach
Brooks Bandits Junior “A” Hockey Club
403-501-0122 (W)
403-501-1065 (C)

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I've got a pair of tickets to the Cinco De Mayo Bash with BUCKCHERRY & GUESTS at the Shaw Conference Centre. They were donated but if sold the money will go to the Alberta Beef Producers and maybe the Barley Farmers. Get a hold of me if you are interested.

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Cold Lake Minor Ball is holding registration at Nelson Heights School this evening from 7 til 8..
After today late registration fees apply

They are also looking for executives to join the team

for more info you can call Clint Cook 639-2522

TUESDAY -- worst drivers ever

2009-04-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

After driving to Edmonton yesterday to take in The Killers concert and then driving back after the show I have to vent about the worst drivers in the world. The people pushing/"driving" their shopping carts around Costco. What is wrong with you people??? Yes there are pallets that go all the way to the roof, it doesn't mean you have to drive around looking up there running into people. Crazy stuff.

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Speaking of the concert I don't claim to know much of anything about music. I know the stuff I like but I don't understand how difficult it is to play or how hard it is to be good. I imagine this is the same for some people when they watch hockey without an understanding of the intricacies of the game. I was thinking that I was just glad that hockey games don't have an opening act. You don't have to sit though some midget B before you get to watch your Junior A game but then I suppose those opening acts are kind of like the Tim Bits that play during intermissions. They try hard but aren't that good yet.

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My Picks:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Steven Seigo (gave this pick away yesterday. Oops)

PLAYOFF MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Craig Cuthbert (an argument could be made for Greg Hennessey)

LLP PRESIDENTS AWARD – Craig Cuthbert

ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR – Tyler Henry

TOP DEFENCEMAN – Steven Seigo

DEFENSIVE FORWARD – Rick Cey

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Michael Westfall

MOST GENTLEMANLY PLAYER – Denis Cadrin (stop winning this award Caddy)

MATT COOK UNSUNG HERO – Ross Herzog (could a letter be in his future?)

Dennis Fontaine's picks:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Craig Cuthbert

PLAYOFF MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Craig Cuthbert

LLP PRESIDENTS AWARD – Ashton Hewson (I almost changed my pick after seeing Dennis' but that would be copying.)

ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR – Tyler Henry

TOP DEFENCEMAN - Steven Seigo

TOP DEFENSIVE FORWARD – Rick Cey

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Michael Westfall

MOST GENTLEMANLY PLAYER – Denis Cadrin

MATT COOK UNSUNG HERO – Matthew Register

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Former Canmore Eagle Kris Foucault is having quite the playoff run with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen. I caught up with Hitmen play by play voice (and one of the best in the business) Brad Curle to talk about the play of Foucault.

Foucault had 18 goals, 23 assists, 41 points in 32 games with the Eagles before moving up to the Hitmen at the 2009 trade deadline. One of those goals came in his only game against the Bonnyville Pontiacs in a 4-2 Eagles loss on October 25th at the RJ.

MONDAY -- road trip

2009-04-27T08:18:00.000-07:00

I drove down to Lethbridge on Thursday to visit some friends from high school for the weekend. I took kind of an out of the way route because I had some other stops and ended up going through Strathmore. That place sure has grown. All sorts of industry and possible corporate support. What's the word on a rink there? Do they have one that would hold an AJHL team?

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With the Bonnyville Pontiacs awards banquet coming up on Saturday here's a look back at last years winners:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Jamie Easton
Sponsored by Smith & Associates General Insurance Adjusters Ltd.

PLAYOFF MOST VALUABLE PLAYER – Lucas Isley
Sponsored by Ross, Topylki & Sylvestre

LLP PRESIDENTS AWARD – Craig Cuthbert
Sponsored by Dennis Germain

ROOKIE-OF-THE-YEAR – Shawn Bates
Sponsored by Northern Truck & Industrial Supplies

TOP DEFENCEMAN – Steven Seigo
Sponsored by Sign Solutions TOP

DEFENSIVE FORWARD – Kyle Kvisle
Sponsored by Telephone Connections

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER – Matthew Register
Sponsored by A&W

MOST GENTLEMANLY PLAYER – Denis Cadrin
Sponsored by Norglass Ltd.

MATT COOK UNSUNG HERO – Tyler Ferbey
Sponsored by Kal Tire

TOP SCORER – Jamie Easton
Sponsored by Big George Appliances

NEIL CRAWLEY TOP PLUS/MINUS – Jamie Easton
Sponsored by Vic Rocque

THREE STAR AWARD – Jamie Easton
Sponsored by Brand International

Ma HEBERT VOLUNTEER AWARD – Twila Campeau
Sponsored by Canartic

I will have my picks for this years awards tomorrow.

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The Bonnyville Pontiacs organization was founded in 1952 as the host organization for the Bonnyville Senior Hockey Club. The club had previously been known as the Bonnyville Bruins, but in return for a new set of jerseys purchased by the local Pontiac car dealership, the team was renamed the Pontiacs. The team played its' first game on December 16, 1952.

Thought I would post that after reading the news this morning:

General Motor's announcement of more jobs cuts and elimination of its Pontiac brand is also hitting North American markets.

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While in Lethbridge on the weekend I ran into an old friend of mine who I had not seen since highschool and had not kept in touch with. Odd considering I was down in Lethbridge to see friends I had stayed in contact with. Regardless, it felt strange running into him at the bar we used to sneek into when we were underage. It was even more strange that he is now a bouncer at that bar. It would have been the trifecta of strange if he had to kick me out of that bar for causing a ruckus. Good thing that didn't happen.

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Borrowed a car that had XM radio in it on Saturday. I spent so much time changing the channels I almost killed somebody. I hear the satalite radio "reception" isn't that good around Bonnyville and the signal always comes and goes. Can anyone speak to this?

WEDNESDAY -- eastern conference finals with ajhlers

2009-04-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

I spoke this morning with the play by play voice of the Brandon Wheat Kings Bruce Luebke with regards to the play of former Pontiacs goaltender Andrew Hayes. I also asked about former Canmore Eagle Kris Foucault

After losing in OT last night the Wheaties trail the best of seven eastern conference finals 3-0.

Only the 1996 Spokane Cheifs have ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series in the WHL when they accomplished the feat beating Portland.

TUESDAY

2009-04-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's on the BCHL board so I may as well put it up here. An "altercation" at the end of game 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n4YZL7nOuU

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I talked to Chad Mercier about his thoughts now that Spring Camp is over.

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The wife is at a conference in Vancouver this week. If G.P. wasn't close to seven hours away I'd be on the road right now.

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They might just be kids and sometimes effort is nice but if you are playing for Team Canada's Under 18 hockey team in Fargo, North Dakota and you lose the bronze medal game to Finland and I'm your customs agent you will probably be delayed at the border. You might miss your connecting flights.

SUNDAY -- at the rink

2009-04-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day in Bonnyville and it's always a great day to be at the rink. It has been a good couple days running into and talking with most of the veterans who have come back to town for this spring camp and to a man they are impressed with the young talent they see on the ice.

Soemtimes when you do these types of interviews and you ask about the guys they are playing with at camp you get the canned answer of "yeah, they are great and have a lot of talent" but the look in their eyes when they are talking about who they are teaming up with they are truely excited about the upcoming Pontiacs season.

It's the look in their eyes ... and what they tell you when the microphone isn't on.

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Interviews

Tyler Henry

Lucas Isley

Blake Leask

more spring camp

2009-04-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

ahhhh. spring camp. Where no one ever passes on a 2-on-1.

The intensity picked up this afternoon as the skating legs started to return for the guys who hadn't be on the ice for a while.

If you haven't been hit by Kevin Carthy then it's only because you haven't played Team White yet.

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More audio

Assistant coach Ryan Pollock

Shawn Bates

Matthew Register

SATURDAY -- first day of camp.

2009-04-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

A little bit of a sluggish start to spring camp but it was very early on a Saturday to be strapping on the skates and you could see the action starting to pick up as the morning rolled along and things should start moving this afternoon and into tomorrow.

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Interviews

Krank

Kirk Belyk

Chad Mercier

Dru Cotterill Part One

Dru Part Two.

FRIDAY -- oh Roger

2009-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Gotta feel bad for Roger Millions of Sportsnet this morning. If you don't know what I'm talking about then youtube it. Tough part is that he messed up on the recording and would have done a better take but the editor played the wrong clip.

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While you are on youtube killing some time at work on this friday do a search for "Hey there Iginla"... I'm not a Flames fan but it's still a great tune.

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Registration for camp goes tonight at the RJ. I've spoken with a number of vets that are coming back to skate and they are looking forward to it so those youngsters out there better bring their 'A' games. It'll be good to get back to the rink. I'll be blogging from the press box most of the weekend.

THURSDAY -- audio day

2009-04-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

A pair of conversations with the coach.

Merc on camp.

Merc on Tetz hiring.

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Coach of the Vernon Vipers Mark Ferner on what he expects in the Doyle Cup.

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Here's the final list for NHL central scouting.

Olsen to 27, Knight to 64 (From 0-64 in half a year of hockey ... not bad).

WEDNESDAY -- Pontiacs add to front office

2009-04-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Press Release:

The Bonnyville Pontiacs are pleased to announce that they have added Edmonton, Alberta native Jeff Tetz to their Hockey Operations staff as Director of Player Personnel. Jeff’s immediate focus will be on the identification, evaluation, and recruitment of players for the Bonnyville Pontiacs organization. Adding Jeff to the staff furthers the organizations commitment to providing the best product possible to the fans of Bonnyville.

Jeff brings a wealth of experience with him, having spent time in the AJHL as an assistant coach with the Okotoks Oilers and Fort Saskatchewan Traders, as well as numerous years coaching in the Alberta Midget Hockey League and at the Junior B level. Less than a year after completing a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta, Jeff began working with Edmonton Oilers business department. Over his three years there, he had the opportunity to witness the coaching environment at the National Hockey League level.

MONDAY -- Flipping my pencil in the air

2009-04-13T05:57:00.000-07:00

I had my very own Dave Hodge moment yesterday while driving home from spending Easter with the in-laws in North Battleford Saskatchewan.

After much aggression directed towards my car stereo and a good couple of minutes of road rage I had to explain to my wife why Dave Hodge was fired by CBC.

On March 14, 1987, Hodge was the in-studio host as the CBC carried a game between the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs, which ended early. The network then switched over to a regional game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens for the end of the third period. It ended in a tie just before 11:00 PM Eastern Time, meaning it would require overtime. CBC executives, however, decided that only viewers in Quebec, who had seen the game from the start, would get to continue watching after 11:00, while the rest of the network would cut away. "That's the way things go these days in sports and at this network," Hodge said in disgust, flipping his pencil in the air. "We'll leave you in suspense. Good night from Hockey Night in Canada." Hodge was replaced the following week by western correspondent Ron MacLean and eventually fired from the network.

So why am I relating this story to you and what does it have to do with road rage?

Well it's about a three hour drive from the Battlefords to Bonnyville and we didn't want to get home too late so we ended up starting to drive just as Tiger and Phil were on 13. It took us half an hour to get far enough west to be able to pick up The Fan 960 out of Calgary. It was slightly overcast, for Easter Sunday there was relatively little traffic on the road and with Fox sports radio basically doing play by play of the Masters off there television monitors it was shaping up to be a very pleasant ride home.

A quick stop in Lloydminster for car and human fuel and we were back on the road with the kilometres falling behind and my only thoughts were that ESPN radio probably would have been doing a little better job than Fox radio but I've already complained about The Fan switching so I wasn't going to worry about it too much at least I knew it was going to a three way playoff.

After in-depth analysis of the three tee shots the Fox sports guys had to fit in a commercial break before 5:00, alright no big deal, they gotta pay the bills. After the break though do you think we went back to the Masters coverage? Nope. We had to go to "Blue Jays this Week" or whatever it was called. While I might normally be interested into what Travis Snider is expecting in his first full year with the team this was not something I was interested in hearing at that particular moment.

Now I don't know if Blue Jays this Week is only a 15 minute long program or what but at 5:15 on comes the Sunday Night Baseball pre game show.

I was home before I found out what happened.

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Quick before there is a copyright claim made here's the final three minutes of regulation of the NCAA championship.

And the rest.

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It's Vernon vs. Grande Prairie for the Doyle Cup. The Vipers were 2-1 winners last night on home ice clinching the BCHL crown.

FRIDAY -- Pair heading to Combine.

2009-04-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Two AJHL stars have been invited to the 2009 NHL Combine. The list is here.

Here's hoping the NHL network provides the same kind of coverage of the combine the NFL network gives their combine. I don't even have a favorite NFL team but I'll sit and watch four hours worth of combine coverage and marvel at how the commentators come up with stuff to talk about. Great prep.

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I hate weighing in on the major junior vs. junior A debate because I truly believe the best choice is different for every single junior aged player but it's nice to see some guys who might develop a little later getting a shot out of the NCAA.

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Good luck tomorrow night to former Spruce Grove Saints goaltender Kieran Millan as his BU Terriers take on Miami of Ohio in the NCAA frozen four championship game.

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I imagine that most non Canadian visitors to Yahoo Sports today who wanted to check what was going on in the Masters or maybe some afternoon baseball were a little surprised to see the headline: Satan clears waivers, called up by Penguins.

THRUSDAY -- more audio

2009-04-09T08:18:00.001-07:00

My brief conversation with Craig Cripps the President of the AJHL about his thoughts on the playoffs.

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Coach of the Grande Prairie Storm Mike Vandekamp on his team's preparations going forward.

EDIT: Link corrected.

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I guess if Vernon can close out the BCHL final, which they currently lead 3 games to 1, they will have to play the Doyle cup in their old rink because they booked a trade show into their regular arena. Didn't think your team would make it that far?

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Gotta give some props to another old Minto buddy of mine Carsen Chubak who faced 70 shots last night in net for Powell River during that triple overtime game. Too bad it wasn't enough as Vernon won 3-2.

TUESDAY -- some pub for the blog

2009-04-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

It's link and audio day.

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Jeff Hensen the Voice of the Storm and his thoughts on the Enerflex Cup final.

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Nice story out of HS Basketball about missing free throws on purpose.

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Some pub for the blog. Obama, Microsoft and Me. Sounds like a great title for a book.

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Randy Moller Goal Calls.

MONDAY -- G.P. Takes it in 4

2009-04-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

Well I owe one Pontiacs fan a lunch for my shameful pick of Spruce Grove before the final round started. Although I would like to remind those that watched the All Star game broadcast from Calgary that during the second intermission I picked Grande Prairie to win the whole thing. That's what I get for flip flopping.

My pick of Michigan State for the Final Four is still going strong and while I don't really see how they are going to beat a powerhouse North Carolina team tonight I'm not going to switch. Go Green.

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Vernon is up 2-0 in their series over Power River and like G.P. they won the first two games on the road. They have outscored the Kings 7-0 so far in the final with Andrew Hammond not allowing a goal in his last 135:51 of action.

Looks like it might be a very low scoring Doyle Cup this year.

THURSDAY -- G.P. up 1-0

2009-04-02T08:37:00.001-07:00

One team came ready to play last night and it was the Grande Prairie Storm.

Coach Hamilton of the Spruce Grove Saints told Jeff Henson of Free FM in GP before the game that his team needed a good start to game one after their long layoff between rounds 3 and 4 especially since they didn't get off to great starts in either game one player earlier in the playoffs. This didn't happen with captain Connor Hardawa taking a penalty less than a minute into the game after he had to get up and get back into the play recovering from blowing a tire in the neutral zone when he hit a bad patch of ice where the red carpet had been for the pre game ceremonies. Not the home ice advantage you were looking for. The Storm didn't score on the powerplay but they had the early momentum and looked like the team that had just won two straight against Brooks to book their ticket to the final while the Saints looked like they hadn't been on the ice for a week.

You have to expect Spruce Grove to put in a better effort tonight for game 2 but if they can't figure out how to crack a smothering G.P. defensive system this series could be over earlier than a lot of people thought.

Chad Carder was not spectacular in picking up the shutout but did enough to get the job done while Travis Rolheiser would like to have at least 2 of the 3 goals back.

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A deadline deal working a year later than planned. The Spruce Grove Saints picked up Curt Morrison, Chad Blanliel and Future Considerations from Quesnel at last years deadline in exchange for Bonnyville product and former Northeast Panther Josh Fersovitch. Morrison and Blanliel, both 20, are now important cogs in the Saints lineup. While the BCHL webpage has Fersovitch's hometown as Bonneyville and not Bonnyville he does still have another year of junior in front of him after his Millionaires failed to qualify for the playoffs this seas.

WEDNESDAY -- No Fool in Camrose

2009-04-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Got an interview with the coach of the Pontiacs Chad Mercier in this week where we talked Spring Camps and NE Panthers. Here's the transcript:

TRH: Hey Chad, haven't talked to you in a little while so it's nice to hear from you. Pontiacs Spring Camp ... I was getting all pumped up for this weekend but I hear there have been some changes.

CM: Yeah we made a decision last week, Robb, to combine the Calmar and the Bonnyville camps. I think we were working towards that over the years but this year we gave everyone the choice of which camp they wanted to come to and a high number, especially of the Edmonton area kids that are coming to our camp registered for the Bonnyville camp so it just left the numbers of the Calmar camp with kind of two and a half teams so from all end, the arena side of it, from our side of it we didn't feel it was worth doing it and it was nice to bring everyone into Bonnyville and it's nice to see the interest in people coming to Bonnyville.

TRH: Overall a pretty good response with people wanting to come to Pontiacs camp?

CM: Yeah. We are happy with the response. We like to keep our numbers to that 75-90 to keep it manageable so we get proper evaluation. Like I said, it's a bit of a pain for people in regards to us coming to Calmar and then for us to juggle it but at the end of the day to see the response to the kids that wanted to come to Bonnyville and we are looking forward to the camp.

TRH: Have you added some extra ice times or evaluators to the Bonnyville Camp?

CM: No, we are going to keep it at that 75-90 number and we were prepared for that kinda schedule and we prepare our evaluators accordingly . What's happened in the past, Robb, is that the Calmar camp and been the better attended camp and then the Bonnyville camp has been the lower attended camp just because of numbers coming out of this area so from an expense standpoint that's worked out very well. This year with the numbers being higher in Bonnyville than in Calmar there's a lot more expense in regards to holding a camp in Calmar and so it only made sense to combine the two from that side of it, plus we are going to make sure we are going to get any potential Bonnyville Pontiacs in to see our facility, to see our town and at the end of the day our decision moving forward is that if they don't want to come to Bonnyville to camp there's probably not a real good chance they are going to want to come and play here.

TRH: Let's talk about hockey that happened this past weekend. The NE Panthers went on quite the run and captured the RAMHL championship. I know there have been a number of Panthers that have graduated to play for your team over the years. What does it mean for this group of guys to be able to put this line on their resume that they have won something.

CM: That's really something that those guys will have for the rest of their lives and the rest of their hockey career that nobody's going to be able to take away from them. It's really a credit to the people, the coaching staff and the kids themselves to be able to come back after getting down 2-1 and to find a way to win the last 2 games in front of the home crowd. I think there are a lot of people behind the scenes with the board that's been created over the last year and like I said the guys in the trenches, the coaching but a a real credit goes to the kids and it's good to see and I'm sure they are proud of it and they should be proud of it and it's nice to see them have that success.

TRH: Having that success and learning how to win at this age help in the future?

CM: Yeah I think those are all great parts of the experience and especially the way they did it. I think they fought adversity and persevered and did it in fine fashion and really grabbed control of it. Those are great things and the town I'm sure is very proud and they should be proud of their efforts.

TRH: Thanks Chad

CM: Great, thanks Robb.
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What a great decision by Jeremy Biernes of the Camrose Kodiaks. From AJHL.ca:

The Camrose Kodiaks organization would like to congratulate Jeremy Beirnes for agreeing to terms to move to Australia and play professional hockey there. Jeremy leaves Canada on April 15th and he is excited about the opportunity ahead of him.

I think this is a great move. Different people have different priorities in life and Jeremy now gets to travel the world and play hockey. Good for him.

To Jeremy: I'm loving where I'm living right now but if you happen to hear of any play by play gigs along the Gold Coast be sure to let me know.

As for Hockey in Australia you will have to at some point play against New Zealand so watch out for this. Great video.

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I'm hitting the highway this afternoon to get to Game 1 tonight. I still have to work tomorrow morning but it's worth the lack of sleep.

MONDAY -- RAMHL CHAMPS

2009-03-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

Way to go NE Panthers. We will have interviews with Coaches, Players and some local reaction all week on the blog so stay tuned.

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Don't know if I'm going to make a bulletin board somewhere for this but I accepted a bet on the AJHL final over the weekend. I took Spruce Grove.

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Justin Fontaine's UMD Bulldogs final saw their amazing run come to an end. Here's the recap.

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Talk about the two ref system:

Almost forgot to mention a tidbit about the BCHL game I saw over the weekend.

About halfway through the first period one of the two linesmen caught a puck in the face and he started leaking pretty good. He was taken to the Victoria dressing room for some repairs but the game resumed without delay with one ref and one linesman. Play continued that way until the end of the first period with the injured official able to return for the rest of the game. The two officials left to handle the game did a pretty good job as I didn't really notice they were a linesman short until I saw the injured guy come back for the second.

Justin Fontaine's Bulldogs

2009-03-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

Check out what happened with UMD last night.

SATURDAY -- Wade Epp

2009-03-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

I thought the third round series between Victoria and Powell River was over 14 seconds into the game 5 last night. The Grizzlys, who already have a spot lined up in the RBC Cup finals in early May, did not look ready to play and found themselves down 1-0 before the first shift was over.

They did a good job of regrouping and by the end of the first period seemed ready to compete and played very well through periods 2 and 3.

Call it a press, a lock or even a trap Victoria was able to shutdown the offence of Powell River and capitalize their on their chances on route to a 4-1 victory and a chance to extend the series to 7 with game 6 tonight in Powell River.

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Game 5 was played at the brand new Memorial Centre in Victoria because the Grizzlys regular home rink at Bear Mountain was booked for a curling bonspiel. The MC is home to the ECHL's Salmon Kings and the big team did a good job of some cross marketing and promotion handing out Salmon Kings info and some souvenirs. I still think the ECHL team ownership group should have gone with the name Victoria Active Passers instead of the Salmon Kings.

While I used to get to a number of Victoria Shamrock games back in the old rink near downtown I had not yet been in the new building and I was fairly impressed with the facility although the sound system was awful, the rink burgers were luke warm and $10 for parking is just wrong.

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It was nice to be able to relax and have a couple barley based beverages and not have to work while watching a Jr. A game for the first time this season. While the Victoria fans I was sitting with seemed to expect a lot from their team and their cheering was mainly directed at their frustration with their own team, despite the fact they were winning, they did have nothing but good things to say about former Drumheller Dragon Wade Epp.

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Overall I wasn't very impressed with the level of play of either squad and I'd be happy to take either G.P. or Spruce Grove in the Doyle Cup this year. Yes, I'd even take Brooks if they can find a way to win at Canada Games Arena.

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Go Northeast Panthers Go. Game 4 of thier best of 5 with Peace River is tonight at the RJ. Wish I could be there for that one.

WEDNESDAY -- advanced scouting

2009-03-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Edmonton International this afternoon to catch a flight to Victoria. While it's mainly a trip to see my brother and sister-in-law I will be attending game 5 between Victoria and Powell River ... so if Revenue Canada asks any of you it's a scouting trip that I needed to claim.

Anyone want game film??? I'm looking at you Mr. Hamilton/Curran/Vandekamp. Give me a call. Don't bother with the e-mail. I won't be checking it until I'm back.

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For those of us in the Northeast portion of the province wanting to drive to at least one game in the AJHL final we now don't have as far to go with the Saints sweep of Olds. I thought Spruce Grove would get through the Grizz but I'm a little surprised they won both games at the Sports Complex.

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Why did the Fan 960 switch their generic American filler coverage to Fox Sports radio? Maybe it will just take a little while to get used to but I much preferred ESPN radio.

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TheRobbHunter.com Cup video is coming. I promise.

TUESDAY -- I'm back

2009-03-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

Interesting trip to Peace River this weekend. No internet in the hotel and txt messaging on my phone stopped working. It's amazing how quickly you can feel out of touch with the world.

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Pretty decent rink in Peace River and two really good hockey games played by two really good hockey teams. The third game, as evidenced by the 10-1 final wasn't a good game.

Pontiacs AP Niko Bourget and regular season all star Matthew Laboucane were a little quieter than I thought they would be but Ryan Kearns and Chad Brears were strong.

Grande Prairie Storm carded players Bond and Brendan Hawryluk lived up to the hype although I thought Bond played better than his twin brother. Joel Pelletier was a physical force while Pontiacs netminding hopeful Jordan Panasiuk was very good in a losing effort in game one and was replaced by Cole Robert for games two and three.

Game four goes Saturday night in Bonnyville and is free to attend.

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I understand that I never played major junior hockey and I never made it to the NHL so if that is what television networks are looking for when it comes to their analysts resumes then I understand I'm out of luck but there is some really annoying about watching Nick Kypreos whine about goal celebrations. You're freakin' Nick Kypreos.

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Congrats to WCHA winners the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs who are off to the NCAA round of 16 after beating Denver in the final of their conference tournament. I'm proudly wearing my UMD hoody Justin Fontaine brought home for me at Christmas this year.

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Didn't I win a bet earlier this year with a yappy radio announcer in Olds with a Bemidji State hoody on the line?

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Playoff Power Rankings

1. Spruce Grove Saints
2. Grande Praire Storm
3. Brooks Bandits
4. Olds Grizzlys

THURSDAY

2009-03-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Kool 101.3 is excited to have the opportunity to broadcast the first three games of the Rural Alberta Midget Hockey League finals Live from Peace River.

I will be heading up tomorrow morning and we will be on air Live from Royal Country with Game 1 at 8:30 tomorrow night. Game 2 is Saturday at 8:30 and Game 3 starts at 12:30 on Sunday.

It's a best of 5 series between the Northeast Panthers and Peace River Royals with the Royals holding home ice advantage. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, will be played in Bonnyville March 28th and 29th.

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There's a quick reference to a '92 Camrose D-man in the Globe and Mail this week. Check it out here to find out who.

Plus it's an interesting story.

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The newest edition of the Edmonton Oil Kings franchise will play their first ever playoff game this weekend when they travel to Calgary to take on the Hitmen. The Oil King blueline features former Bonnyville Pontiacs D-man Drew Nichol.

The Oil Kings clinched the 8th playoff spot with a one game playoff win against the Prince Albert Raiders after both teams finished tied in the regular season standings. No one expects Edmonton to even make it close in the first round against the High flying Hitmen.

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Today is the last day for baseball registration in Bonnyville. 6-8 tonight at the C2.

TUESDAY -- Team Canada

2009-03-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

Not really a surprise but still nice to see the confirmation.

Team Canada released the roster for the Women's World Championships this morning and yes Shannon is on the team. Here's the story.

I would like to see some more Alberta kids on the team. Only three there right now.

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In Camrose

In Olds

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I'm told the video of the TheRobbHunter.com cup has finished the editing phase and I hope to have it up on the site sometime this week. As a reminder ... Pontiacs forward Shawn Bates faced off against Kool 101.3 morning man Dean Lee in a challenge of NHL 09. It was a classic best of three matchup with a thrilling conclusion.

MONDAY -- Congrats Chad Mercier

2009-03-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

I got this text message from the Pontiacs head coach at 4:08am this morning:

It's a Boy sunday the 15th 8 lbs 3 oz Mason George Mercier.
Everyone is doing real good.

Congratulations Chad and wife Kim.

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The recruiting class for the 2026 Bonnyville Pontiacs will be a strong one as Kool 101.3 morning man Dean Lee also became a dad, having a son, on Thursday.

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Craig Orfino who had a cup of coffee in Bonnyville with the Pontiacs a couple years ago won the Joan Kobal Memorial for Perseverance, Dedication and Sportsmanship Award as a member of the Lethbridge Hurricanes this year. He was also named the most popular player as voted on by his teammates.

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A shocking upset on Saturday as the University of Wisconsin Superior lost 2-0 to Gustavus Adolphus and were knocked out of the NCAA Div III playdowns. UWS features former Pontiacs Logan Isley and Brayden Kolisniak.

More on the game here.

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Playoff Power Rankings

1. Spruce Grove Saints
2. Grande Prairie Storm
3. Olds Grizzlys
4. Brooks Bandits
5. Camrose Kodiaks
6. Okotoks Oilers

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Play In games are great and should be used in all sports.

Tuesday night in the WHL the Prince Albert Raiders will host the Edmonton Oil Kings in a special tie breaker game with the loser starting their summer early and the winner getting the eighth playoff spot and the right to lose to Calgary in the first round.

And

Tuesday night in Dayton Ohio the NCAA play in game will take place featuring the previously mentioned Morehead State taking on Alabama State for the right to lose to Louisville. For obvious reasons I was going to be cheering for Morehead State until I found out that Alabama State features 7'1 centre Chief Kickingstallionsims. I'm not making that name up. Now I don't know who I want to advance.

Drayton Valley and the Royals should have been given the opportunity for a play in game with the winner getting to play Spruce Grove in a first round of sorts.

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Congratulations Innisfail for your win in the Bantam B female provincials held in Bonnyville over the weekend. It looked like Lethbridge was going to hold on in the final period for the win but a pair of late goals meant a come from behind victory.

Former Pontiacs goalie Shannon Szabados spoke at the tournament's opening ceremonies about the opportunities that are out there in women's hockey now. Tomorrow will likely be another big day for Shannon as Hockey Canada will hold a press conference in Calgary to announce the roster for the 2009 World Championships along with, and maybe more importantly, the players who will be centralized for the 2009-10 season in preparation for the Olympics.

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For those of you who think there are too many injuries in hockey and are obsessed with talking about changes to fighting and body checking there are things that could be worse...

Like the soccer fan in Iraq who went all 'The Last Boyscout' and shot a player who was about to score the game tying goal. "The striker from a local amateur team had only the goalie to beat when a supporter of the rival club shot him in the head."

FRIDAY -- Mayors and hockey

2009-03-13T05:52:00.000-07:00

One rookie has made Canada's National Sledge Hockey team that will be heading to the World Championships in early may. Guess who it was.

From Hockey Canada:

Hockey Canada has named its National Sledge Team roster for the 2009 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship, scheduled for May 9-16 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Canada is the defending world champion, having won gold in 2008 in Marlborough, Massachusetts.

The 15-player roster includes 14 players who helped Canada win gold at the 2008 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship, and 13 who were part of Canada’s gold medal-winning team at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy. The roster includes one rookie, forward Matt Cook.

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Assistant Coach Ryan Pollock joined us on Behind the Bench this morning.

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From Gregg Drinnan's WHL Blog:

There will be a celebration in Portland on Friday as the Winter Hawks and the City honour the Portland Buckaroos of the old professional Western Hockey League. Mayor Sam Adams has signed a proclamation declaring the day as Buckaroo Day.

The Mayor of Portland is named Sam Adams??? That's awesome.

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Carlton Ravens vs. St. F.X. tonight in the CIS men's basketball quarter finals. Go X-Men. An X-men win would be considered a pretty big upset.

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In Camrose

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Happy Birthday Tyler Pugh.

THURSDAY -- Provincials and Panthers

2009-03-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

The Lakeland Jaguars first game at the Bantam B female provincials is tomorrow morning at 10:00 at the Encana Rink.

We chatted with Coach of the Jaguars Mitch Sylvestre at the same time as we caught up with assistant coach of the Northeast Panters Randy Repchuk.

Here's the audio.

The Camrose Kodiaks cheating comment is an inside joke for Kool 101.3 listeners who know that according to the morning show every team that plays against a Bonnyville squad cheats.

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Around the AJHL as they come in:

In Camrose

In Olds

In Sherwood Park

In Fort McMurray

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In a where are they now segment former Bonnyville Pontiacs sniper Rob Sirianni has spent the year with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL.

Sirianni has 11 points in 32 games so far this year after spending the first 18 games in the ECHL. The former Pontiac spent four years at Bemidji State before getting a tour of the pro leagues with stops in Syracuse, Youngstown, Utah, Wheeling and Binghamton before finding a home with the Phantoms. In his last year with the Pontiacs in 2002-03 Sirianni had 48 goals 42 assists and 110 Pims in 62 games.

Another former Pontiac, Jon Kalinski spent time with the Phantoms this year before being called up to the Flyers. Kalinski is still out of the Flyer lineup with a leg injury suffered in early January.

WEDNESDAY

2009-03-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Bonnyville Atom Tier 1 hockey team is traveling to Taber Alberta for Provincials this weekend.

The team leaves tomorrow morning so best of luck boys... watch out though... you've got to keep your heads up around those Taber teams.

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Dates for the RAMHL finals have been set. Games 1, 2 and 3 will be in Peace River on March 20, 21, 22 with games 4 and 5 being held in Bonnyville the following weekend. It's a best of five series.

TUESDAY -- Andrew Hayes

2009-03-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

From WHL.ca ... Hayes is a former member of the Bonnyville Pontiacs.

The WHL has also nominated Andrew Hayes of the Brandon Wheat Kings for the ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week Award. Hayes posted a 3-0-0-1 record this past week, stopping 99 of 104 shots faced for a 1.370 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.

Hayes, from Sherwood Park, Alberta, is playing his 18-year-old season with the Wheat Kings, his second in the WHL. He currently sits 10th among all WHL Goaltenders with a 2.88 GAA and has posted a 29-10-2-1 record thus far this season.

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Around the league. Updated as they come in.

In Okotoks

In Brooks

MONDAY -- back at it

2009-03-09T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yeah yeah yeah... I took a weekend off. Stop e-mailing me.

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7-2 and 8-2 ... take that Camrose. Your Jr. A team might still be in the playoffs but your Rural Alberta Midgets just got their clocks cleaned.

How about those Panthers? They looked great on Saturday night when I took in game one of that best of three series and now get the matchup everyone expected when the RAMHL playoffs started facing Peace River in the final. No dates set for the games but I'll pass them along when I find out.

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AJHL playoffs are continuing but my weekend off might have discouraged the guys who leave the voicers.

In Okotoks

In Brooks

In Spruce Grove

In Grande Prairie

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Power Rankings

1. Brooks Bandits
2. Spruce Grove Saints
3. Olds Grizzlys
4. Sherwood Park Crusaders
5. Fort McMurray Oil Barons
6. Grande Prairie Storm
7. Okotoks Oilers
8. Camrose Kodiaks

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Big game this Saturday at the University of Wisconsin Superior as the Yellowjackets host Gustavus Adolphus for the right to move on to the NCAA Div III Final Four in Lake Placid New York.

The Yellowjacket squad features former Pontiacs Logan Isley and Brayden Kolisniak.

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The upset wasn't meant to be for the Battleford Stars of the SJHL who forced the top ranked Humboldt Broncos to 6 games in the second round but couldn't pull it out in the end.

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For us college basketball fans out there the Morehead State Eagles captured the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a birth into March Madness with the win. The Eagles athletics program isn't exactly a basketball powerhouse but they do have a track team and a rifle team and when you visit their homepage they randomly load pictures of all their teams and if you get it right it loads a pair of great photos where one of their track guys appears to be running away from a man with a gun. Great photos.

If anyone wants in on a Morehead State merchandise order let me know in the next couple days and maybe we can save on shipping.

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When it came to my thank yous on Friday I know I would leave someone out so here it is. A big thanks to the 32,500 people who have read this blog since the season started.

FRIDAY -- thank you to our sponsors

2009-03-06T08:29:00.001-08:00

I want to take the time to say thank you to a few people.

All of our Sponsors on B and R Eckles Pontiacs hockey throughout the year have been tremendous and we couldn't get the games on air without you. A special thank you goes to B and R Eckles who have held the naming rights for the last couple of seasons and Telephone Connections who jumped on board with the pregame show this year as well as their sponsorship of the playoff preview show. Everyone else who spent money on commercials you have at least one new customer in this play by play guy.

A big thanks to colour commentator Denis Fontaine who volunteers his time to add his unique perspective and passion to our home broadcasts and as many road games as possible. In my opinion he's the best in the league.

Our games don't get on the air without the work of Bobby May who sits in the studio and presses the right (most of the time) buttons while listening to each and every broadcast.

A thank you to Ryan Bailey and Dean Lee who helped down the stretch collecting locker room interviews during intermissions and a thanks to the Pontiacs organization for granting us the kind of access not usually seen at this level.

And to the AJHL. The best junior A league in Canada.

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Bell Television has the worst music I've ever had to listen to while waiting on hold.

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The NE Panters begin round 2 tomorrow night when the host the Camrose Kodiaks. The Panthers finished 2nd in the RAMHL this year while the baby Kods have the number 3 seed. Puck drop is 6:00 at the RJ with game two in Camrose on Sunday.

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Former Pontiac Chris Jung has 4 points in seven games as the Battleford North Stars have tied their second round series at 2 with the number one team in Saskatchewan the Humboldt Broncos. Many didn't expect the North Stars to make it out of round 1 as they had just 15 wins on the season.

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I'm told Marc Antoine Juneau has his surgery scheduled for today. Good luck Marc.

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If you are in Olds I don't really see why you wouldn't be at the Sports Complex tonight. I'll probably be dropping by work tonight to try and listen to some of the game online.

recaps

2009-03-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

I'm told the Grizzlys had a tough time making it home after game 4 in drum. This weather is crazy.

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Here's Tim Ellis in Camrose

THURSDAY -- feels like a friday.

2009-03-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

I ran into a few guys from the team last night. They are still in disbelief that they didn't win game 4. The fact is that the better team lost game 4 but if they had been the better team all series they wouldn't have been in the position to be eliminated.

Most of the team is sticking around town this weekend before heading home early next week.

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I had somebody ask me why I refer to the Oil Barons as the MOB. After explaining how you can shorten McMurray Oil Barons to MOB they asked if I could add in the Fort and start referring to them as the F'n MOB.

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Anyone have any suggestions on how I can get out of work and make it to Olds to take in a game 5? Maybe more importantly anyone have any ideas on how I can explain that one to the wife?

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When Greg Brown scored to get Bonnyville to within one I really thought the hockey gods wanted the Pontiacs to win. Two goals all year. Both in Fort McMurray and the first one sparked a come from behind overtime win.

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We will look to continue the Around the league voicers as the playoffs move along if I can find guys (or gals) who are working the round 2 series.

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Ted was our next door neighbour growing up in Regina. He had a longer driveway with less cracks in it so we would play shinny in his yard. He never seemed to mind the tennis ball marks on his fence.

Edward (Ted) Ralph Madill August 7, 1928 January 28, 2009 Edward Ralph (Ted) Madill passed away on January 28, 2009 at Regina, SK. Ted was born August 7, 1928 on the family farm near Alton, ON and was predeceased by his father and mother, Fred and May (Coleman) Madill; brothers, Raymond and Bill; and sisters-inlaw, Merle Madill, Marie Madill and Leona Williamson. Ted is survived by his beloved wife, Lorraine (Lori); brother, John; brotherin-law Claire Williamson; sister-in-law, Marion Madill; as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins. After finishing Grade 12 at Alton, Ted joined the RCMP in 1948 and trained at Regina, SK and Rockcliffe, ON. He served for eleven years at several detachments in New Brunswick followed by three years at Queens' University at Kingston, ON where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He was then posted to Ottawa, Toronto and Regina where he retired from the Force in 1983 as a Superintendent with 35 years service. He then began a new career as the Rentalsman of Saskatchewan and Chairman of the Provincial Mediation Board, serving Saskatchewan for nine years, finally retiring in 1993. Ted was an active member of the RCMP Veterans' Association, a Director of the Friends of the Mounted Police Museum, a Past Master of NWMP #11 Masonic Lodge, a member of the Scottish Rite and the Wa Wa Shrine. Most of all, Ted was a man of unshakeable honesty and integrity. These principles guided his life.

Oil Barrons Take Series 3-1

2009-03-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

Post Game Show with Chad Mercier.

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In St. Albert

In Camrose

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I don't have the energy for much else today.

Oil Barrons lead series 2-1

2009-03-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

The message being spread among the Pontiacs players today in the hotel is that 5-0, 12-0 or 4-3 in OT it doesn't matter a loss is a loss and there isn't anything you can do about it now.

Put it behind you and look forward to game 4 with an opportunity to send the series back to your home town rink for a deciding fifth game.

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It's not updated on the AJHL website but Greg Hennessey will receive a three game suspension. He has already sat out two games so he will miss game 4 tonight and will be ready to go if there is a game 5 in Bonnyville on Thursday.

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Post game with coach Gord Thibodeau.

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Around the AJHL with TheRobbHunter.com

In Fort McMurray

In St. Albert

In Lloydminster

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I've received word from back home that there is a large contingent of Pontiacs fans making the trip up for the game tonight. It should be a good one and seriously ..... what does anyone actually have to do at work tomorrow?

I've also been told about a couple different Pontiacs listening parties going on in Bonnyville where groups of fans are getting together to listen to the game. I hope I do it justice and hello from us up here in Fort McMurray.

POWER RANKINGS playoff edition

2009-03-02T16:20:00.000-08:00

1. Spruce Grove Saints
2. Brooks Bandits
3. Okotoks Oilers
4. Sherwood Park Crusaders
5. Camrose Kodiaks
6. Grande Prairie Storm
7. Olds Grizzlys
8. Lloydminster Bobcats
8. Fort McMurray Oil Barrons
9. Bonnyville Pontiacs
10. Drumheller Dragons
12. Calgary Canucks
13. St. Albert Steel
14. Canmore Eagles

Game Day

2009-03-02T15:01:00.000-08:00

In true Lamb Choppian fashion the Suspension goes on and on my friends. Brad Stebner will not play tonight and neither will Greg Hennessey.

Hennessey was on the bus to Fort McMurray today. I kind of thought he would be headed to a conference with league brass as the last person I remember being suspended "until further notice" is Sean Avery and that until further notice part was dropped once he flew to New York to meet with Gary Bettman. Avery was then told how many games he would have to miss. The last player I remember being suspended "until further notice" who never really found out how long he was going to be gone for was Todd Bertuzzi.

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Blake Clement of the Grande Prairie Storm was informed he would get 2 games for an eye gouge on Lloydminster Bobcat Bobby Spigott.

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Talking to a few players while on the trip it's evident they have put the Hennessey situation behind them. They know it is out of their control and they will let people higher up in the organization deal with that aspect of their series. The players are doing a good job of looking forward and the mood seemed light heading into a very important game three tonight.

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Around the league

In Okotoks

In Calgary

In Olds

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The illusion of Thickwood Heights Arena. I've done a couple interviews in the last few days where I have been asked what kind of chances the Pontiacs have now that Fort McMurray has home ice advantage.

It's a common assumption that Thickwood is one of the hardest rinks around the league to get a win and while that has been true in the past it's not so much the case this year. Since November the MOB are 9-11 at home. I was shocked when I looked but that's two games under .500 and looking further two of those wins were against Drayton Valley.

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We are back on the road which means I got to watch Matlock figure out who the murderer was while he was in hospital. Is there anything he can't do?

MONDAY

2009-03-02T07:35:00.001-08:00

On the bus to Fort McMurray.

I'll have an update when we get there.

Series Tied 1-1

2009-03-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Assistant coach Ryan Pollock on the post game show.

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Our Dean Lee caught up with MOB coach Gord Thibodeau after the game.

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Around the league with TheRobbHunter.com

In Bonnyville

In Grande Prairie

In Sherwood Park

In Okotoks

In Olds

In Calgary

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October 29th, 2008 Devon Hobbs goes knee on knee with Pontiacs captain Craig Cuthbert knocking Cuthbert out of the lineup for over a month. Hobbs plays the next night in the rematch with Bonnyville.

January 24th, 2009 Ryan Edens attempts to decapitate Craig Cuthbert as Cuthbert carries the puck across the blueline. Cuthbert misses another month.

January 9th, 2009 Marc Antoine Juneau tears ligaments in his knee ending his season after being hit by a member of the Lloydminster Bobcats. Juneau is still awaiting surgery at home in Quebec.

January 23,rd 2009 Alex Grill Donovan breaks his leg by going awkwardly into the boards with a member of the Spruce Grove Saints. While the hit was not dirty it did result in a season ending injury.

February 16th, 2008 Colin Scherger of the Brooks Bandits sticks his knee out on Jeremy Gerhardt in the neutral zone. Not only did Gerhardt miss the end of last season but rehab took so long that he missed the first 2 weeks of this season.

March 14th, 2008 Game 5 of round 2. Pontiacs Captain Jamie Sadlowski is checked from behind into the boards causing a shoulder separation. Sadlowski doesn't play in the 6th and deciding game in that series and the injury contributes to his decision to focus solely on golf and not come back for his 20 year old season so as not to risk further injury.

There were no "indefinate suspensions" handed out.

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The Greg Hennessey suspension was not the reason the Bonnyville Pontiacs lost last night. The better team won the hockey game and the Pontiacs know they need to be better come Monday night.

The Pontiacs best players will need to show up and actually be their best players and if Hennessey is back in the lineup it will help.

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I'll be using the night off to watch my first ever sledge hockey game. There are a couple opportunities to catch Matt Cook in action tonight with a gold medal on the line.

From Hockey Canada:

Canada’s National Sledge Team will face the United States on Sunday, March 1 in the gold medal game the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup, a four-team tournament being held as a test event for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Sunday’s gold medal game will be played at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET and can be seen LIVE on TSN2 coast-to-coast. The main TSN network will carry the game on tape delay at 9 p.m. PT/midnight ET. Dave Randorf will provide play-by-play coverage, with Jake Snyder as colour commentator. This is the first time a sledge hockey game has been shown on live TV in Canada.

Pontiacs lead series 1-0.

2009-02-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

From AJHL.ca

February 28, 2009 - Greg Hennessey (Bonnyville Pontiacs) is suspended until further notice as a result of a hit to an opposing player causing injury during a February 27, 2009 game in Bonnyville. The suspension will commence immediately.

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TheRobbHunter.com reports from around the league.

In Grande Prairie.

In Sherwood Park.

In Bonnyville.

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Post game comments from Pontiacs assistant coach Ryan Pollock.

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To our readers in Fort McMurray I had hoped to provide you with post game comments from Coach Gord Thibodeau but our reporter was told after the game that Gord would not be speaking to the media.

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Sometimes if both teams are really upset with the reffing it means the ref did a pretty good job. This is not one of those times.

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The suspension of Greg Hennessey likely means Beau Bertagnolli will check back into the lineup. Beau spent plenty of time playing with Ross Herzog and Denis Cadrin down the stretch so there won't be any unfamiliarity there.

FRIDAY -- Game 1 Round 1

2009-02-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

Assistant Coach Ryan Pollock joined us for Behind the Bench this morning.

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Co-MVP's??? Sure they both deserve it and are both great players but that seems like a little bit of a cop out. 16 coaches picking and it ended as a 8-8 tie? Can't we go to 4 on 4 overtime or something?

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I don't know anyone picking this series to be over before game 5. I'm horrible at sport select so I'm not going to try and pick winners of any of the series but let me say this about the North. I will not be shocked if the higher ranked team wins all three series and I would also not be at all surprised if any of the possible underdogs get an upset.

The best division in junior A hockey across all of Canada and it's too close to call.

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I'm told that Edmonton Oilers colour man Bob Stauffer picked the Oil Barrons to win this series. It's strange I never ran into Bob at a game this year. He must be trying to keep a low profile.

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I'm on location at the rink from 5:00 until puck drop tonight. The first person with their face painted to find me wins a pair of tickets to the game.

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Good luck to the Panthers as they kick off their playoff series with Grande Prairie at 6:00 on the Encana ice surface.

From Hockey Canada

2009-02-27T05:08:00.000-08:00

Matt Cook is on the team but hasn't made a scoresheet yet. Come on Matt.. Go Somebody!

CANADA TO FACE GERMANY IN SEMIFINAL AT 2009 HOCKEY CANADA CUP; JAPAN WILL PLAY UNITED STATES IN THE OTHER SEMI

VANCOUVER, BC – The preliminary round is over and it’s time for Semifinal Saturday at the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup sledge hockey tournament.

Canada’s National Sledge Team completed the round-robin portion of the event with a 6-2 victory over Japan on Thursday evening at UBC Thunderbird Arena. Earlier in the day, the United States beat Germany 2-0.

That means Canada, as the No. 1 seed, will face Germany in the second of two semifinals on Saturday. The game goes at 5 p.m. PT at UBC. The first semifinal on Saturday, slated for 1 p.m. PT, will feature Japan against the United States.

The winners of each game will meet in Sunday’s gold medal game at 5 p.m. P.T./8 p.m. ET, a game that can be seen LIVE on TSN2. The main TSN network will air the sledge final at 9 p.m. PT/midnight ET. The semifinal losers will play for bronze on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.

On Thursday, Canada got two goals each from Marc Dorion (Bourget, ON) and Brad Bowden (Orton, ON), along with singles from Greg Westlake (Oakville, ON) and Hervé Lord (St-Pamphile, QC). Benoit St-Amand (St-Hubert, QC) made 13 saves for the win.

The 2009 Hockey Canada Cup is a four-team event being held one year out of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. All games are being played at the new UBC Thunderbird Arena, the home for sledge hockey in 2010. Tickets are still available for all games on the final weekend. CLICK HERE for complete ticket information.

For more information on the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/hccup.

Twice as many to be frustrated with ;)

2009-02-26T19:00:00.000-08:00

AJHL Adopts Two-Referee System

Calgary, AB, February 26, 2009 – The Alberta Junior Hockey League announced today that the two-referee system will be implemented throughout the 2009 Pamco Jiro Service & Syntech AJHL Playoffs. The two referee system will be used in select games during the opening two rounds of the upcoming playoffs and during all games in the League Semi-Final and League Final series.

The four-official system adds a second referee for a total of two referees and two linesmen. This system is used regularly in the NHL, American Hockey League (AHL), Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and other high levels of hockey. The Alberta Junior Hockey League has previously implemented the two referee system in the post-season and on a trial basis in the 2005-2006 regular season.

“If Alberta had a sufficient number of officials, the AJHL would utilize the two referee system in every AJHL game,” said AJHL Vice-President of Officiating George McCorry. As other Leagues across Alberta wrap up the 2008-2009 season, more officials will be available to the AJHL, allowing the League to increase the opportunity to use the two referee system. “As more officials become available, and in situations when the need for a two referee system arises, the four official system will be implemented.”

“The two-referee system will allow more officials to gain valuable playoff experience,” added McCorry. The two referee system will utilize the knowledge of the more experienced referees and enable them to become actively involved in the development of young officials. The four official system also decreases the chance of high impact calls being missed.

The North Division will kick off the 2009 Pamco Jiro Service & Syntech AJHL Playoffs on Friday, February 27th while the South Division will commence on Saturday, February 28th. Listen to each game of the 2009 AJHL Playoffs live at www.AJHL.ca!

THURSDAY -- Playoff Preview Day

2009-02-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Telephone Connections Playoff Preview Show goes tonight at 7:30 on Kool 101.3 and online at 1013koolfm.com.

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The Northeast Panthers host Grande Prairie this weekend in the first round of the RAMHL playoffs this weekend. The games on Friday and Saturday start at 6:00 on the Encana ice surface. So show up early for the Pontiacs games and take in the start of the Panthers games.

The Panthers put in an incredible season finishing just one point shy of Peace River for first in the league.

You will really want to show up early on Friday as the first 1000 fans that show up for the Pontiacs game get themselves a playoff rally towel.

Kudo's to former Kool DJ Dave Tymo for coming up with that idea.

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This has been a very long week.

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I was able to drop by Pontiacs practice yesterday. The tempo seemed high. I imagine teams all across the league are chomping at the bit to get going this weekend.

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An interesting view of the Pontiacs and Oil Barrons series on the Mob Blog this morning.

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Here's how things break down in the BCHL. Check out the Vees Blog for some great BC updates.

INTERIOR CONFERENCE BYES - (I1) Vernon Vipers (I2) Salmon Arm Silverbacks
COASTAL CONFERENCE BYES - (Is1) Victoria Grizzlies (M1) Powell River Kings

INTERIOR 1st ROUND MATCH-UPS
(I3) Westside Warriors vs. (I6) Trail Smoke Eaters
(I4) Penticton Vees vs. (I5) Prince George Spruce Kings

COASTAL 1st ROUND MATCH-UPS
(Is2) Cowichan Valley Capitals vs. (Is3) Nanaimo Clippers (Island Division)
(M2) Langley Chiefs vs. (M3) Surrey Eagles (Mainland Division)

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From the Brooks Bandits team banquet here are the award winners:

Rookie of the Year- #10 Cullen Bradshaw
Hustler of the Year - #16 Bryce Wilson
Unsung Hero - #21 Dave Osborne
Top Defenseman - #4 Chris Markiewicz
Top Defensive Forward - #24 John Stimson
Top All-Round Forward - #12 Mark Lyons
Most Improved - #33 Rob Gunderson
Fan Favorite - #9 Jarret Granberg
Top Scorer - #9 Jarret Granberg
Regular Season MVP - #9 Jarret Granberg
Source for Sports Game Star - #12 Mark Lyons
Tyler Hemsing Memorial Scholarship - #12 Mark Lyons

From Olds

2009-02-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

A Voicer about last night as the Grizz wrap up third place

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Check out the Telephone Connections Playoff Preview Show at 7:30 tomorrow night on Kool 101.3 and for those of you not in Bonnyville you can listen online at 1013koolfm.com

TUESDAY

2009-02-24T12:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates folks. I'm turning the blog playoff preview into a radio playoff preview so we are moving it off Wednesday and putting it on air on Thursday night. This project has been taking up most of my time the last few days.

MONDAY

2009-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:00

A "Hatty" for "Bely" and another OT winner for Regi.

Register had 3 game winning goals on the year with all of them coming in overtime.

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Great photos of the goal on bonnyvillepontiacs.com

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Assistant coach Ryan Pollock on the post game show.

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Ryan Bailey talks to Steel coach Greg Parks after the game.

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Some Stats for the season:

Overall
62-35-22-1-4

Vs. North Division
22-19-1-3

Vs. South
13-3-0-1

Home
19-10-0-2
Road16-12-1-2

Overtime
10GP 5-4-1

When Leading after 1
22-4-0-0
When Tied after 1
4-5-0-2
When Losing after 1
8-13-1-2

When Leading after 2
22-2-0-1
When Tied after 2
9-6-0-2
When Losing after 2
4-14-1-1

When they score first
20-4-0-1
When they don't score first
4-18-1-3

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Still working on the Telephone Connections Playoff Preview Show... it will be posted on Wednesday.

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The Pontiacs team president had a team record to announce during the first intermission. You can listen to the interview here.

POWER RANKINGS

2009-02-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

Power Rankings on TheRobbHunter.com are compiled by a panel of media members who follow the AJHL and are based on a combination of last week's play and a squad's overall outlook. Last weeks rankings are in ().

1. Spruce Grove Saints (1) -- The Saints set the record for fewest regulation losses in a 62 game regular season.

2. Grande Praire Storm (3) -- Winners of 5 straight heading into the playoffs.

3. Brooks Bandits (2) -- The Bandits had their 6 game winning streak snapped against Camrose but beat Drumheller the next night to clinch first place in the South.

4. Okotoks Oilers (4) -- 3-1 on the week with the loss coming Friday at home after spotting Drumheller a 6-0 lead.

5. Bonnyville Pontiacs (9) -- Finally mostly healthy the Pontiacs have won 4 straight and 5 of their last 6. Kirk Belyk has 4 goals in two games since missing the previous 14 contests.

6. Sherwood Park Crusaders (5) -- Hello cruise control (said in a cartoonish Animanics hello nurse tone).

7. Olds Grizzlys (6) -- May as well leave it to the last day of the regular season but Olds still holds their fate in their own hands. Beat Camrose tomorrow and avoid the Kodiaks in the first round.

8. Calgary Canucks (8) -- 3 and 1 against Camrose this month the Canucks might not mind facing the Kodiaks in the first round.

9. Camrose Kodiaks (10) -- The loss of Hamilton will hurt but they had a chance to rest some other key players down the stretch and were still playing some pretty good hockey.

10. St. Albert Steel (7) -- Having already played Sherwood Park 9 times this year we think the Steel/Cru series goes the maximum 5 games ... just because.

11. Lloydminster Bobcats (11) -- Travel to Grande Prairie can cost you a series. Jagow and Bartel can win you a series. Since the end of October the Cats are 21-14-2-4 while playing in the toughest division in Canada.

12. Fort McMurray Oil Barrons (12) -- Having lost 7 of their last 10 the MOB are an enigma this season. However, there is little doubt Thibodeau will have them ready for the playoffs.

13. Canmore Eagles (13) -- A team with absolutely ZERO expectations can sometimes be dangerous in the playoffs. There's no pressure and they are playing for the love of the game right now.

14. Drumheller Dragons (14) -- Yeah we know things started going downhill when the trades started but that House reference was just too good not to use.

15. Calgary Royals (15) -- Not really anything left to say so I will add an editorial note that Simon Skrudlund who plays for the Calgary Royals Midget AAA team was coached by Robb Hunter when he played PeeWee. Go Glenmore Eagles! or were we the Hawks?

16. Drayton Valley Thunder (16) -- 1-19 since New Years is actually an improvement over last seasons 0-20. Baby steps.

SATURDAY -- And it's down to one

2009-02-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

So it's going to be Fort McMurray in round one. Stay tuned for a very special playoff preview.

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Great recap at bonnyvillepontiacs.com

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Ryan Bailey with Olds coach Kevin Hasselberg.

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Tim Ellis was in Brooks and has the recap.

FRIDAY -- Robbservations

2009-02-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

The Pontiacs won the only meeting against the Grizzlys this year 5-3 in Olds. Rick Cey and Devon Kalinski scored short handed goals while Denis Cadrin, Greg Hennessey and Shawn Bates also scored for the Pontiacs. Corey Campbell, Brendon Algeo and Michell Maxwell scored for Olds.

Bonnyville is 12-3-0-1 versus the South Division so far this year.

Special Teams

Bonnyville PP: (5) 20% 62/304
Olds PP: (7) 19% 70/373

Bonnyville PK: (11) 81% 62/331
Olds PK: (5) 84% 59/360

Home
Bonnyville PP: (6) 21% 30/144
Bonnyville PK: (12) 80% 29/148

Road
Olds PP: (9) 17% 31/181
Olds PK: (7) 82% 34/191

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Coach Chad Mercier on Behind the Bench this morning.

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Lucas Isley of the Bonnyville Pontiacs and Mitchell Maxwell of the Grizz both enter tonight's contest with 6 game point streaks on the line.

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From Hockey Canada.... Yes Matt Cook is on the team!!!

CANADA’S NATIONAL SLEDGE TEAM SET FOR HOCKEY CANADA CUP IN VANCOUVER, BC

CALGARY, AB – The countdown to the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games is on.

Hockey Canada has announced the 17-player roster of Canada’s National Sledge Team, which will compete in the 2009 Hockey Canada Cup from February 24 to March 1, 2009 in Vancouver, BC. The tournament, which also will include Germany, Japan, and the United States, will be held at UBC Thunderbird Arena, which is the home of sledge hockey for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Canada’s roster includes 15 players who helped Canada win gold at the 2008 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship and 14 players from Canada’s team that won gold at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games.

“We’re confident that we have assembled a roster that will challenge for gold in Vancouver,” says Jeff Snyder, Canada’s head coach. “The 2009 Hockey Canada Cup marks the one-year countdown to the Paralympic Winter Games. This event is a major international competition and one of the steps that will prepare us to win gold at the 2009 world championship and in 2010.”

CLICK HERE FOR CANADA’S ROSTER FOR THE 2009 HOCKEY CANADA CUP

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Our thoughts are with Jarret Granberg of the Brooks Bandits and his family as they deal with the loss of Jarret's grandmother.

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I will start this comment by offering full disclosure. I did NOT watch the Oilers v. Stars game last night.

I read the game recaps on NHL.com and while reading I notice the three stars they chose on the right hand side of the page.

Again... I didn't see the game but the Oilers lost 4-2.. they picked up two of the three stars and Robert Nilson who did not have a point and was a -2 on the night was third star. Did he do something I should be aware of here?

Who picked these stars? Kevin Quinn?

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Ever google the name Kevin Quinn? Wikipedia has an interesting entry on someone in England named Kevin Quinn.

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We announced on air this morning that Kool 101.3 is making tonight Barrack Obama night at the RJ Lalonde. Anyone with the name Barrack, Obama or Hussein who shows up at the game Kool 101.3 will buy them a ticket.

Repaying the Bet

2009-02-20T06:04:00.000-08:00

Hello reader of therobbhunter.com

This is the "Yappy" radio announcer of Rock 104 in Olds, home of the Grizzly's. Robb and I made a bet about the outcome of the Grizzly's and Pontiacs first game of the year, and I thought that if the Pontiacs played anything like Robb did against me in college, then I wouldn't have to do this... I will be the first to admit, I was wrong. the bet said that if the Grizz lost (Which they did) I would have to get a player to write a game preview for tonight...

I tried my best to live up to my end of the bet, but you have no idea how hard it is to get hockey players to take time out of their schedules, just before playoffs never the less, to write. but I think I can do a pretty good job myself.

I am the Grizzly's arena announcer so I basically sit up in my booth and watch the game...and it was a horrible first period, too many defencesive breakdowns, and odd man rushes led to an early 3-0 lead. but after the Grizz found their groove, they outplayed the Pontiacs for the rest of the game...the shot count will verify that...big time.

So heading in to tonight, I have been talking to a lot of the players about this Lakeland road swing they have to finish the regular season, and let me tell you, they want this one tonight really, REALLY bad.

They thought they deserved to win the first one, so look for them to come out flying at the RJ Lalonde. The overall standings are nearly identical between these 2 teams, so it should be an incredible game.

A player to watch out for is Brance Orban. Orban was the league leading goal scorer just under a month ago, although he is still just a few goals behind, and with only 3 games left, talking to him yesterday, he can't wait to hit the ice and head into the playoffs on a hot streak.

Should be a good one tonight...it's just too bad Robb won't be wearing gold and black...

Hope to see ya in the Playoffs.

Cheers
Falko

- Falko in the Morning on Rock104.ca and arena announcer for the Olds Grizzly's.

"If you're gonna be a bear, be a GRIZZLY!"

INSIDE THE SJHL

2009-02-19T11:24:00.001-08:00

By Dan O'Connor, the voice of the North Battleford North Stars

The post-season has arrived for the SJHL.

56 games of blood,sweat and tears and finally fans in the SJHL have a second-season at their grasp.

Itech Conference:

The Humboldt Broncos (45-8-1-12) ran away with the Itech Crown. They finished with 93 points, and only lost 8 in regulation all season. They once again have to be considered the favourite to emerge out of the Itech. Defenceman Brady Wacker finished third in the SJHL scoring race with 82 points.

The Flin Flon Bombers (32-30-3-1) had their hands full with the Melfort Mustangs down the stretch, but managed to finish in the second spot. The Bombers are led offensively by Tommy Castonguay who finished the season with 71 points. He has a great supporting cast with Alex Lamontagne, Reid McCloud and defenceman Michael Young.

The Melfort Mustangs (27-26-1-2) captured the third spot in the Itech thanks in large part to a great second half. Blake Hietela, Devon Stillar and Kyle Fraser were all studs up front for the Mustangs, and they should certainly give Flin Flon all that they can handle in the second round.

The Nipawin Hawks finished the year 26-26-2-2 and will get home-ice advantage in the Itech Conference Best-Of-Five Survivor Series. They were led offensively by Tory Dyck and Brent Ottman. They have decent depth on the blue-line and two capable goaltenders in Wyatt Wasalenchuk and Mark Currie.

The Battlefords North Stars had 15 wins on the year, and yet still earned a playoff birth in the Survivor Series. The North Stars are a very young team, especially on the defensive end. They hit an offensive dry-spell in the last week of the season, managing only four goals in their last five games. They'll be in tough against the Nipawin Hawks in the Itech Survivor Series.

The La Ronge Ice Wolves didn't have a single win in 2009. They lost a ton of their veterans at the trade deadline, and didn't make it to the post-season for the first time in a long time.

Sherwood Conference:

If there is one team in the SJHL that has the tools to dethrone Humboldt, it's the Weyburn Red Wings. They finished first in the Sherwood with an impressive record of 38-16-2-0. The Wings have a great core of forwards with Preston Shupe, Torrey Lindsey and Rhett Bly leading the way. Add two capable goaltenders in AJ Whiffen and Tanner Erickson, and the Wings SHOULD come out of the Sherwood Conference.

But the Melville Millionaires could stand in the way. The Mil's got off to a wicked start, but stumbled down the stretch finishing at 37-16-3-0. Had they not lost six straight after the trade-deadline, they would have easily finished first in the Sherwood. The Mil's are a big team with four solid lines that can score. Goaltending is no problem for the Mil's as Travis Bosch was the best statistical goaltender in the SJ.

If there is one team that nobody can figure out it is the Yorkton Terriers. At 30-18-1-7 they finished comfortably in third. Yet they don't have any true studs up front. They've got a slough of GOOD forwards with Derek Serdachny and Bryan Hull, but nobody that I'd call a "game-breaker." Defensively though this team is excellent. Greg Coburn might be the most underrated defenceman in the league, and he's got a great cast to work with on the back end. If Yorkton surprises anybody though, it will be thanks to their stud goaltender Devon Peters.

The Kindersley Klippers finished fourth with a record of 28-17-2-7 but this team was awful down the stretch. They'll face the Estevan Bruins in the Sherwood Survivor Series, and I'd be stunned if Kindersley wins that series. Offensively they are led by one line, and the rest of their team had trouble contributing on a regular basis. Now saying that, their one line is pretty damn good. Brett Leedahl, Kirk Peace and Jordan Braid are all excellent offensive players that do have the potential to take over a whole series.

The Estevan Bruins are my dark-horse favourite in the Sherwood. Yes they finished fifth, but they may have the best 12 forwards collectively in the Sherwood. They're tough, fast, and healthy. Anybody in the SJ will tell you that winning in Estevan is a very tough thing to do, given the small ice surface. If Tommy Legault plays well in goal, Estevan could definitely beat Kindersley in the Survivor Series.

The Notre Dame Hounds fell short of the post-season for the second straight year, yet they boast the best offensive player in the league. 17-year-old forward Rylan Schwartz was the SJ Scoring champ, and his younger brother Jaden was also a top 10 scorer in the league. It's unfortunate that the Schwartz's won't get to play in the post-season because these are the two most dynamic forwards in the league and both will be a shoe-in to get drafted to the NHL.

My Itech Conference predictions:

Nipawin def. The North Stars in four games.

Humboldt def. Nipawin in five games.

Flin Flon def. Melfort in seven games.

Humboldt def. Flin Flon in five games.

Humboldt advances to the SJHL Final.

Sherwood Predictions.

Estevan def. Kindersley in four games.

Weyburn def. Estevan in seven games.

Yorkton def. Melville in seven games.

Weyburn def. Yorkton in six games.

The Final:

Humboldt beats Weyburn in six games to capture the SJHL title for a third straight year.

TICKETS FOR FRIDAY

2009-02-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

I have a small number of tickets for the game Friday that I would like to give away. If you know of anyone who has never ever been to a hockey game before e-mail me and I'll hook them up with a ticket for Friday. Also, shoot me an e-mail if you know someone who has never been to a Pontiacs game and I'll see what I can do. Finally, if you have been to a Pontiacs game before but just not this season, for whatever reason, I'd like to convince you to come on in and check out the product on the ice so e-mail it up and I'll include you on the list and see how long my batch of tickets holds out.

rhunter@newcap.ca

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I get a lot of spam on that account now, which I understand, but it's all in German. What spammer out there thinks I know German?

THURSDAY

2009-02-19T06:43:00.000-08:00

The first ever TheRobbHunter.com Cup was handed out last night after a feverish battle between two NHL 09 titans. Stay tuned for the video to find out who won.

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From the Olds Albertan:

Now, the team will turn its attention towards the final three games of the season all on the road and all important if they plan to hold on to third place in their division.

Hasselberg said focusing on the little details in Bonnyville and Lloydminster this weekend will be necessary for the team’s final playoff preparation.

"We need to learn to get into the tough areas with the puck," he suggested. "Certainly we’ve done it before, we just have to find a more consistent effort doing it."

The team plays Friday in Bonnyville and Saturday in Lloydminster.

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From BN.

Three people were seriously injured when a bus carrying the A-H-L's Albany River Rats rolled on its side in western Massachusetts early this morning. The bus was on its way home from a game in Lowell when it struck a guard rail. It wasn't clear if those injured were players, coaches or management. Or the play by play guy (Editors note).

TheRobbHunter.com Cup

2009-02-18T10:32:00.001-08:00

The Rules as they have been outlined by the players:

It will be a best of 3.

Game one you will get to choose which team you want to use. Game two you will get to choose which team your opponent uses and Game three (if nessecary) will be random teams.

Before the games begin there will be a shootout to see who gets home ice advantage. Both players will use Team Canada for the shootout.

OILERS -- NCAA commit

2009-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

Derek Rodwell of the Okotoks Oilers has committed to the University of North Dakota.

Derek is the sixth Oiler so far this season to commit to an NCAA Division 1 scholarship. He joins Sean Cahill (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Rodger Craig (Cornell), Tyler Matthews (Niagara), Corbin Knight (University of North Dakota), and Quinn Sproule (University of Alaska Anchorage) as the other Oilers.

Derek Rodwell and Corbin Knight will join former Oiler goaltender Brad Eidsness, who is enjoying an outstanding rookie season with the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux this year.

WEDNESDAY -- The Titanic Tilt

2009-02-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

A matchup of astronomical proportions happening tonight at the Bonnyville Centennial Centre.

Dean "The Couch is my Home" Lee VS. Shawn "The NHL 09 Master" Bates.

Current Kool 101.3 morning show host Dean Lee is ready to take on Shawn Bates in a battle fit for pay per view.

The game will be NHL 09, the platform will be PS3, the venue will be the big screen at the movie theatre at the C2.

Faceoff at 7:00.

We are calling it the TheRobbHunter.com Cup.

What's on the line? The most important thing of all... pride.

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Despite the fact it was a "cardio day" at Pontiacs practice yesterday the mood was lighthearted. Good to see the team is relaxed heading into the final week before playoffs.

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Kirk Belyk was on the ice and Craig Cuthbert felt no pain while working out off ice.

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By my analysis if Fort Mac losses both games against Spruce Grove and St.Albert picks up a win and an OT loss/Tie then both teams would be tied with 67 points but Fort Mac would pick up 5th place because they would have more wins.

If the Oil Barrons get one point off of Spruce Grove and St. Albert wins both of their games then both teams would have 68 points but it would be the Steel who would take 5th place because both teams would have the same number of wins but St. Ablert won the season series.

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Happy 21st Birthday Greg Hennessey.

POWER RANKINGS presented by Everything Ink Design Company

2009-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

1. Spruce Grove Saints (1) -- We should just name them the Saints Rankings as they are the preeminent power in the league. Slight blip against Bonnyville is interesting this week.

2. Brooks Bandits (4) -- Winners of six straight and it is the Bandits emerging as the cream of the South division down the stretch.

3. Grande Prairie Storm (7) -- We were wrong to have them so low for so long.

4. Okotoks Oilers (6) -- A light week in the schedule. The Oilers are still in the hunt for first but they now need some help from other teams.

5. Sherwood Park Crusaders (3) -- Well there goes 2nd place. Oh well. At least the travel to St. Albert isn't that far. If it does work out that way it could be one heck of a series to watch.

6. Olds Grizzlys (5) -- The loss to Canmore is curious but other than that they had a decent week. They finish with three on the road. One of their players is supposed to be doing some work for therobbhunter.com later this week if their yappy radio announcer lives up to his end of the bet.

7. St. Albert Steel (2) -- Everything was lining up perfectly for the Steel. A chance to pass the MOB for fifth place when they get Fort Mac at home at the end of a long road trip for the Oil Barrons yet somehow the Steel blow it.

8. Calgary Canucks (8) -- An OT win against Drumheller and a split with Camrose. They never seem to win many in a row but they never lose that many either.

9. Bonnyville Pontiacs (12) -- They had been falling for a while and the possibility of a 6th place finish all of a sudden seemed very real but the Pontiacs turn it around with the biggest win of their year in Spruce Grove on Saturday and are able to follow it up with two more points against Lloyd to lock up home ice for the first round.

10. Camrose Kodiaks (11) -- The Kods can clinch 5th with a win tomorrow night in Drumheller. Will this team put all the pieces in place by the time the playoffs roll around?

11. Lloydminster Bobcats (10) -- This team will go as far as Bartel and Jagow can carry them. Those two might be splitting the MVP award at the Bobcats year end banquet. The only question is when will those dinner reservations be made for?

12. Fort McMurray Oil Barrons (9) -- Were Jordan Mirwaldt and Brad Stebner really healthy scratches Friday in Lloyd? The team does pick up a win on Monday when they needed it most and appear to have set themselves up for a rematch of last years second round series with Bonnyville.

13. Canmore Eagles (14) -- This young team has spunk. Adam Stephen gets the game winner against Olds.

14. Drumheller Dragons (13) -- Even Dr. House wouldn't be able to figure out where this team went wrong. They seemed so healthy at the start of the year it seems all we have to look forward to now are the post season autopsy results.

15. Calgary Royals (15) -- Only one more week left to worry about this season.

16. Drayton Valley Thunder (16) -- Did they really only dress 14 skaters against Grande Prairie?

MONDAY -- Family Day

2009-02-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Family Day everyone.

An old foe comes to town this afternoon after a weekend of doing the Pontiacs a huge favour. The Lloydminster Bobcats enter the RJ Lalonde with a 3 game winning streak and a winning record against Bonnyville so far this year.

The 7th place Bobcats have only lost one game so far in February and with nothing to play for in the standings Lloyd is playing well pressure free while preparing for the playoffs.

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Special Teams

Bonnyville PP: (5) 20% 61/299
Lloyd PP: (11) 17% 60/344

Bonnyville PK: (11) 80% 62/326
Lloyd PK: (12) 78% 70/323

Home
Bonnyville PP: (6) 21% 29/139
Bonnyville PK: (12) 80% 29/143

Road
Lloyd PP: (14) 13% 23/180
Lloyd PK: (12) 77% 28/167

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The Pontiacs have had a tough time this year coming out strong after a big emotional win like the one Saturday night in Spruce Grove.

After snapping a 5 game losing streak with a 5-3 win over Olds on Feb 6th the Pontiacs came out flat in a 4-1 loss to the Canucks the next night.

After a Jan 16th 2-1 victory over Grande Prairie the Pontiacs don't play well the next night dropping a 4-2 decison to the Storm.

After a pair of huge wins against Sherwood Park at the start of December the team heads South, gets delayed by a day in Brooks because of weather and then gives up the first two goals in a bad first period against Okotoks on December 13th.

Going into Fort McMurray at the end of November Tyler Henry scores a double overtime winner the first night but the Pontiacs can't capitalize on their chance to sweep the MOB by dropping the next game 3-2.

Hopefully the boys can come out strong this afternoon and get themselves on a roll heading into the playoffs. Another flat first period will be disappointing.

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Speaking of Tyler Henry, the youngster hasn't scored in 15 games dating back to Janurary 2nd but the game he played Saturday was one of his best as of late and it looks like he might be showing signs of busting out of his slump. Henry does have 10 assists in that time.

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In 4 games against the Bonnyville Pontiacs this year Bobcats forward Jared Jagow has 10 points.

Actually he has 10 points in three games. He didn't get a point in his first game against Bonnyville back on October 22nd.

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Vote here for Justin Fontaine to advance in the Hobey Barker award process.

SUNDAY -- Oh what a win.

2009-02-15T15:45:00.000-08:00

Well as of last night there isn't a team in the AJHL the Bonnyville Pontiacs haven't beaten this season. It took until their last meeting of the year with Spruce Grove but the Pontiacs finally gutted out a victory.

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The Saints had only lost two previous games at home during regulation time all season long. Lloydminster beat them January 17th 4-3 and Sherwood Park were 3-1 winners on November 5th.

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The Pontiacs were able to kill off seven minor penalties last night. In the home and home series the Saints were only 1 for 10 on the powerplay. A major factor why the Pontiacs were able to stay close on Thursday and to get the win on Saturday.

Perhaps even more important on Saturday was Bonnyville's ability to draw penalties with their work 5 on 5. Something they haven't been able to do consistently this season.

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I got this e-mail from a blog reader yesterday:

The Bonnyville Atom Tier 1 hockey team is participating in Provincials March 13-17 in Taber Alberta. We are looking for local sponsors to help us out financial for this great event. We are looking for 10-$200.00 sponsors for this event and with this we are looking to gettting a banner made up of the ten sponsors and we will proudly put your name on the banner. As a team we will place this banner behind our players box and also we will carry the banner in the opening ceremonies.

If anyone can help out feel free to e-mail me at rhunter@newcap.ca and I'll forward you on to the team.

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We will factor the February 16th games into this weeks power rankings and release the rankings on Tuesday this week.

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There's a skate with the Pontiacs after the game tomorrow afternoon so bring your skates to the rink. As well there is family pricing with two adult and two student tickets on for $20.

Happy Family Day everyone.

SATURDAY-- last roadie of the regular season

2009-02-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

It must almost be playoff time and the Pontiacs must be in a playoff race. I've been on radio stations in Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie this week talking about what's happening here in Bonnyville and the Pontiacs don't have any games left against either team. 13 days left before puck drop on the 2009 AJHL playoffs and there are races all over the place. It's an exciting time of year.

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The Pontiacs have the back half of their home and home with Spruce Grove tonight and they got a little help from Sherwood Park and Lloydminster last night in their quest for 4th in the North. With both Fort Mac and St. Albert losing the Pontiacs are a little bit closer to locking up that coveted home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Bonnyville has yet to beat the Saints yet this year so perhaps 6th time's a charm.

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Special Teams:

Spruce Grove PP: (1) 31% 96/312
Bonnyville PP : (6) 20% 60/293

Spruce Grove PK: (1) 88% 37/316
Bonnyville PK: (11) 81% 62/319

Home
Spruce Grove PP: (1) 29% 51/312
Spruce Grove PK: (1) 90% 16/166

Road
Bonnyville PP: (10) 81% 33/176
Bonnyville PK: (7) 20% 31/154

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Stats for the Bonnyville Pontiacs 88's since Christmas

Ashton Hewson: 13gp 4-6-10
Rick Cey: 13gp 4-4-8
Jeremy Herhardt: 14gp 4-3-7
Craig Cuthbert: 10gp 3-3-6
Greg Hennessey: 3gp 1-1-2
Greg Brown: 15gp 0-2-2

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Special thanks to Steve at the Broiler Steakhouse for helping me out with cooking a lasagna for Valentines Day which the wife and I celebrated yesterday. Lasagna is a treat for Cheryl because I never eat it with her during hockey season because I get enough pasta while on the road with the team.

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Another special thanks to dictionary.com for showing me how to spell lasagna.

FRIDAY

2009-02-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

Coach Ryan Pollock on the Post game coaches show last night.

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Coach Chad Mercier on Behind the Bench this morning. We missed the first question on the recording but Chad is talking about his teams slow start last night.

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Stupid PVR stopped recording with 2:30 minutes left in the Duke vs. UNC game the other night. Oh well it wasn't close anyways. UNC takes it.

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AADAC and AJHL Announce Bursary Recipients

Calgary, Ab, February 13, 2009 - The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) and Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) announced today the recipients of the 2009 AJHL AADAC Bursary. The first ever recipients of the scholarship are Kim Sydora of the Bonnyville Pontiacs and Kirsten Kidd of the Okotoks Oilers.

Kim Sydora is in her 4th season as the Trainer and Equipment Manager for the Pontiacs. “The time and effort Kim dedicates to the team allows our coaches and players to be successful,” says Pontiacs GM / Head Coach Chad Mercier. “Our Coaching Staff can concentrate on doing our jobs, knowing that the players are being looked after every second of every day. Kim is a key component to our organization in the areas of injury assessment, equipment management, the billeting program and ensuring the physical and mental health of our players. We are thrilled Kim has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the Pontiacs.”

“I am honoured to have been chosen for this award,” said Kim Sydora. “When asked what I do as Trainer and Equipment Manager I usually answer ‘What don't I do’ or ‘Follow me around for a day’ but really I find my job quite diverse and exciting. The AJHL and AADAC have provided awareness of the potential problems that can occur when using substances or chewing tobacco. Through information sessions and pamphlets we like to get this info out to our athletes. I would like to thank AADAC and look forward to continued information.”

Kirsten Kidd is the Athletic Therapist for the Okotoks Oilers. Kirsten is in her second year with the team and has made a major impact on the organization. “Kirsten is one of the best Athletic Therapists I have ever encountered,” said Okotoks Oilers Governor Wayne Lauinger. “She is well prepared, knowledgeable in her field, thorough and she has gained the utmost respect from our players and coaches. Kirsten is a strong leader, who has successfully established herself as a successful female professional in a male dominant sport.”

“We are grateful that Kirsten has committed to a third season with the Oilers in 2009-2010,” added Lauinger. Kirsten is also employed by Dynamic Physiotherapy in Okotoks, Alberta.

The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission encourages and supports healthy living habits for all Albertans, whether they are a competitive athlete, team support staff, recreational participant or spectator. “We are proud to work with the Alberta Junior Hockey League in contributing to the knowledge and skills development of these selected trainers through scholarship assistance,” said Brian Miller of AADAC. “We feel that team trainers should represent a source of informed knowledge about ways of maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle for our athletes.”

Each recipient will be presented with a bursary in the amount of $2,000.

The Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) created a newly formed partnership at the onset of the 2008-2009 AJHL Season.

THURSDAY -- Game Day

2009-02-12T05:14:00.000-08:00

The Pontiacs are 0-2-1-1 against the Spruce Grove Saints this year with their next two games against the top team in the league.

According to the AJHL record book the record for fewest regular season regulation time losses in a 62 game season is 8. A record held by the 07-08 Camrose Kodiaks and the 98-99 Calgary Canucks. The Kodiaks also had an 8 loss season in 2004-05 when they played a 64 game schedule.

The Saints currently have 6 regulation losses with 6 games left in the season. Spruce Grove finishes the year with a home and home against Bonnyville, one in Drayton Valley, at home against Lloyd and then a pair in Fort McMurray.

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Special Teams

Powerplay (overall)
Spruce Grove: (1) 31% 95/309
Bonnyville: (5) 20% 59/290

Penalty Kill
Spruce Grove: (1) 89% 36/313
Bonnyville: (11) 81% 61/316

Home
Bonnyville PP: (6) 21% 28/136
Bonnyville PK: (12) 80% 28/140

Road
Spruce Grove PP: (1) 32% 44/136
Spruce Grove PK: (2) 86% 20/147

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I think I'm going to make it. As a morning show radio guy who has to read the sports in the morning I don't often get a chance to record a sporting event to watch the next day. Thankfully no one in Canada cares about who won the Duke vs. North Carolina game last night so I can watch the second half when I get home. I know I'm a hockey guy but the Blue Devil/Tar Heel rivalry is the best in North American sports.

If you run into me at FasGas, which is my only stop on the way home this morning, don't tell me the score.

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Vote here for Justin Fontaine to advance in the Hobey Barker award process.

WEDNESDAY -- scoreboard watching

2009-02-11T09:20:00.000-08:00

I've turned into an official scoreboard watcher as of this week. I've been interested in certain matchups earlier in the year. A 1 vs 2 or a team on a roll getting a real test to see if they can match up but I know this is the first time all year where I've been looking ahead, for two days now, to a St. Albert vs. Fort McMurray contest.

The MOB are two points back of Bonnyville for 4th place in the North while the Steel are 5 back.

A St. Albert overtime victory would be the worst possible outcome for the Pontiacs and wouldn't really help the Oil Barrons or Steel too much either as nobody really gains all that much ground so here's to somebody ending it in regulation.

Either way, it's that time of year where every game will be critiqued and every play is going to be scrutinized. Oh playoffs ... only 16 days away.

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Former Pontiacs captain Jamie Sadlowski apparently misses the game. Feel free to come on back Sadlow.

A National Post story. Not bad.

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From our broadcast on Saturday night in Calgary here's the voice of the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins talking about the year Mark Letestu is having.

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Steven Jean has been added to the roster again so it looks like the Pontiacs will still have some injury issues heading into Thursday night.

Kirk Belyk started skating this week but is likely still a couple weeks away. Craig Cuthbert is also back on the ice and would be listed as doubtful for tomorrow.

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Speaking of Belyk ... he's still listed as having played in the December 13th game in Okotoks. I guess my blog isn't that well read. (some would add "or well written")

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The Pontiacs are 1-0-0-1 on Thursday nights this year, beating Drayton Valley and losing to Grande Prairie in overtime. Both games were played on the road making tomorrow the first Thursday night game of the year at the RJ Lalonde. Followed closely by the first Monday game to be played this season by the team.

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The City of Cold Lake is hosting a charity hockey game between the Calgary Flames and CFB Cold Lake.

It's happening Februrary 21st in conjunction with Tim Hortons Hockey Day in Canada and CBC's Doug Dirks will be rinkside for the event.

Joel Darling with CBC Sports says Cold Lake was chosen as one of 5 satellite locations for Hockey Day in Canada and is excited to include the military this year.

Doug Dirks will be doing live cut-ins to Ron Maclean in Campbellton, New Brunswick, the host location for Tim Hortons Hockey Day in Canada.

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Vote here for Justin Fontaine to advance in the Hobey Barker award process. Being a sophmore it's probably not his year to win it but vote anyways.

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How about the year this former Pontiacs goalie is having.

POWER RANKINGS presented by Everything Ink Design Company

2009-02-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

1. Spruce Grove Saints (1) -- Undefeated week but probably hoping the Bobcats don't upset anyone in the first round.

2. St. Albert Steel (5) -- Go ahead and beak but who haven't they beaten in their recent run? Well they lost to Spruce Grove. Where are the Saints in the rankings? Opposing teams are fondly remembering October when Scott McInnis could stop a beachball. Oh how times have changed.

3. Sherwood Park Crusaders (2) -- That potential first round playoff series with St. Albert all of a sudden looks a lot more interesting but there is a lot of hockey left to be played before those matchups are set.

4. Brooks Bandits (6) -- Finally beat Okotoks. Couldn't beat Aaron Dell though. Another big game tonight against Camrose. Their next 5 are at home.

5. Olds Grizzlys (3) -- Should have declined those powerplays against Bonnyville. Two short handed goals and the Pontiacs led 4-1 after 1 with only 6 shots on goal. Good job raising close to 10-grand for cancer research.

6. Okotoks Oilers (4) -- A busy four game week for the Oilers as they beat the Royals and Eagles, lost in OT to Brooks and fell 4-2 to Olds.

7. Grande Prairie Storm (7) -- A dominating win in Lloydminster on Friday and this team turns things around. Or do they? They lose to the Bobcats on Saturday. They do get nine goals against Drayton Valley which is better than Fort Mac's 8 goals.

8. Calgary Canucks (10) -- Note to whoever draws Calgary in the first round. Try to catch Aaron Dell on an off night. The Canucks were poised to vault much higher in the rankings with impressive wins over Brooks, Camrose and Bonnyville before that little slip up against the Royals.

9. Fort McMurray Oil Barrons (9) -- Nothing like a two game set with Drayton Valley to stop a losing streak. Their schedule is seeing double as they have a pair with each of St. Albert, Lloydminster and Spruce Grove to finish out the year trying to catch Bonnyville for fourth place.

10. Lloydminster Bobcats (12) -- As playoff ready as they are ever going to be. They were 0-5 in the season series against possible first round opponent Grande Prairie until finally getting that win on Saturday.

11. Camrose Kodiaks (8) -- The injury bug has hit. The Kodiaks now know how the Pontiacs feel.

12. Bonnyville Pontiacs (13) -- The Pontiacs get a couple of guys back in Isley and Hennessey while picking up a pair of wins down south. Hewson and Bertagnolli missed time in Canmore on Sunday so their injury total could be climbing again.

13. Drumheller Dragons (11) -- The six 20 year olds on this roster are not going to go quietly. The Dragons will be a tough first round opponent.

14. Canmore Eagles (14) -- The future looks bright in Canmore.

15. Calgary Royals (15) -- Take that cross town rivals. 40% of all the Royals points this year have come against the Canucks.

16. Drayton Valley Thunder (16) -- Somebody review this for us. We don't know anyone who's been.

MONDAY

2009-02-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

There aren't any games tonight so we are going to delay the Power Rankings for a day. They will be out tomorrow morning.

Spruce Grove will be first, Drayton Valley will be last, it's the teams in the middle that have yet to be decided.

SUNDAY

2009-02-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

If Aaron Dell can get into the heads of a team that he has only faced once this year and lost in that game then he did it last night. After a number of glorious Pontiacs scoring chances where Dell was the difference the Calgary Canucks took a 1-0 lead late in the first period on a seeing eye shot from Ottis Rabbit.

"We responded like the sky had fallen" said Assistant coach Ryan Pollock after the game as the Canucks took over the game in the second period adding a second goal when Steven Murray's shot went wide, came back off the end boards, hit Tyler Pugh in the back of the leg and bounced into the goal.

The Pontiacs needed the 2nd intermission to regroup and came out a desperate squad in the third but Shawn Bates' 21st of the year was too little too late as John Dunbar restored the two goal lead and Mitch Kolukowski added an empty netter.

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Greg Hennessey wanted to play last night but Chad Mercier erred on the side of caution by sitting him out for a game. He could enter back into the lineup this afternoon.

Beau Bertagnolli is questionable after blocking a shot last night.

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Six games left before the playoffs and the Pontiacs and Oil Barrons are tied for fourth place. Whoever ends up in that fourth position will have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs against the team that finishes in fifth. It will be quite the finish to the season.

Here are the remaining schedules for the two teams:

Bonnyville
@Canmore
Spruce Grove
@Spruce Grove
Lloyd
Olds
St. Albert

Fort Mac
St. Albert
@Lloyd
@Lloyd
@St. Albert
Spruce Grove
Spruce Grove

The combined records of the teams Bonnyville faces is 180-117-13-25. The combined records of the teams Fort Mac plays is 182-112-14-30.

And don't forget St. Albert. With only 5 games left and being 3 points out it will be tough but by no means impossible.

The Steel are:
@Fort McMurray
@Sherwood Park
Fort Mac
Grande Prairie
@Bonnyville

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I'm not at work tomorrow morning so the Power Rankings will be out tomorrow afternoon.

SATURDAY

2009-02-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

After 20 minutes last night the Bonnyville Pontiacs had 6 shots on goal. They led the hockey game 4-1. Things had been going so wrong for the Pontiacs in the last two weeks it was time the bounces started going their way and that happened at 8:58 of the first period when Dennis Cadrin opened the scoring when he bounced a pass in off a defenders skate and it ended up behind the Olds goaltender.

From that point on it became obvious that things were going Bonnyville's way. Despite the 9 minor penalties called against the Pontiacs the penalty killing was great against an Olds team that was clicking at 29% on the powerplay in their last 6 games.

While the shot totals might have been a little inflated it was still a great performance from Julien Laplante who has shown in his last couple starts that he has returned to the form that got him named to the CJHL prospects game.

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The Pontiacs held a 4-1 lead after one but the Grizzlys fought back in the second to make it close with a pair of goals but Bonnyville would add the insurance marker in the third.

In the Pontiacs 24 losses this year they have held the lead at some point in 9 of those games.

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Laplante got the start in goal last time the Pontiacs played the Canucks in the final game before the Christmas break. The Pontiacs won 4-3 in overtime with Laplante making 19 stops.

Tonight will be the second and final meeting between the two teams.

Last season the teams split the season series with both teams picking up 3-1 wins in the oppositions barn.

PONTIACS vs. GRIZZLYS

2009-02-06T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Bonnyville Pontiacs will try to snap their five game losing streaks against one of the hottest teams in the AJHL. The Olds Grizzlys are winners of six straight and eight of their last 10 to get themselves back into the race for first place in the South.

There is a HUGE bet on this game. It's head shave for cancer night in Olds and an old radio buddy of mine now works in Olds so here's the audio from his morning show this morning.

The Pontiacs are 1-1 in Cancer fundraiser games this year having beat St. Albert on Matt Cook night in Bonnyville on January 2nd but losing to the Steel on pink jersey night on January 24th.

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Chad Mercier discusses the injury situation on Behind the Bench.

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The Grizzlys are the only team the Pontiacs have not played this year. The two teams split the two game season series last year with both teams winning on home ice.

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Powerplay:

Overall (league rank)

Pontiacs (5) 20% 57/280

Grizzlys (7) 18% 62/338

Home

Grizzlys (7) 20% 34/169

Road

Pontiacs (5) 20% 29/144

Penalty Kill:

Overall

Grizzlys (7) 83% 56/327

Pontiacs (11) 81% 58/302

Home

Grizzlys (5) 84% 24/154

Road

Pontiacs (10) 81% 30/162

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I got this e-mail from a blog reader with too much time on his hands:

I figured out what Bates is looking at.

Yes that's my head on Shawn Bates' body. While he got better looking it's a lot more scary.

THURSDAY

2009-02-05T05:26:00.001-08:00

Anyone else get the feeling that Wednesday just didn't exist? I'm back from the brink and would like to add that the staff at the Bonnyville Hospital are the absolute best healthcare professionals ever.

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It's not quite Regis and Kelly but there's more pub for the book. Go Dad!

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It's not just a 1988 John Cusack movie anymore. The Bonnyville Pontiacs won't have 8 men out this weekend but it will likely be close. After playing without eight regulars in their final game before the all star break the Pontiacs will get at least Jeremy Gerhardt back in the lineup for tomorrow night in Olds. Everyone else remains either "out" or "questionable".

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Looks like I've made the big time. One of the most widely read sports blogs in Canada is Rod Pedersen's. Earlier this week Rod added TheRobbHunter.com to his blog list.

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Well rested Pontiacs doesn't mean much unless you like patterns.

Here are the results for games when the Pontiacs have had at least four days between games.

Nov 7th: W, 3-1, Drumheller, 4 days off
Nov 12th: L, 3-0, @ Grande Prairie, 4 days off
Nov 21st: W, 2-1, Brooks, 5 days off
Dec 13th: L, 3-2, @ Okotoks, 7 days off (The Pontiacs were supposed to play in Brooks on the 12th but that game was cancelled due to weather)
Jan 2nd: W, 6-5, St. Albert, 11 days off over Christmas
Jan 9th: L, 7-5, Lloydminster, 4 days off

Feb 6th: If you follow the Win Loss Win patter the Pontiacs should win tomorrow in Olds. The Pontiacs have had 8 days off thanks to the All Star break.

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Playoff ticket packages are available at the Pontiacs office. Ticket prices are available on the Pontiacs website.

The most important part of getting your playoff packages is that is the ONLY way to guarantee the seat you want for your season ticket next year.

If you don't buy a playoff package and end up not sitting next to who you want to next year don't whine about it.

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While you're on the Pontiacs webpage check out the team photo of the guys in their pink Jersey's and try to tell me what you think Shawn Bates is looking at. My guess is the evil injury monster.

TUESDAY

2009-02-03T05:07:00.001-08:00

Looks like Rylan Weist has some big expectations in Camrose. He was listed as Shawn Ostrow in the boxscore from Friday night so our bad for including him in the Power Rankings.

We thought it was a little strange he would be willing to pick up 18 minutes in penalties in his first game back.

At some point yesterday (3 days after the game) the box score was changed.

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I will now be working on getting Kirk Belyk removed from the December 13th box score for the Pontiacs game against Okotoks. He didn't play in it but was listed anyways. At least he didn't pick up any penalty minutes.

If I succeed in doing this it might be good for an extra 0.1 for his points per game. If it works out Belyk can buy me lunch.

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Former Bonnyville Pontiacs all star Mark Letestu celebrates his 24th birthday tomorrow.

Letestu is playing for the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL and is currently 5th in team scoring with 13 goals 16 assists and 29 points in 41 games.

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Brance Orban of the Olds Grizzlys is currently the hottest player in the AJHL. Not counting the 6 points he put up in the All Star game Orban is on a 5 game multi point streak. Of the top ten scorers in the league only Jarret Granberg of Brooks has matched that mark this year. Orban has 9 goals and 4 assists during this stretch and will try to extend the streak tomorrow night at home against Okotoks.

MONDAY

2009-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually a big fan of all star games but the one at Max Bell in Calgary on the weekend was great. A 14-13 score obviously meant there was no hitting in the game but this wasn't the lazy skate up and down the ice NHL game. These guys were flying out there.

Pontiacs fans will be happy to know that while he didn't get on the scoresheet it was Ashton Hewson who won 3 straight faceoffs in the offensive zone with his team down by 1 to give them the chance to tie it.

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Don't know if this was an official motion that needed a vote but expect players who get called for fighting while another fight is in progress to pick up a three (3) game suspension from this point on.

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Ok.. so I'm fine with Pittsburgh winning the Superbowl and the chances of the last second hail marry working were probably not good but why when I'm watching games in October that I don't really care about do I have to sit around for 4-5 minutes waiting for a booth review of a replay that looks obvious the first time you view it but when in the Superbowl there is a incomplete pass/fumble on the decided play do they not spend more than 14 seconds on it? Sure they call for the review from upstairs in the final two minutes but did the referee even go look at it? Oh well.

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The big news out of Calgary on an NHL front had a lot to do with this song. It's the work of the Fan 960.

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I've been told by a number of people that they had problems logging in to watch the all star broadcast. Sorry about that. You missed a good game. If it is the last AJHL all star game they are going out on a high note.

POWER RANKINGS presented this week by Everything Ink Design Company

2009-02-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

1. Spruce Grove Saints (2) -- Jordan Draper scores with just over 30 seconds to play on Friday night in a win over Grande Prairie and the Saints score 6 in the third period in a come from behind win over the Cru on Tuesday. Just another average week for the Saints.

2. Sherwood Park Crusaders (1) -- Here by default as none of the other nearby competitors put in stellar weeks to overtake them. Giving up a 5-1 lead against Spruce Grove hurts.

3. Olds Grizzlys (7) -- Winners of 5 straight the Grizz are the hottest team in the South. Brance Orban was the best skater at the All Star game and their 11 rookies are playing like anything but rookies.

4. Okotoks Oilers (6) -- Seem to always find a way to beat Brooks the Oilers need to find a way to take down Olds this week. Their season series wraps up on Wednesday and the Grizzlys have beaten the Oil four times this year.

5. St. Albert Steel (8) -- Hottest team in the league the Steel are getting great goaltending from Scott McInnis, solid work from their blueline and Bryce Williamson continues his torrid scoring pace with the help of the league's youngest all star Daniel Carr.

6. Brooks Bandits (3) -- Continue to pick up the odd win with their top two D-men out of the lineup with injuries. The Bandits will hope for a speedy return for McDougall and Markiewicz as they have a busy three game week.

7. Grande Prairie Storm (4) -- Came within 40 seconds of at least earning at least a point against Spruce Grove but this team has now lost 4 of their last 5 with the only win being against Drayton Valley.

8. Camrose Kodiaks (5) -- A pair of 6-2 losses, a line brawl and the all star break over shadow the return of Shawn Ostrow to the lineup.

9. Fort McMurray Oil Barrons (9) -- After two tremendous victories in Grande Prairie the MOB enter the all star break with two losses down South.

10. Calgary Canucks (11) -- The Canucks go 1-1 this week and probably would have vaulted the Oil Barrons if not for their loss to Canmore. What a performance from Aaron Dell at the all star game.

11. Drumheller Dragons (13) -- Beat Lloydminster at home and now have only one loss in their last five games.

12. Lloydminster Bobcats (10) -- A disappointing loss in what was almost a must win game on Tuesday in St. Albert. The Cats are now 10 points back of the Steel and appear destined for seventh.

13. Bonnyville Pontiacs (13) -- The Pontiacs get a favour with the MOB losing both their games in hand and are precariously hanging onto 4th place in the North but need bodies back in the lineup for a three game southern trip this weekend. It's not a guarantee that any of their injured will be ready though.

14. Canmore Eagles (14) -- The Eagles are flying high after ending January on a two game winning streak. It's just too bad they lost the previous eight.

15. Calgary Royals (16) -- We are going to move the Royals up to 15th because they now hold 4 games in hand on Drayton Valley. They need 1 point in those four games to tie the Thunder in the standings. There is no John Taveras prize at the end of this race though.

16. Drayton Valley Thunder (15) -- Their February schedule is scary. Three against Grande Prairie, two with Fort Mac and one each with Sherwood Park and Spurce Grove.

SATURDAY NIGHT

2009-01-31T19:16:00.001-08:00

What a game! The North Division ties it with under 2 seconds to go in the third period and Zahn Raubenheimer scores the winner in Overtime to give the game to the North 14-13.

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Good crowd out to watch the game at the Max Bell. If any of those people were from Calgary and just out because of the marketing the AJHL did for this game then they should leave with a high regard for the product the AJHL has to offer.

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Yeah... I was cheering for the South as I had agreed with John Spigott (voice of the Bobcats) that one of us had to cheer for the South. Things looked good with 3 minutes to go but the competative instinct came out in the North and they were able to claw their way back into the game.

BLOGGING FROM CALGARY

2009-01-31T09:51:00.000-08:00

Best thing I've seen so far in Calgary was a pinto like vehicle with a mattress and boxspring strapped to the top driving down Deerfoot Trail. Classic.

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Friend of Kool, Chris Boutilier took Cheryl and I out for dinner last night to a place call Open Sesame where you pick out the food for them to cook. Good times.

My wife Cheryl and I arrived in Calgary before Chris was off work so we checked into the hotel and got settled. I told Cheryl that if only Matlock was on TV this would be a great example of what we get up to on the road. "This is it?" she asked me. Yeah it's not always as exciting as some people think. It is nice to have her on this trip. Although this is the first road trip of the year where "Rich bride, Poor bride" made it on the TV. Where's Matlock when you need him?

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Pontiacs all stars Steven Seigo and Ashton Hewson.

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Barry Trotz is awesome and should never ever be fired.

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Having not lived in Calgary since 2004 I had forgotten how much large groups of Flames fans annoy me.

SATURDAY

2009-01-31T09:18:00.000-08:00

It's Game Day in Calgary. Check back today and John Spigott and I will try and get some audio onto the blog today. Hope it works.

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Some interesting proposals were tabled at the semi annual meetings yesterday. Again I'll try to have more today.

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Fingers crossed for a big walk up crowd today. If you are in the Calgary area come on out. It'll be a good time. 4:30 puck drop.

FRIDAY

2009-01-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

Finishing up work early today to try and get on the road for Calgary. I'm very excited for All Star Weekend. It should be a great time.

As for the game itself one would likely expect a little bit of a high scoring game. Answer the poll question to let me know what you think about the all star game.

I asked league president Craig Cripps if this was going to be the last AJHL all star game.

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Coach Chad Mercier on Behind the Bench this morning. Listen for his picks in the Reebok All Star Shootout this weekend.

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It's Joe Colborne's birthday today.

INSIDE THE SJHL

2009-01-30T06:47:00.000-08:00

By: Dan O’Connor – Voice of the North Stars

The past seven days of the SJHL have been very intriguing. I returned vacation last Friday only to see that the Mellville Millionaires were beaten 14-0 by the Estevan Bruins. Three weeks ago the Mil's were the easy favourite to win the Sherwood Conference, and now this team is in all sorts of trouble.

I've always been a fan of the Estevan Bruins, and I feel that they are much better than a fifth place team, but 14-0? Seriously? The Mil's have since fallen into second place, and the Weyburn Red Wings are now running away with the Sherwood Conference division. Melville will likely finish second now as they currently have a seven point lead on third place Kindersley. Kindersley, Yorkton and Estevan are all competing for postioning at the bottom of the Sherwood Conference. The Notre Dame Hounds are still technically alive, but won't be for much longer.

On the Itech side, the Melfort Mustangs are heating up. Stang's coach Darrell Mann was so close to trading away his veterans at the deadline, and his decision to hold-back might earn him "Coach of the Year" consideraiton. This week Melfort goaltender Jordan Washburn posted two shutouts, leaving the goaltending situation completely up in the air. At one point David Tetrault was the clear number one, but thanks to Washburn's surge as of late, the Stang's are platooning the two tenders.

Friday night will be interesting as the Battlefords North Stars battle the Nipawin Hawks at the N.B. Civic Center. If the regular season were to end today, the Stars and Hawks would meet in the SJHL Survivor Series, so a playoff-type atmosphere is expected. The Hawks and Stars still have three more games against one another before all is said and done.

Until next week....