Pictures taken by me from "the landing pad" in Duncan. Pipers opening up game 3, left/right/centre from our broadcast location, and a picture of our setup on the pad. Pictures of Bulldogs fans, the celebration after the game was over and the handshake also. Thanks to the BIG DOG Les Doiron for the picture of the clock after the emptynetter.
Alright, now onto some non-Bulldog and non-BCHL talk. Some of my previous experince as a play-by-play broadcaster comes from my time as the voice of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's O.C.N (short for Opaskwayak Cree Nation) Blizzard. It's hard not to think of my times and experiences in OCN a time or two when it comes down to this time of year. I was there for 4 consecutive league titles, 1 inter-provincial championship, and 1 National Championship, the Royal Bank Cup. Memories indeed. Anyone thats been a part of ONE season like any I had in OCN no doubt has lifelong memories with them. It could take a simple mention of the word "championship", or "RBC" and I get something running through my mind. Sometimes it takes an amazing effort by a Bulldog player or the team as a whole and my mind starts running. My memory was jogged this time around to years gone by after I was sent an email that had a link to some video highlights from the Blizzard website
It wasn't the greatest of video or the greatest of cameras, but it brought me back. The building there, the dark, menacing, loud, "GLMC" (short for Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre) was a crazy place, that the DAWG Pound here in Alberni reminds me of at times. The GLMC has the same horn as the Mulitplex does (thats a whole nother story) but the horn is louder I think in OCN because it's not regulated at all and the acoustics in the building there were unreal. With a high arched roof and no acoustic tiles everything was louder than loud. Couple that with almost every single fan having an air horn of some sort and you've got a great place to play a hockey game. Not a great place to CALL a hockeygame just because our broadcast booth had no roof and there was nothing to muffle the noise. Lost the voice more than a couple times there.
Take a look at the video, from the Blizzard advancing in 5 games in round 1.
My memories for the most part are caught in this PODCAST
Not the greatest of quality at times as the clips are from casette, computer, radio, VHS, you name it. Highlights there from the first league championship at home, after winning 3 years in a row, all on the road. More clips from my friend Terence Tootoo, brother to Nashville Predator Jordin Tootoo. The clips were on the reel to begin with, but they carried a bigger meaning after Terence tragically took his own life. Highlights from the RBC as well, and inter-provincial play. While that highlight reel sure takes me back to the past, I always snap back to the present and think of the team here and their chance to give us all memories like those ones that will never go away. More importantly, it's a chance for them to earn those memories for themselves. I'm not handicapping the chances of this team in anyway, but the fact is that if you are still playing, you still have a chance. I've been there and I've seen it and lived it, and I'd sure love to live it again.
Thanks for stopping by the blog,
Hammer
3 comments:
Its amazing how seeing old clips can bring back all the emotions you felt that day i myself cant wait for the chiefs dvd that is being made it will be a huge walk down memory lane with the heartache of losing to vernon in the league finals at home then the joy of beating vernon the next year in thier barn for the title or to losing to those stinkin blizzard in the rbc semi finals in 2002
Yeah, they sure flood back don't they? That Chiefs/Blizzard RBC semi final game was one of the best games I've ever seen or broadcasted. I can't remember the scoring summary exactly, but I remember OCN jumping ahead maybe 2-0, then Chilliwack going ahead 3-2 in the second. OCN scored late in the second to tie, and then late in the third to win. Big moment was the flying elbow thrown by a Chief d-man (Barlow?, and that's just a wild guess, this was a while ago now) that resulted in a broken nose to Everett Bear and a Blizzard 5 minute powerplay and the ejection of the Chief player. Shots were something like 45-45 if I remember correctly. Great game to win, hard game to lose.
The Finals were even harder to lose, 1-1 late in the third, and Halifax scored the winner and added an empty netter. So close, yet so far. While the playing field is somewhat leveled now with all of Canada having a MAX of 9 20 year olds, the BCHL is at a disadvantage when it comes to experience in a tournament like that. We had about 10 or 11 20 year olds and that was alot. Halifax had about 18 or 19 20 year olds if I remember correctly.
it was barlow but i think he was given a high sticking major but thats just memory and its not 100% im still bitter that halifax won it that year after the stunt they pulled on the chiefs since they did the flight arrangments they had the chiefs flying all day with connections all over the place and getting in at 10pm local time and a afternoon game the next day to open the tourney against halifax
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