Oilers fans should soak in Stanley Cup moment win or lose

Ice District parties bring back 2006 Whyte Avenue memories

An Oilers fan talks to a reporter on Whyte Avenue in 2006.

No matter what happens in the Stanley Cup final, Edmonton Oilers fans should soak in the moment win or lose.

You never know when a time like this will come again. Of course for the Oilers, this is their first time in the Stanley Cup final since 2006, when the fell 3-1 in a series deciding Game 7 to the Carolina Hurricanes.

After two games of this year’s Stanley Cup final, it is likely the enthusiasm from the Oilers faithful has lost some steam. The Oilers traveled to Sunrise, Florida, for the first two contests of the NHL championship series dropping a 3-0 decision on Saturday in Game 1 and a 4-1 decision in Game 2 on Monday to the Florida Panthers.

The series now shifts to Edmonton for Games 3 and 4 to be held on Thursday and Saturday respectively at Rogers Place at 6 p.m. local time on both nights. With the stellar play of Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and the frustration the Oilers are having breaking through on the scoreboard, there is a potential those two upcoming contests could be the last games of the series.

Oilers fans hang out at a pub on Whyte Avenue in 2006.

For me personally, I have for a long time been one of those that has elected to not concern myself with the makeup of the Oilers roster or getting into debates on who should be the second line centre, the third line right-winger, on the third defensive pair or other things like that. If the Oilers win or lose, I don’t treat it like it is life or death, and I’ve long ago realized the sun comes up tomorrow no matter the result of the game.

The way I treat wins and losses from the Oilers might have come from the aftermath of the 2006 run. After falling to the Hurricanes in Game 7 of that year’s Stanley Cup final, the “Decade of Darkness” started for the Oilers where they missed the post-season for 10 straight years.

With all that said, I do come away very happy when the Oilers win.

Throughout the Oilers post-season run in 2024, the most heartwarming sights for me have been seeing the video of the Ice District in downtown Edmonton on TV broadcasts. That area has also been dubbed the “Moss Pit,” named after beloved long time Oilers dressing room attendant Joey Moss who passed away at age 57 in 2020.

Oilers fans cruise Whyte Avenue in 2006.

When I see video from the Ice District, I mostly see lots of young adults out having the time of their lives. The parties look like pure fun.

The images from those videos take me back to reliving the fun that happened on Whyte Avenue during the Oilers run to falling to the Hurricanes in Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup final. Back in 2006, I was at the right young adult age to be able to go out and enjoy the fun on Whyte Avenue, which was also known as “The Blue Mile.”

Living in Medicine Hat at the time, I made it to Edmonton at least on three occasions to take part in the festivities on Whyte Avenue, which was a strip filled at the time with various bars and nightclubs. 

The final trip was for the Game 7 loss, where I went to the watch party at the Oilers long time former home in the Northland Coliseum before venturing out to Whyte Avenue.

A trio of Oilers fans share a laugh on Whyte Avenue in 2006.

Back in those days, Rogers Place hadn’t been built yet, and there was not gathering epicenter by the Northlands Coliseum like the Ice District that exists now.

While the Oilers ultimately lost that night in Game 7 in 2006, the party on Whyte Avenue was still great as the people that went out wanted to hold one last celebration for the run that was. Back in 2006, it was a surprise to have the Oilers in the Stanley Cup final, because they hadn’t been to a conference final since 1992 or to the Stanley Cup final since last winning it in 1990.

I remember that party provided a chance to put a bow on how good that run was. You did get to enjoy some adult fun.

There were also some rowdy episodes that occurred on Whyte Avenue during the 2006 run, but those episodes didn’t occur on my visits there. With that noted, the Edmonton Police Service did have bigger presence along Whyte Avenue during the final game nights of the Stanley Cup final and there were some pretty rough arrests where the police were trying to make a show of force.

The Edmonton Journal from June 20, 2006.

On the final night, I saw the increased police presence, and I did witness two tough arrests. With that said, I didn’t think the police presence took away from the fun that was had on that night.

Those that went out still got to live out one great final party chapter that provided a final and lasting memory of that run.

When I see the video of the festivities out at the Ice District with the current generation of young adults, it makes me wish I was that young again. They might not know it yet, but they are making memories that they will always carry with them.

Now, it would be great to see rally back to win the Stanley Cup. Still for Oilers fans, they should try their best to enjoy the moment right now, because you never when they will get back to the Stanley Cup final again. Missing out would definitely be no fun.

Berries game night experience a blast, other notes

Ryan Olchoway sets to unload a pitch for the Berries.

The Saskatoon Berries have turned Cairns Field into the place to be during the spring and summer in “The Bridge City.”

The Berries are playing through their debut season in the Western Canadian Baseball League, and the game day experience might be one of the best you will find in minor league baseball. They have numerous promotions going on throughout the game, brought in numerous new concession options that feature items with Saskatoon Berries in them, sell a locally made beer with the team name on it that has a Saskatoon Berry taste to it and added a cool jumbo video board in the outfield next to the scoreboard.

The club’s mascot in Barry The Bear helps create a positive vibe that you can feel throughout the park. The Berries have produced the perfect spot where you can go out and enjoy quality high level baseball on a hot summer day or night.

They also have a small store at Cairns Field, where you can pick up their wonderful merchandise. They have the best merchandise you will see from any sports team anywhere.

Of course with the Berries being a first year team, the wins have been a little hard to come by. After 13 games, the Berries have posted a 5-8 record and sit fifth in the WCBL’s East Division. At the moment, they have won their last two straight.

A look at Cairns Field during a Berries home game.

They will face a big challenge in their next two games taking on the Medicine Hat Mavericks, who top the East Division with an 8-4 mark. The Mavericks have been one of the WCBL’s top five teams for most of the past 22 years. The two sides go at it on Wednesday and Thursday at Cairns Field with a 7 p.m. start time on both nights.

The management of the Saskatoon Entertainment Group, which owns the Berries as well as the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades and the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush, made the astute move of hiring Joe Carnahan to be the Berries head coach. Carnahan had a storied playing and coaching career with the WCBL’s Swift Current 57s.

He was a played on three league championship teams with the 57s and guided them to three more league titles as head coach. Carnahan is putting the pieces in place that should allow the Berries to reach lofty heights on the field one day.

Still, the first year Berries team in the current day battles really hard. With how outstanding the game experience is at Cairns Field, Berries home games provide a great time at the park watching baseball.

• The Saskatoon Entertainment Group has a big store on the north end of Saskatoon, where people can buy Saskatoon Blades, Saskatchewan Rush and Saskatoon Berries merchandise. The store, which is called “The Fez,” is located at 105-2803 Faithful, Avenue. The store is open from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For those looking to make purchases online, the link to get to making online purchases is right here.
• On Thursday, the Saskatoon Blades traded 20-year-old left-winger Vaughn Watterodt to the Victoria Royals in exchange for 19-year-old centre Ben Riche. Watterodt, who was a Blades fan favourite, recorded eight goals, 14 assists and a plus-eight rating in the plus-minus department in 59 regular season games with the Blades in the 2023-24 campaign. Riche played 67 regular season games split between the Moose Jaw Warriors and Royals this past season recording 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points.
• On Saturday, the Saskatchewan Roughriders opened their regular season downing the Elks in Edmonton 29-21. If Roughriders veteran starting quarterback Trevor Harris can stay healthy, they might be able to be a surprise team in the CFL this year after missing the post-season the past two years. Early on, it feels like the Roughriders are better throughout their playing roster. Rob Vanstone, who is the team’s senior journalist and historian, puts out tonnes of great stories on the team. Those stories can been found on the Roughriders website www.riderville.com.
• On Sunday, I had new content appear on the Howe Happenings blog that supports the Gordie Howe Sports Complex. I put together a piece on Muriel Gieni, who has set Canadian masters record in track and field on at least 60 occasions. That story goes into Gieni’s journey through the sport and can be found by clicking right here. I also put together a photo roundup that was highlighted by the Saskatoon Berries first ever WCBL home game and showed the busy happenings of baseball, football, softball and track and field. That post can be found by clicking right here.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.