 |
| Sam Steel celebrates his game opening goal. |
For Regina Pats fans, April 17, 2017 marked one of the most
joyful nights in recent memory to be supporter of the world’s oldest major
junior franchise.
Before a raucous sellout crowd of 6,484 spectators at the
Brandt Centre, the Pats faced the visiting Swift Current Broncos in a series
deciding Game 7 in a WHL Eastern Conference semifinal set. The Pats scored
twice before the game was five minutes old and rolled to a 5-1 victory.
The win allowed the Pats to return to the WHL’s Eastern
Conference Championship series for the first time in 24 years. The Pats - a franchise
that was founded in 1917 - also erased a 3-1 series deficit for the first time
in team history.
As the final minute of that Game 7 victory against the
Broncos ticked away, the Brandt Centre faithful stood and roared the entire
time. The cheers grew louder and louder and hit a peak when the time left on
the third period clock elapsed.
 |
| Filip Ahl (#61) battles in the corner for the Pats. |
At that moment, I was standing in the Zamboni tunnel behind
the Pats net shooting pictures of the scene that was unfolding. A few of the
old Brandt Centre staffers were still around from when I lived in Regina from
1995 to 2001.
Back in that time, the staff made the Brandt Centre feel
like one of the most friendly rinks on the WHL circuit. That friendly feeling
extended to that game day and even the present day with the new staffers.
During the 2016-17 WHL campaign, I felt I established a
pretty good rapport with the staff at the Brandt Centre.
 |
| Connor Hobbs had three assists in the win. |
After the third period clock hit zero in that Game 7 win
over the Broncos, I remember one of the staffers opening the Zamboni door
behind the Pats net and telling me in a fun tone to get out there on the ice.
From the ice, I remember looking up at the crowd and thinking,
“Holy (explanative)!”
That was the loudest I’ve ever heard the crowd at the Brandt
Centre. I took a moment to soak in that site of pure joy.
While Regina loves the Pats, the thought was imbedded in my
mind that fate wouldn’t allow the Pats to have a moment like that. The Pats had
won three Memorial Cup titles in their history, but the last came back in 1974.
They hadn’t been to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship
series since 1993 until beating the Broncos in Game 7 on that night at home in
2017. I was always convinced that something would happen to derail a good Pats
season.
In 2016-17, the Pats were outstanding. They finished first
in the overall WHL regular season standings with a 52-12-7-1 mark.
 |
| The Pats faithful cheer on their team at the Brandt Centre. |
For much of the campaign, the Pats were rated first in the
Canadian Hockey League’s top 10 rankings and topped the final rankings that
were released on March 22, 2017.
The Pats swept the Calgary Hitmen 4-0 in a best-of-seven
first round playoff series.
All of a sudden, it seemed like Regina’s magical run would
come to an end at the hands of the Broncos.
The Broncos took a 3-1 lead in the series, and Pats star
overage captain Adam Brooks went down with a knee injury in Game 2 of the
series.
 |
| Nick Henry was one of the Pats key players. |
If the Pats rallied, they would have to win three games in
four nights beginning Friday, April 14, 2017. In an outstanding major junior
playoff encounter, the Pats stayed alive with a 3-2 victory.
If you went out on the Dewdney Avenue strip after that Pats
victory, you would have thought the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders were going
to the Grey Cup or had won the Grey Cup. That was how good parties were after
that Pats second round Game 5 win.
The Pats were far from out of the woods. Game 6 would be
played the next night at the Credit Union i-Plex in Swift Current, and the
Broncos faithful were gitty about holding a Saturday night celebration likes of
which that small Saskatchewan centre hadn’t seen in some time.
Just 2:27 into the second period of Game 6, the Broncos
scored twice to go ahead 3-1. After those tallies, Broncos captain Glenn Gawdin
broke in on Pats netminder Tyler Brown on a breakaway and the sellout crowd of
2,890 at the Credit Union i-Plex rose to their feet expecting another goal.
 |
| Tyler Brown keeps focused on the action up ice. |
Brown stoned Gawdin to the disappointment of the onlookers.
Had Gawdin scored at that moment, it likely would have been lights out for the
Pats in the 2017 WHL playoffs.
The Pats scored twice late in the second to even things up
and 3-3 and skated away with a 5-3 victory.
Two nights later, the Pats skated into a series deciding
Game 7 with all sorts of momentum.
Just 2:19 into Game 7, Pats star centre Sam Steel popped
home the rebound on a shot taken from linemate Nick Henry to give the Pats a
1-0 lead. Pats import winger Filip Ahl followed that up with a breakaway goal
at the 4:57 mark of the opening frame and the “Pats’ Regiment” was in a frenzy
after that tally.
Swift Current did have an opportunity to get back into the
contest closing out the final nine minutes of the opening frame with three
power-play chances.
 |
| The Pats mob Tyler Brown after their series win. |
Brown stoned Broncos star winger Tyler Steenbergen on a
golden opportunity in close and robbed Broncos import rearguard Artyom Minulin
with a huge glove save on a rocket shot through a screen from the point.
The Pats proceeded to pull away with a convincing win from
that point. Offensive defenceman Connor Hobbs had three assists and was a
plus-four in the plus-minus department in the romp.
During that 2017 playoff run, that night was the only time
the Pats clinched a series win at home.
Following that big victory, the Pats won the WHL Eastern
Conference title downing the Lethbridge Hurricanes in six games with Brooks
returning to game action. Regina proceeded to fall in the WHL Championship
series in six games to the Seattle Thunderbirds.
 |
| The Pats salute their fans at the Brandt Centre. |
The Thunderbirds took Game 6 of the series with a 4-3 win in
overtime in Regina after erasing a 3-1 deficit in the third period.
The Broncos wrote a good epilogue after falling to the Pats
in Game 7 in 2017. Swift Current finished second overall in the WHL standings
in 2017-18 with a 48-17-5-2 record and went on to win the WHL title in that
campaign.
Still, Pats fans will never forget that Game 7 victory over
the Broncos in 2017. When that victory happened, the realization of a long Pats
playoff run was better than the dream.
Could WWE provide clue for normal times,
other notes
When the WWE tours again, is that a sign the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic is over?
When the WWE does indeed start touring again, it will not be
the sign the COVID-19 pandemic is either over or not. It will probably be a
tangible sign that things are moving more to the direction of being normal.
The main driver of the sports entertainment company are the
weekly televisions shows it produces like Monday Night RAW, NXT and SmackDown.
A massive COVID-19 outbreak on the WWE roster would have a severe impact on the
storylines that come out in weekly television programs, and those storylines
build towards pay per view events.
WWE has made last minute adjustments at different moments
during the past year due to positive COVID-19 tests.
For most of the last 13 months, RAW and SmackDown were
filmed at an empty WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, Florida, or a virtual online
video screen crowd venue set up the WWE calls the Thunderdome, which was held
at Tropicana Field in Tampa.
NXT has been filmed at the Performance Centre since October
in front of a virtual onscreen crowd and a small gather of fans. Before that,
NXT was being filmed at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida without
fans going back to March 2020.
Last weekend, the WWE had its first huge live crowds in over
13 months this past weekend hosting WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in
Tampa this past Saturday and Sunday. The WWE maxed out the crowd they were
allowed to have on each night at 25,675 spectators.
Before WrestleMania 37, the last major crowd WWE had for a
weekly show was the episode of RAW that aired on March 9, 2020.
WWE wanted fans back at its showcase event in WrestleMania
but hasn’t made public any plans to go back to touring full time or holding any
other live shows.
WWE has moved its Thunderdome from Tropicana Field in Tampa
to the Yuengling Center located at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The move was made due to the fact the Tampa Bay Rays, who are the main tenant
at Tropicana Field, have begun their MLB season.
This past Monday’s RAW was filmed at the new Thunderdome
location. The WWE plans to remain at the Yuengling Center while gauging when it
would be prudent to return to a live weekly model.
In an interview with Joe Otterson of Variety for a story
that went live on Wednesday, WWE president and chief revenue officer Nick Khan
did open the door for the possibility of having more live in person events.
Khan said plans have been made and to stay tuned for
announcements.
“But just know that once we’re back on the road, we’re on
the road full time,” said Khan. “We’re not looking to do other one offs.
“Again, this was WrestleMania, and we felt it needed to be
done for the fans. So look for news coming soon.”
When the WWE does return to touring, it will be interesting
to see how that looks. The company could tour first in states in the United
States that have removed a significant amount of COVID-19 protocols regarding
large gatherings.
For a company that is used to touring all over the world,
would touring in a handful of states equate to touring full time?
Outside of Khan’s quote, the WWE doesn’t seem to be in too
much of a rush to leave the safe filming confines of the Thunderdome.
On Thursday, the WWE released 10 wrestlers including Samoa
Joe, Peyton Royce, Billie Kay, Chelsea Green, Mickie James, Tucker, Kalisto, Bo
Dallas, Mojo Rawley and Wesley Blake. The released talent was severely
underused by the WWE.
If the WWE was going to return to touring any time soon, it
would be hard to see all these cuts getting made.
A year ago around this time, the WWE released just over 20
people in the talent department. Those releases were part of the company’s
initial reaction to a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In current times, the WWE is still making major amounts of
money and produces a massive profit.
- On Friday, organizers
cancelled the Regina Folk Festival for the second straight year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s event was slated to be held Aug. 6 to 8 in Victoria
Park in the Saskatchewan capital city. Organizers do hope to hold some
type of summer programming.
- On Friday, the WHL’s
Brandon Wheat Kings announced Doug Gasper will be the club’s new general
manager. Gasper has been an assistant general manager for the Wheat Kings
since 2019. He will replace Darren Ritchie, who is leaving the Wheat Kings
to become an amateur scout with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs. Ritchie
became the Wheat Kings general manager in July of 2019. He will stay on
with the Wheat Kings until they complete their current WHL regular season,
which is being held for developmental purposes.
- On Friday, the NHL’s Ottawa
Senators announced they signed 21-year-old winger Cole Reinhardt to a three-year
entry-level contract that will start with the 2021-22 season. Reinhardt
had been playing on an amateur tryout contract with the AHL’s Belleville
Senators. He has three goals and four assists in 21 games this season in
Belleville. Reinhardt played four seasons with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat
Kings from 2016 to 2020 appearing in 252 career regular season games
collecting 75 goals, 66 assists and a plus-11 rating in the plus-minus
department.
- On Saturday, the WHL
announced the Tri-City Americans have suspended all activities due to a
positive COVID-19 test to a player. The Americans have had three games so far
postponed including a Saturday clash with the visiting Spokane Chiefs. In
a release, the WHL said it was working in consultation with the Washington
State Department of Health regarding the situation with the Americans. Being located in the United States, the Americans situation will likely be dealt with differently compared to positive tests involving clubs located in Canada. The
Americans last played this past Tuesday, when they fell 4-2 to the Seattle
Thunderbirds in Kent, Wash.
- Saskatoon products Emily
Clark and Sophie Shirley are currently taking part in the selection camp
for Canada’s senior national women’s hockey team in Halifax, N.S. The camp
runs through to Thursday. The camp is the final opportunity to evaluate
players for the women’s worlds, which are scheduled for May 6 to 16 in
Halifax and Truno, N.S.
- On Thursday, Danny Austin,
a Postmedia sportswriter in Calgary, stirred the pot tweeting out a letter
from Alberta Health dated from April 9, 2021 regarding the return of
crowds for performance events. The letter targeted late July for the
removal of capacity restrictions for performance events in Alberta. The
letter said the targets were contingent on how the COVID-19 pandemic plays
out including progress on vaccinations. There had been talk this sort of
letter existed, and Austin posted it after he got a copy of it. The
reactions in the replies went all over the place. The tweet is shown
below.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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