Monday, March 7, 2011

Things that make me go hmm...

  • Are you still shaking your head at what you saw Saturday night at Prospera Place? Feelings are mixed about the bottle tossing incident that Rich Preston was involved in after his Lethbridge Hurricanes fell 5-3 to the Kelowna Rockets. I have to say, I loved it. I find no fault in Preston snapping after a goal was taken away from his team when a linesman made a penalty call and informed the referee's of the infraction after the Hurricanes scored. The way Preston handled himself despite being irate at the call was impressive. He got his message across at how upset he was (ie: bottle throwing) without looking like a one year-old that just got his favourite toy taken away from him. His calm demeanour, outside of his 30 second verbal encounter with referee Klein, has to be applauded. He littered the ice, but could have stomped and banged his way as he exited the Hurricanes bench. Instead he calmly left the situation and made his way to the dressing room. If people want to suggest he embarrassed himself, they haven't seen the coaches that take their clothes off as the result of a bad call or jump up on the boards and slam a stick in protest. Preston's antics were nothing close.
  • What is Preston's punishment? Will a 25 hundred dollar fine do the trick? I can't see him being suspended for the outburst.
  • After further review it looks like Rockets defenceman Zak Stebner was the one that was speared by Hurricanes forward Graham Hood. Color Analyst Gord McGarva points out the infraction on video before the play continues up the ice. The fact is Klein never called it and play continued. So if he saw it as a non-infraction, the waters get even muddier when the linesman suggests it was a spear and essentially overrules the referee.
  • I know they are allowed too, but should linesman have the authority to call penalties outside of two many men on the ice calls? If two referee's don't see the infraction on the ice or believe that its a non-call, shouldn't it remain that way? My belief is these type of calls by a linesman at the WHL level are rare and we hope it remains that way.
  • I understand the camera crew in the building are getting a bad wrap for the video coverage of Preston's outburst. During the altercation, the camera crew often move away from the Hurricanes bench and show pictures of the goaltenders, the Rockets bench and even the crowd. I am told the video crew has a long document that they must adhere too when 'shooting the game' and when incidents like this occur. I don't have all the details of those guidelines, but not to embarrass the opposition team is roughly part of those requirements. If the camera/video crew had free reign, can you imagine what type of damage they could do with additional graphics?
  • The biggest concern for me on the broadcast was painting the picture of Preston's outburst without overselling it. The video evidence is available for everyone on YouTube with our commentary as part of the package. Any time an opposition coach is sour at a call that was made by an official, I always ask myself how would I react if the shoe was on the other foot.
  • Lost in the bottle tossing incident was Tyson Barrie's two goal effort. Barrie scored for the first time in 20 games. Going 19 games without a goal had to be in the back of the mind of the offensively gifted defenceman, especially with his buddy - Stefan Elliot of the Saskatoon Blades - was celebrating his 30th goal from the blue line on the weekend.
  • The biggest difference between the teams fighting for their playoff lives and those in the middle of the pack is consistency. Lethbridge isn't that bad of a team nor is Chilliwack, yet both teams are fighting for their playoff lives. When both teams work hard and execute, they have a great chance of winning. Getting that consistent effort is often the problem.
  • The Rockets now have a six point lead on Vancouver for first place in the BC Division. The Giants also lost their top point getter Brendan Gallagher to a concussion. I've met Gallagher several times and am impressed by how he carries himself and how hard he plays the game. He's a fun player to watch and a great asset to the league. Sure he plays for Vancouver, but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate what this player brings to the arena on a consistent basis.
  • Wheat Kings broadcaster Bruce Luebke informs me that his 'Best of the East' poll will be released later this week. This is obviously the same poll that is conducted in the Western Conference by the Tri City Herald. You can hear the results of the survey when Luebke provides us with an audio feature during Wednesday's broadcast.
  • The Swift Current Broncos needed a win desperately on the weekend and they got it. A 2-0 shutout over Calgary was a must. Even with a strong run down the stretch, teams like Prince Albert and Brandon would have to buckle under the pressure for the Broncos to even have a prayer.

6 comments:

Jared Comeau said...

"The way Preston handled himself despite being irate at the call was impressive."

I have to disagree with you here Regan. He indeed acted like a 2 year old who just had his favorite toy taken away. Doesn't matter if he did it with a smile on his face, I guarentee you any self respecting coach would not toss the entire contents of the bench onto the ice like he did, or else you would see it more often. Complete joke and lack of class by Rich Preston

g.k said...

Hey Regan I have to agree with you, no matter what Jared has to say!! Preston could have been quite a bit more irate than he was, I mean he threw a few empty plastic bottles on the ice & a frickn' clipboard, c'mon!! Jared, no one got hurt, he made his point that he was upset & he entertained 6000 fans!! I loved it & so did most fans that were there.

jaz301 said...

Yes What he did could have been a lot worse. He could have thrown a bench out there, hockey sticks, his tie, he could have slammed the door behind him when he left. I quite enjoyed his antics. And besides there have been worse people out there then Preston. Just look at John Tortorella. He practically has a spaz with the media every game. okay maybe a bit exaggerated, but he did have his own top 10 last week.

As for the camera men I guess that makes sense. Yes it would have been nice if the camera guys should the whole thing, but I guess there are guidelines that they have to follow. The video on youtube was not that good, but your guys commentary makes it better.

I also noticed we all got side tracked by the game as you never really posted any post game. I thought the game itself was pretty good. Nice to see Barrie get a couple goals after 19 games without. With 6 points up and 7 games left is it safe 2 say we have 2nd place locked up pretty much? (knock on wood)

Gord McGarva said...

Next time Lethbridge is in town, how about the first 6007 fans receive free water bottles.... 2nd thought, that might not be a good idea.

Stuff happens and it is tough being human sometimes. We all react differently. This had to be brewing from past events.

Now, let’s bring on the playoffs ! ! ! !

Jared Comeau said...

Don't get me wrong, I thorougly enjoyed watching that. However, I was laughing at him, not with him.

jaz301 said...

Gord what we could do is have one of those puck throwing contest that the person closet to the center wins. Except instead of pucks we use water bottles. hahaha


Yes lets bring on the playoffs! I am looking forward to them. Hopefully this year we get more fans then we did last year.