Weekend Road Trip- Sunday

The final day of this three game road trip started at 10:00am. I started the day off by touching up the blog site while watching the Toronto Argonaunts and Montreal Alouettes game in Moncton, New Brunswick; a great crowd on hand and hearing Chris Cuthbert call the game makes it that much better.

I’m about to go pick up Christian from the airport. He’s been on vacation back in BC for the past week so I’ve been the sports and agriculture guy for the time being. It’ll be great to have him back in the newsroom as well as in the booth for tonight’s Kings and Terriers game.

Our view of the ice from the broadcast booth. Walking across the ice is Kings trainer Tyrol Deeg.

After picking up Christian and having some lunch, we went out to try and find Christian a new hockey helmet. He and I are skating with a recreation league starting October 14th and he came back to Dauphin with all of his gear. He’s missing a few pieces at this point and didn’t end up getting anything on this day. Still plenty of time…

We got back to the house at 2:30 as I finished up my game preparation and packed up the vehicle to head back to Dauphin right after the game. We left Winnipeg at 4:00 and arrived at the brand new PCU Centre just before 5:30. It is a gorgeous building, and very similar to Credit Union Place in Dauphin. There are a few noticeable differences including a raised walking track, a different colour scheme and the press boxes have windows that can be opened and closed. It’s a neat design but it can shield parts of the ice when sitting down. Otherwise the PCU Centre is great.

Our broadcast booth. Christian sat next to the wall. Very roomy place to broadcast

 I caught up with both Head Coaches before the game; first Blake Spiller who is always friendly and accommodating when it comes to his line-up changes and interviews. Then I found Marlin Murray, who was outside the Kings room talking with his assistant coaches Marc Berry and Steve Bray. Once I got the changes, it was back up to the booth to watch the pre-game warm-up and hit the airwaves.

The game took a few periods to really get going. Christian and I both mentioned the fact that there were a few missed passes and broken plays which made for very little flow. Bryn Chyzyk put the Kings out to a 1-0 lead on the powerplay, which was the first goal given up by Portage in either the first or second period this season.

Cory More would answer even strength just 31 seconds into the middle period as the Kings defence lost the puck in their own zone and More went to the front of the net, took a behind the net pass from Kyle Turgeon and beat Dauphin goaltender Brett Willows to make it 1-1 after two.

The Terriers end of the ice at the PCU Centre

Kings forward Jeremy Peeke took a head check from Terriers forward Shaq Merasty, which spelled the end of the night for both players. Merasty was assessed a five minute major and the game misconduct while Peeke did not return after the play. Marlin Murray told me Monday morning that Peeke had head and neck pains, but didn’t know the extent of the injury at that point in time.

The third period was back and forth on the scoreboard. Colton Graf made it 2-1 Kings at 2:14, Tyler Moore tied it 2-2 at 11:06, Chris Daniels put the Kings back out front 3-2 at the 14:49 mark of the third period which was followed by Brendan Harms tying goal at 15:35. Brett Willows played well in this game, making key saves to keep his team in this contest while dealing with a lot of traffic in the crease. One significant turning point of the game was back in the second period when the Terriers were down by two men and were able to kill off the full two minutes of the disadvantage.

The score clock after the game. Shane Luke's extra two minutes for high sticking remains on the board

Brent Wold would score the overtime winner on a powerplay to keep the Terriers unbeaten in regulation this season. Dauphin did manage to collect 3 out a possible 6 points on the road trip, which is pretty good. 

We wrapped up our post-game show around 9:15, packed up and headed back to the vehicle. After a coffee stop, Christian drove us all the way back to Dauphin. He’s an entertaining person, especially when he likes to insert his own lyrics for certain songs on the radio!

We were back in Dauphin around midnight, and after unpacking the vehicle and getting some work done at the station I was in bed by 1:15am. Overall a pretty good road trip but it’s nice to be home! Thanks for reading!

This is the view from the concourse of the arena down the stairs that are connected to the lobby of the PCU Centre

 

Weekend Road Trip- Saturday

The day for yours truly started at 10:30am as I was updating the blog as well as my statistics for tonight’s game against the Blues. The Kings only managed sixteen shots versus the Saints the night before so I was expecting Dauphin to be much better tonight.

My wife and I did some more running around early in the day before coming home around 2:30pm so I could finish my prep and get ready for the second broadcast of the season. I was able to get a lot more done today and feel very good heading to the rink.

After wrapping up my work and packing my equipment up, I got dressed and left for the MTS Iceplex just after 5:00. The entrance to the Iceplex is a little hidden, but once you see the outside of the brand new building it’s not so bad. The Iceplex is breathtaking; the technology in the building is just amazing and the broadcast location is the best non-booth in the MJHL.

The lobby of the MTS Iceplex. You can see Marlin Murray talking to Don MacGillivray

After arriving at the rink at 6:00, I found Kings Head Coach and General Manager Marlin Murray. He was in a pretty good mood heading into the game and wanted to forget about last night’s contest. I got the scratches for the Kings as well as the pre-game interview then it was off to find Don MacGillivray. Once I caught up with MacGillivray I was able to interview him for the show as well as get his scratches for the game. Jason Gardiner had five goals coming into tonight’s contest,  according to MacGillivray Gardiner takes lots of shots and doesn’t take a lot of time with the puck. This was almost the perfect game because both teams were shutout in their previous outings so you know the scoring was going to happen early and often.

After talking to the coaches, I went inside the rink to set-up our equipment. I was very impressed with the sightlines of the Iceplex; the acoustics in the arena aren’t the greatest but other than that a flawless building. My colour man Mitchell Clinton arrived just before 7:00 and we were ready to get the broadcast on the air at 7:15.

Our vantage point at centre ice. The Blues logos are in the bottom left corner and top right corner of this picture. Also there is a Manitoba Moose logo at centre ice.

The Kings lead 2-0 after the first period and were outshooting the Blues 10-6. Angus Klassen scored both goals and finished the night with his first career hat trick, congrats Angus.

The second period was the Blues period. They outshot the Kings 14-5 and chased Dauphin starting goaltender Leo Podolsky from the net; he only gave up three goals on seventeen shots but the third one was an Adam Stoykewych wrist shot that found its way through Podolsky’s legs. There were three powerplay goals scored in the middle frame as Dauphin carried a 4-3 advantage heading to the third period.

This is the Winnipeg Blues end of the ice

Just one goal scored in the third period, as the Winnipeg Blues continued their push to tie the game and salvage another point in the standings. Conor Stephanson banged home a loose puck in the crease to tie the contest at four. Both clubs had excellent opportunities in the third period and overtime to try and win the game but this one would need a shootout. Winnipeg outshot Dauphin 13-7 in the third period and 3-2 in overtime.

In the shootout Shane Luke and Jeremy Peeke scored for the Kings while Connor Cleverley was able to beat Dauphin netminder Brett Willows for the lone Blues marker. Dauphin wins the game 5-4 in the shootout, leaving Winnipeg still without a win on the season.

Mitch and I concluded out post-game show around 10:30 and headed home. Overall a good broadcast on all accounts; I loved calling a game in the MTS Iceplex. It’s a shame the Kings and Blues don’t play more often.

The Winnipeg Blues logo on the wall. The arena the Blues play in is actually called the Winnipeg Free Press Arena

On my way home I stopped for a post-game meal and then settled in for the night. Another hectic day expected for Sunday as we pack up and head to Portage and see the new PCU Arena. I also pick up Christian Laughland from the airport; he’s been away for the past week and will join me for colour commentary against the Terriers.

I’ll post the rest of my pictures below. Thanks for reading!

The all digital clock in the arena

Our broadcast booth, from my side of the table. The Blues camera crew was situated to the left of Mitch the whole game.

A neat platform in the Winnipeg Free Press arena

Weekend Road Trip- Friday

The day started off at 9:30am as I was getting ready to meet up with Winnipeg Saints Head Coach and General Manager David Anning. I also sent off a text to Kings Head Coach and GM Marlin Murray to find out who will be sitting for tonight’s game and who will start in goal. At the time Murray confirmed that Willows would start in the crease, but he noted that the scratches were still to be determined because of a trade. Defenceman Joel Kot, who reported to training camp later than expected, had expressed interest in playing closer to his home of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. I was in constant conversation with Murray waiting for the trade to be finalized.

The first picture was taken just before 11:00 in Winnipeg. I met Anning for coffee, which was terrific! He went out of his way to accommodate me and I’ll be forever grateful for it. Anyway we chatted a little bit about his first year with the Saints, the building in St. Adolphe and the Kings as well. He also provided his scratches for the game and who his starting goaltender would be. It was great catching up one on one with David Anning; as I’ve said in a previous blog he was terrific with me last year and is one of the nicest guys in Junior ‘A’.

After the breakfast meeting, I headed back to my mother-in-laws place still waiting to hear the thumbs up to unveil the deal. At this point all I knew was that it involved Kot and that the Kings got Calvin Cairns, Eddie Friesen and cash from Neepawa. Keeping this in mind, I also understand the wishes of the Kings to allow them to make sure all parties involved know what’s going on.

My wife and I made a quick stop over at ABC to visit Principal Bev Edmundson (ABC is the Academy of Broadcasting Corporation and has produced a lot of current employees at our radio station including my wife). We spent twenty minutes roughly chatting with her about the industry and how things are going with her and us. Bev is a busy woman, but the work she does is tremendous.

After finishing up some shopping, it was back home to get ready to head to St. Adolphe. It took me roughly half an hour to get to the arena, which is a new one in the MJHL this season. The next picture is one I took outside the arena.

I arrived at the rink just before 6:00. The GPS gave me an interesting route to the arena, but nonetheless I found where I was going and went inside to check out my suroundings.

The arena itself reminds of the Dakota Community Centre, and it is a very chilly place. I talked with Marlin Murray about his scratches for that game; Calvin Cairns is set to make his Kings debut against the Saints while Eddie Friesen won’t join the team until Monday. Dauphin also added defenceman JR Krolik from the Penticton Vees.

After catching up with the coach, it was off to get my equipment set up for the first broadcast of the season. Here’s what our vantage point looked like at center ice.

The Winnipeg Saints end for the first and third periods.

The Dauphin Kings end for the first and third periods.

Here’s what our broadcast location looks like with all the equipment set up. During the game there were a few fans scattered in front of us that could hear us while watching the game.

The first broadcast of the season went well, a few glitches on my part but nonetheless once we got the first period in the rear view mirror everything was fine. The Saints ended up with their first win of the season, 5-0. Brent Wolfe stopped just sixteen shots for his first win and shutout of the season. An attendance of just 197 watched the game in St. Adolphe, I saw a few people from Dauphin that made the trip down.

Just after 10:00 we wrapped up the post-game show and I spent the next five minutes trying to warm up in the station vehicle. As I mentioned before, the arena in St. Adolphe is very cold and I did not dress properly. I drove home listening to the final minutes of the Bomber 44-40 loss to the Montreal Alouettes. I ended up getting to bed around 1am after editing the sports sheet for Saturday and completing the Kings Recap. I learned early Saturday morning that Grandview product Ryan Pulock had two assists and was a +2 in his Brandon Wheat Kings debut last night. The Wheat Kings beat the Regina Pats 5-4 in their season opener.

Saturday I’ll be sure to get some photos from the new MTS Iceplex! Thanks for reading!

Weekend Road Trip- Thursday

My last day at the station this week was pretty hectic. It started at 9:00am as I put together the latest episode of Inside the MJHL, which will air during the first intermission of tomorrow’s broadcast. It also included phone calls to Parkland Rangers Head Coach Bryan Luke and Winnipeg Saints Head Coach and General Manager David Anning.

I was able to get the brunt of the work done on Wednesday but there are always things to touch up on, double-check before I hit the road for the extended weekend. I usually travel on game day but my schedule allowed the flexibility to get into Winnipeg the night before. I’ll be blogging my daily events throughout the weekend, which will include photos from the three new locations that the Kings will play in…

Today included a trip to Credit Union Place to do an interview with Kings Assistant Coach and Director of Marketing Marc Berry. He’s an interesting guy to talk to, and seems like a natural doing interviews. He’s played in Oslo Norway and even got the chance to attend the Olympics when they were in Lillehammer back in 1994. He also keeps in contact with current Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock, and his brother Rick Berry played in the NHL with Colorado, Pittsburgh and Washington. You’ll be able to hear the whole chat on tomorrow’s pre-game show.

I mentioned Bryan Luke earlier, I ran into him as I left the rink around 2:00pm. We had a quick interview just to get an update on the Midget ‘AAA’ Parkland Rangers and how they’re feeling going into their pre-season tournament this weekend. Luke told me the team has to get rid of one goaltender (not an easy decision) after the Souris tournament as well as make some last minute roster alterations before opening the season next weekend.

My desk at 5:00pm

Normally I don’t travel with my wife, just because our schedules are different at the station. This weekend is the exception and I couldn’t be happier. She’s a wonderful traveling companion; we spent the whole drive down to Winnipeg talking about several things, including the possibility of the Jets back in Winnipeg. After the Blackhawks/Lightning game on Wednesday the discussion continues…

That’s the broadcast briefcase I travel around with for about eight months of the year. I took this just before it went in the red station vehicle.

The station vehicle with all the new logos on it.

After leaving the station at 5:30, we stopped at home just to pick up a few things before hitting the road for the four hour trip to Manitoba’s capital. My wife and I briefly stopped in Neepawa just after 7pm for dinner and then were back on the road. We hit some heavy rain leaving Neepawa, which made the drive down very challenging.As we got closer to Winnipeg, I caught a bit of the Portage/Winnipeg game on CFRY… The Terriers had a very good night at the MTS Iceplex winning 7-0.

We arrived at our final destination at 9:30, and after bringing in all the stuff I concluded the evening by updating my papers for tomorrow as well as the sports sheet.

I’ll update you again tomorrow with some pictures from St. Adolphe! Our coverage of the Kings and Saints starts with the pre-game show at 7:15.

On the road again

The road trip continues for the Kings this weekend as they’ll take on the Selkirk Steelers tonight and the Portage Terriers tomorrow.

This will be the final trip for the Kings to the Recreation Complex in Selkirk one of the best rinks to call a game in. The Kings will look to erase bad memories of a 6-4 loss to the Steelers back on September 12th. 

The Kings do hold a 9-2 record on the road this season but the 10-2 mark for the Steelers on home ice is something that can’t be overlooked in tonight’s contest.

Dauphin will have two new players in the line-up tonight; Travis Cech will wear number 13 and David Lawrence will wear sweater number 16. Lawrence came over from the Winkler Flyers earlier this week while Cech was acquired from the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos. Joe Caligiuri will start tonight’s game against the Steelers while Brett Willows will get the nod tomorrow night against the Terriers.

For the Steelers Robbie McCarthy is set to make his Selkirk debut. He came to the Steelers in a trade with the Steinbach Pistons earlier this week.

Mitchell Clinton and I will have the broadcast starting with the pre-game show at 7:15. We’ll talk to goaltender Brett Willows of the Kings and Head Coach Ryan Smith of the Steelers. During the intermissions we present episode nine of Inside the MJHL and we’ll talk to Kings Assistant Coach David Anning about his trip to Blackfalds.

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The Dauphin Clippers resume their Westman High School Hockey League schedule tonight in Neepawa versus the Tigers. Sunday afternoon they’re back at Credit Union Place to take on the Virden Golden Bears. tonight’s start time will be 7:00 while Sunday’s face off is at 2:30.

 The Midget AAA Parkland Rangers are back on the road this weekend. The Rangers will play the Winnipeg Thrashers tonight, the Pembina Valley Hawks tomorrow in Morden and the Winnipeg Wild Sunday afternoon.

Bring on the home opener!

It’s just after 4:30pm Monday afternoon and the Dauphin Kings sit at 2-1 and on top of the Sherwood Division. They have the early league lead with 13 goals with wins against the Winnipeg Saints and Steinbach Pistons. 

Taking a look back at the weekend, the Kings could’ve easily driven back to Dauphin last night with a record of 3-0 or 1-2. Friday and Saturday’s games were very close; Friday’s overtime tilt between the Saints and Kings was one of the best games I’ve called in a long time.

So what do I make of the opening weekend for the Kings? Dauphin is the team to beat, that’s the general consensus around the MJHL whether you ask an opposing broadcaster, fan, player or coach. It’s hard to believe the Winnipeg Saints and Selkirk Steelers made coaching changes because these two teams could still compete with the Winkler Flyers in the Addison Division.  

The expansion Steinbach Pistons seem to have a good team and a solid fan base as my fiancee and I attended the game yesterday afternoon. The attendance was 459 and the stands were full of fans that wanted to see what Mel Sonnenberg and the hockey staff of Pistons had put together. It might be a long year for the Pistons but at least they can build up this franchise this year and next and perhaps sneak into the playoffs next year.

The Kings meanwhile do have four solid lines that they can roll at anybody. The line of Bryce Lamb, Ryan Dreger and Shane Luke have combined for three goals and seven assists so far and are considered the “top line” for Marlin Murray’s Kings. Allias Kalinsky is tied for the team lead in points with four while both goaltenders, Brett Willows and Joe Caligiuri, look good despite Willows 5.90 goals against average.

This weekend the home schedule kicks off with the Neepawa Natives on Friday and the OCN Blizzard on Saturday. I’m curious to see if there are any nerves from the team off the start in front of the home crowd. Also if the Kings are going to win a league championship, they’ll have to play well against their own division.

With this View from the Booth I’m Kevin Jeffrey

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New acquisition Jacob Verheyden picked up his first goal as a King yesterday against the Pistons. To make room for Verheyden, Stuart Durston has been a healthy scratch the last two games.

The Kings will reveal new third jerseys Saturday night against the OCN Blizzard. The only clue I will give you is that these jerseys are a Washington Capitals red. This will be a pleasant change from the road blue and home whites.

The Kings One Hour Powerplay returns this Friday afternoon between 4 and 5pm on CKDM. The location for the show is still up in the air, but the agenda is not. We’ll get you ready for the game with the coaches show, our powerplayer of the week and the rookie report; also we’ll have news on the RBC Cup.

Also on Friday night, between 8pm and 10pm, I will be filing live updates from the Natives/Kings game and talking to several dignitaries in town that night for the “official” kick off for RBC Cup ticket sales. On Saturday Jamie Smalley and I will team up to broadcast the Blizzard and Kings match-up on CJ 1240; We’ll talk to Kevin Webster from Hockey Canada during the second intermission.

An unforgettable battle at the Dakota

When I arrived at the Dakota Community Centre on Friday night, I and probably several others had no idea what kind of game we’d be in for on night one of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League Season.

Last year these two teams combined for 12 goals in a 7-5 Saints win on the second night of the 2008/2009 season so my only guess was “expect a lot of offence”. However I never expected a see saw battle between two teams that desperately wanted that first win in their back pocket.

77 shots, 9 goals, one disallowed goal and buzzer beater later newcomer Bryce Lamb propels the Kings to a 5-4 overtime victory. This game did have a few scrums after the whistle, but cooler heads did prevail as no fights broke out in the game. Mike Boese and his last second goal at the end of the second period was something I’ll never forget; Mitchell and I in the booth were thinking “The Kings might not even get a shot here” but Boese just threw the puck on net from the blue line and it just got through the legs of Saints netminder Kent Henry and beat the buzzer to tie the game at 3. What a tough game that must have been for Grahame Heather; full marks to him and his officiating staff not only for that play, but for making sure they got the calls right even if it took some conferences.

The goaltending display was spectacular by Joe Caligiuri and Kent Henry. I always liked Henry as a goaltender, this looks like a good year for him. Caligiuri is a confident netminder, just by looking at the way he was challenging shooters at the top of his crease in last nights game.

A fantastic start to the season, what will the encore be for the Kings tonight against the Steelers? You’ll have to tune into the pre-game show on CKDM at 7:15pm with myself and Mitchell Clinton.

With this View from the Booth, I’m Kevin Jeffrey

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The Kings were fairly busy on the trade front yesterday. They dealt defenceman Alex McKinnon and goaltender Alex Micalef to the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for future considerations. They then acquired forward Jacob Verheyden from the Burnaby Express of the BCHL. Head Coach and GM Marlin Murray told myself and Mitchell during the post-game show that the team expects Verheyden to fly into Winnipeg soon and join the team. Who knows we could see his debut tonight in Selkirk or tomorrow in Steinbach.

Thanks for reading!