Ottawa 67s 2 at Brampton Battalion 4 - March 3, 2013

The Brampton Battalion have been playing in the OHL since 1998 but have never had much luck in drawing fans with so much hockey competition in the area, both of the professional and junior variety. With the 15-year lease in the Powerade Centre expiring after the 2013 season, owner Scott Abbott, who made his money inventing the Trivial Pursuit board game, finally had his chance to move the team. The city of North Bay was more than willing to upgrade their arena, and the Battalion will begin play there in September, 2013.

As such, this is their last month in Brampton and when I saw they had a home game against the Ottawa 67s on Sunday afternoon, I decided to pay a visit as it would be the only time I could see OHL action in Brampton.

Powerade Centre



Rather than review the arena, which is not going to be used in the OHL again, I'll just briefly describe the Battalion game day experience. The nickname of the rink is "The Bunker". The players skate onto the ice through an inflatable tank (below).



When they score, an air raid siren plays. Rather than the usual "Last minute of play in the period", the announcer says "One minute to ceasefire". The mascot is Sarge, a guy dressed like an army Sergeant. The club's uniform is olive green and has sergeant's stripes on each sleeve. Losing goalies are given 30 days in the stockade. OK, I made that last one up, but the Battalion take the military motif quite seriously and it works surprisingly well. I think they will keep the same traditions in North Bay so the fans there have something to look forward to.

The Game

Ottawa came in last in the league with just 15 wins in 61 contests, while Brampton was third in the Central Division with 65 points from the same number of games. The Battalion started Czech junior goalie Matej Machovsky (below) who was 5th in the league with a 2.60 GAA, nearly half that of 67s keeper Jacob Blair whose 4.98 mark was worst in the league.



The first period saw three power play goals, with Brampton scoring two of those on tip-ins. Ottawa's marker was netted by Sean Monahan (below), who is the OHL's top-ranked prospect and should be taken early in the first round of the upcoming draft.



The bigger story was a fight between two 27s named Brendan, Bell of Ottawa and Childerley of Brampton. Fights in junior are not that exciting because the players wear face shields, so the combatants rarely get in a good punch, but this one ended in a takedown for Bell (below), the only thing Ottawa would win today.



The second period saw the teams score once each, with Ottawa's coming on a great shorthanded play by Joseph Blandisi, who stole the puck and broke in alone, beating Machovsky with a perfect shot to the stick side. Early in the third, the Battalion's Nicholas Foglia tipped in yet another shot to restore the two-goal cushion and the rest of the game was a snoozer as Brampton won 4-2.



Notes

The Powerade Centre will be the home of a Central Hockey League expansion franchise next season, so I'll probably be back there before long. It will be interesting to see if it undergoes renovations before bringing in this slightly higher caliber of hockey. The seating bowl is quite nice, but they probably need to upgrade concessions and the concourse.



The Brampton Sports Hall of Fame is worth a look, you will find a few familiar names (mostly NHL players) among the inductees.



The coolest thing at the rink is the Card Box, a vending machine that sells old baseball, hockey, and football cards. I picked up a 50-cent 1992 O-Pee-Chee baseball set in the hopes of getting a Blue Jay from their first World Series and was lucky that Juan Guzman was included in the pack.



Next Up

My next scheduled event is the Malaysian Grand Prix in three weeks. Until then, I'll be taking it easy in Canada for a week and then returning to Singapore where I'll spend the summer touring Asia. Check back on occasion to see what's happening.

Best,

Sean
 

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Saginaw Spirit 4 at Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 0 - January 2, 2011

After a quiet New Year with my parents, I drove back to Toronto where we needed to spend a night as my girlfriend had an early flight back to Tokyo on Monday. Just a few minutes drive from the airport is the Hershey Centre, home of the OHL's Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. Fortunately, the OHL schedule maker was kind and scheduled a 2:00 game between the Saginaw Spirit and the Majors, the top two teams in the league. A good way to start the year!

Hershey Centre

Located right next to Highway 403 south of the 401, the Hershey Centre is a relatively new rink, having been built in 1998. It was initially the home of the Mississauga IceDogs but when Eugene Melynk (who also owns the Ottawa Senators) purchased the Toronto St. Michael's Majors, he couldn't find a suitable arena in Toronto. So he bought the IceDogs in 2006, then sold them less than a year later to a buyer who moved the team to St. Catharines, which opened up the Hershey Centre for his Majors.

Despite being so close to the highway, access is not that simple as there is no exit that leads directly to the rink. Dixie Road off the 401 provides the easiest way of getting there from downtown Toronto. As the arena is part of a complex that includes several smaller community rinks, there is plenty of free parking. The main entrance has a small lobby with ticket windows and people wait there to escape the cold and wait for their friends. You might find someone with extra tickets around here too.

Once inside the arena proper, you can walk around the reasonably wide concourse, but there's not much to see other than some posts with pictures of old Majors who are Hall of Famers, including Ted Lindsay (below) and Frank Mahovolich among others.

There are a number of concession stands which offer nothing atypical other than Hershey products that are not excessively overpriced.

There is a single seating bowl with maroon seats with about 15 rows of seats. Tickets are divided into 3 areas: platinum ($24.80 including HST) which is along one side of the rink; gold ($19.15) which are on the other side, and red ($16.90) in the ends. The platinum seats allow you the advantage of entering the Platinum Lounge, but nothing else, so I'd recommend the gold seats. For the game we saw, the scoreboard was missing as they are installing a new one, so they had set up video screens at either end, which eliminated a large chunk of seats.

There are a couple of retired number banners: Red Kelly (#3, below) and Dave Keon (#9). I expect they'll add to these with those players who are currently honoured in the concourse.

Our seats were in section 19 row F and I initially thought they were great because they were just to the left of the player entrance, which means there is no glass for a portion of the ice. The clear view of the ice was nice but man, the smell from the bench wafting up forced me to move after two periods. The picture below is of the opening faceoff from the original seats.

Overall, this is a fairly generic arena with nothing special. After seeing a couple of old-school barns in Gatineau and Belleville, it's a bit disappointing to see the new style, which is so basic. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but there's no character yet. According to Andrew of the USRT, the OHL is getting rid of most of the old rinks and replacing them with these bland multi-purpose arenas, which is not surprising as junior hockey is more popular than ever.

BTW, the Hershey Centre will host the 2011 Memorial Cup, the junior championship featuring winners from the 3 CHL leagues as well as the host team, so if you are in the Toronto area in May, it might be worth checking out.

The Game

Saginaw came in at 24-8-4 to lead the Western Conference, while Mississauga held the top spot in the East with a 29-5-1 record. With the World Juniors going on, Mississauga was missing their head coach, Dave Cameron, as well as their captain Casey Cizikas.

Mavric Parks (making a save above) got the call for Saginaw while the league's #2 goalie Anthony Peters started in net for Mississauga. Peters came in with a 10-0-1 record, the lone blemish a shootout loss. But it only took Saginaw 39 seconds to open the scoring when Jordan Szwarz (drafted by Phoenix in the 4th round, 2009) deflected a point shot that beat Peters. The rest of the period was fairly dull with plenty of penalties to both teams, not surprising as the two teams were in the top 3 in PIM so far this season. The penalty parade continued in the second period, and Saginaw capitalized on one chance when Brandon Saad found an opening on Peters' glove side to double the lead. Despite outshooting Saginaw 22-15 through two periods, Mississauga couldn't solve Parks and went to the final frame down two.

The refs put away their whistles in the third, but Mississauga still couldn't get going and Saginaw's John McFarland (above, drafted in the 2nd round by Florida in 2010) put the game away with a breakaway goal midway through. A late power-play tally by Josh Shalla made the final 4-0 as Parks outduelled Peters, taking first star honours with his first shutout of the season.

For me, a rather dull game with 17 power plays between the two teams and Mississauga unable to do anything 5-on-5 or on with the man advantage. It's possible these two teams will meet in the Memorial Cup in a few months and I hope the Majors are able to put a more impressive performance then.

Next Up

I'm in Buffalo now and about to head out to the World Junior Hockey Championship semi-final games. Check back tomorrow for a post on that.

Best,

Sean

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Peterborough Petes 6 at Belleville Bulls 1 - December 29, 2010

After spending a relaxing week in Havana, Cuba, I returned to chilly Canada and paid a visit to my parents' new home in Belleville, Ontario. Coincidentally, the OHL's Belleville Bulls had a rare 4:05 start on the day I arrived, so I took my girlfriend and her new Canon camera over to Yardmen Arena to watch the action.

Yardmen Arena

Built in 1978, Yardmen Arena is another old-style rink that has endured rather well over the years. Located just south of Highway 401 (exit 544), the arena has several large parking lots that are free and easy to enter and exit.

The seating bowl is quite unique with almost no seats at the ends of the rink. There is a single row of seats at either end that provide an interesting view (above) from midway up the bowl, and a few seats right on the glass that we used late in the game. Otherwise, all seats are along the sides, with 15 rows in the lower bowl and a small balcony of two or three rows above that, as you can see below. These balcony seats are excellent, providing a view almost directly above the ice, and subsequently go for $19.50, a bit more than the regular seats at $17. The upper rows of the bowl seats are not blocked by the glass, so if you can't get a balcony seat, I would suggest sitting there. We managed to get a pair of freebies from the lady having a party in the suite, although we couldn't join her party, we managed to find a couple of good seats right along the concourse.

After entering by the main door, you then get into the arena proper by walking up a set of stairs that doubles as the Belleville Sports Hall of Fame, with pictures of notable local athletes. Very few recognizable names here for me, as I'm not from the area, but it is always good to see the past properly recognized. For example, back in 1958, the Belleville McFarlands won the Allan Cup (awarded to Canada's top senior amateur team) and went on to win the World Championship in 1959. These accomplishments are duly noted on the back wall of the rink.

Walking around the narrow concourse, you will see a number of other banners and displays honouring Belleville's hockey history; my favourite is the NHL honour roll below.

There's also a bull's head affixed to the wall which I found to be a nice touch.

Food here is typical with nothing of note. If you need to eat, buy before the game as there are not many concession stands and it could be busy during intermissions.

There is a video scoreboard but it wasn't used, which annoyed me because I wanted to see the replays of some goals. The ice surface is Olympic sized, which you might be able to ascertain from the view below, which is quite rare among North American rinks. It didn't affect the quality of the game though, it was still pretty sloppy, although not as physical as I expected.

Overall, this is an excellent place to catch a junior hockey game. The fans were good despite a poor performance by the home team, and I was able to walk around and take pictures from a number of places without any hassle. I highly recommend a trip to Belleville to check out the Bulls if you are a hockey fan.

The Game

Both teams are near the bottom of the standings and both are challenged in the scoring department. As a sign of the dearth of top-level talent here, neither team had a player in the World Junior Championships.

The crowd was energetic early, but their team didn't respond at all. The Bulls were lackadaisical from the opening face-off, at one point being outshot 10-0, and relying on goalie Tyson Teichmann to keep them in it. Peterborough finally beat him but I didn't see the goal as some moron was returning to his seat during play and blocked my view of the net. Aargh!!!! Sit down while the game is on!!!

Anyway, the Petes finished the period with a 22-6 advantage in shots but only the single marker to show for it. Belleville tightened up in the 2nd, but Teichmann fell apart, allowing 3 weak goals in just 1:34 (that's one of them above), and the game was essentially decided.

Peterborough went defensive after that and coasted to an easy 6-1 win. Nashville's 1st rounder Austin Watson had a hat trick (he's celebrating his third goal above) to lead the winners while Andrew D'Agostini (below) saved 26 of 27 shots in the Peterborough net. Nobody on Belleville deserves any recognition.

With the game being rather unexciting, it gave us a chance to try out my girlfriend's new camera, which is fantastic and much better than my little point-and-shoot. Some of the better action pictures here are from her. Sadly, I've been banned from using the camera on my own (rightly so as I have a tendency to break things) so for the most part, the pictures on the blog will continue to be pretty crappy, as below.

Notes

P.K. Subban's younger brother Malcolm is a goalie for Belleville and was coming off OHL Goaltender of the Week honours. He was the backup for the game, but must have wondered if he'd be brought in. That's him below checking the scoreboard after the fifth Pete goal.

Next Up

I was planning to start another trip from December 29th, but my girlfriend decided to fly over for her year-end holidays which resulted in the trip to Cuba and me canceling the drive to Pittsburgh for the Winter Classic. With tickets to that game unreasonably overpriced and the game delayed due to rainy conditions, it might have been a lucky break after all.

The girlfriend is going back to Japan shortly though, which gives me a few days to enjoy a short trip along with my friend Sharpie. We start with an OHL tilt on January 2nd between the top two teams in the league, Saginaw and Mississauga. The following day has the two World Junior Semi-Finals in Buffalo, with a potential Canada/USA game in the evening. Tuesday and Wednesday will see us in Cleveland for the AHL and then the Raptors/Cavaliers. We return to Canada on Thursday to watch the Blues/Leafs and after a brief stop at the parents, I'll return to Toronto to watch the NLL season opener between the Edmonton Rush and Toronto Rock on January 8th. After that, it will be very quiet as there's not much to see for the next few months. But I'll be commenting on a variety of topics in the meantime, so check back regularly.

Happy New Year everyone!

Sean

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Barrie Colts 3 at Ottawa 67s 6 (OHL) - March 5, 2010

The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) is one of three junior circuits that provide opportunities for young players to hone their skills as they prepare for the NHL. The other two leagues are based in Quebec (QMJHL) and Western Canada and the Northwest US (WHL). The three leagues hold an annual championship known as the Memorial Cup, which is a great chance to see top prospects before they hit the big time. But we're still a couple of months away from that as each league is nearing playoff time.

With 17 teams scattered around the province and 3 in the US, the OHL is a great league for a road trip, if you can handle the winter weather. As for me, I'm just visiting home this time, so I couldn't pass up a chance to see the 67s take on the top team in the nation. But I hope to do a more comprehensive trip in the future.

The Arena

The Ottawa 67s play their games at the Urbandale Centre, which used to be called the Ottawa Civic Centre. Sigh. Always with the name changes. Although in this case, there was no signage that I noticed indicating the new moniker. Although only the 67s play here these days, the Ottawa Senators spent 3.5 seasons here before moving out to Kanata, and the Ottawa Rebel of the NLL also played here before folding in 2003.

Outside at dusk

The rink is located at Landsdowne Park on Bank Street, home of the Central Canadian Exhibition which runs in late summer. There is plenty of on-site parking for just $5 and it seemed like there was plenty of parking. Transit is also an option, but it's quite expensive and no special buses are run after the game, so I'd suggest just driving in.

The arena is unique in that one half of the seating bowl lies directly underneath the seats for an adjacent football stadium. That side of the rink therefore has a very low ceiling, so low that you can't see the scoreboard from the top seats, so a separate board is required as seen below.

The rest of the seating bowl is normal, and capacity is nearly 10,000, making it the largest venue in the league. Tickets are reasonably priced, starting at $15 for the upper level and topping out at $20 for lower level down the sides. One thing that I should mention is that there are no seats at ice-level. It's hard to tell in the shot above, but row A is actually a few feet off the ground, so be aware of that. There's a small path that circles the rink and is used for staff and photographers, but no seats right next to the glass.

There are even suites that were added back when the Senators joined the NHL. The picture below shows them - not a bad idea for a group who want to be above it all.

Food is typical although not cheap. A jumbo hot dog costs $4.75 and there are some burgers that are over $10. There's a 24-hour bagel place across the street and I'd recommend eating there before or after the game.

There are three retired numbers shown below, as well as a banner honouring long-time coach Brian Kilrea, who is still the general manager of the club.

Programs and lineups are on sale at each entrance, and there's a small team store located on the concourse. I think the 67s have one of the more interesting uniforms in sports with the barberpole design on the sleeves, as you can see in the shot below of Senators' draft pick Corey Cowick, so check out the available goods if you are looking for something a bit different.

The Teams

The number one team in junior hockey was in town. The Barrie Colts were an unbelievable 53-8-2 and certainly look like Memorial Cup contenders. Some of their notable players include Alex Pietrangelo (drafted 4th overall by St. Louis in 2008), Alexander Burmistrov (ranked as the #7 domestic skater by Central Scouting despite weighing in at only 162 lbs), and Kyle Clifford (the LA Kings' second round pick last year).

Ottawa was a respectable 34-23-7 for first overall in the East Division, which gives them the second-place berth in the Eastern Conference. They boasted defenseman Tyler Cuma (drafted 23rd overall by Minnesota in 2008), and Tyler Toffoli and Ryan Martindale who were ranked as the #22 and #24 best domestic skaters by Central Scouting.

The Game

With the playoffs less than two weeks away and both teams having clinched spots, I expected that we might see a statement game as there's a good chance they'll meet again in a few weeks. Ottawa had lost all three previous meetings to the Colts, so I'm sure they wanted to gain some confidence. As well, the game was broadcast on Sportsnet Ontario, so it gave both teams some additional motivation.

Sure enough, Ottawa started strong, scoring 3 times in the first period, including a great shot from Cowick that made it 2-0. After the 3rd goal, Peter Di Salvo was replaced by Mavric Parks, and the Colts responded with 2 goals in the second period to cut the deficit to one. But a questionable penalty against Barrie led to an Ottawa powerplay and Toffoli made a nifty backhand move to beat Parks just 13 seconds into the man advantage. Barrie replied quickly though, when league-leading goal scorer Bryan Cameron potted his 50th of the season and we entered the third period with the 67s up 4-3.

Burmistrov skates with Cowick

The Colts couldn't generate many chances in the final frame and when Cody Lindsay scored for Ottawa with just 5 minutes to go, the deal was done. Thomas Nesbitt added an empty netter after Pietrangelo gave the puck away, and Ottawa had upset the top-ranked team in the nation.

In the end, Barrie outshot Ottawa 38-30 but Petr Mrazek (ranked #26 domestically and pictured below) was strong, earning second star honours for his performance. Overall, this was an enjoyable contest, but I picked the wrong end to sit in. Eight of the nine goals were tallied at the opposite end of the ice. Well, at least I saw some great saves.

Thoughts

I need to spend more time studying the juniors. The last game I saw was in Seattle, when the Kelowna Rockets visited the Thunderbirds for a playoff tilt in 2008. I recently checked out the boxscore from that game (which I barely remember) and notice that current NHLers Tyler Myers (Sabres), Luke Schenn (Leafs), Jamie Benn (Stars) were on the Rockets. I love minor league baseball because I know some of the up-and-coming players, but I don't have the knowledge for hockey yet. I did study the players before tonight's game though, and was able to focus on Burmistrov and Cuma, although it was Martindale who might have been the most impressive. It'll be interesting to see where they are drafted.

There were a lot of families at the game, and I think this might be due to the Senators high ticket prices. The 67s offer an entertaining alternative at 10% of the cost without the hassle of driving all the way to Kanata. It's good to have two hockey choices in the same town; Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary now also have junior teams to go along with their NHL brethren.

Next Up

The Leafs are in town Saturday night and I'm still hoping to go, although the reasonably priced tickets are all gone. Check back tomorrow to see if I made it.

Best,

Sean

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