Pats are in desperate need of some home improvements
Robservations ...
No, Regina Pats fans were not
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doing The Wave on Saturday night at the Brandt Centre. That was simply the sight of people getting up to leave after the Lethbridge Hurricanes assumed a 6-2 lead in the third period. That was the final goal, and the last straw, as the WHL’s Pats lost for the fourth time to conclude a five-game home stand.
At least it can be said that the
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Pats brought the fans out of their seats.
If principal figures in major
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hockey leagues are truly committed to player safety, they will enact severe sanctions against fighting and begin penalizing the finishing of checks.
Honestly, what is the point
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of finishing a check? A player who has relinquished the puck should not have to worry about being smashed into the boards a second or two later.
And what is the point of fighting?
■ It is purposeless. On Friday, for example, the Pats’ Bryce
Platt and the Saskatoon Blades’ Evan Fiala squared off. It was a fight for the sake of a fight — a needless spasm of pugilism that was then replayed on the Brandt Centre’s centre-ice scoreboard. Player safety is such an obvious priority that fighting is showcased via the in-house video system. The wrong message is being transmitted.
Also from Friday’s game, the
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Pats’ Scott Mahovlich inadvertently fired the puck into the stands and was given an automatic penalty for delay of game. Those calls drive me nuts — which, admittedly, is a short trip. If a player is clearly trying to force a stoppage in play, call a penalty. But when a puck is cleared over the Plexiglas in a fashion that is obviously accidental, exercise some common sense.
Earlier in the game, the Blades’
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Cameron Hebig was in a vulnerable position when he was checked into the boards. No call. But when a puck lands in the stands ...
And when there is obvious
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cross-checking? No call then, either.
How unique were the 2016-17
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Pats? Their penalty-killing unit, featuring Adams Brooks and Austin Wagner, was more dangerous than most teams’ power plays. On Saturday, by contrast, the Hurricanes were 4-for-7 on the power play.
I just heard an advertisement
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for the All-Star Celebrity Classic — an old-timers game that is to be played Feb. 17 at noted mecca of hockey, Mosaic Stadium. The ad referred to “NHL Hall of Famers.” One problem: There is no such shrine. Presumably, the intended reference is to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders
■ are in the market for a quarterbacks coach now that Jarious Jackson has left Regina to become the B.C. Lions’ offensive co-ordinator and quarterbacks coach. How about filling the vacancy with Kevin Glenn?
Here’s a turnaround: Jesse
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James was robbed. The modernday James, a tight end with the Pittsburgh Steelers, should have been awarded a game-winning touchdown Sunday against the New England Patriots. The TD was overturned after video review. The Patriots ended up holding on for a 27-24 victory.
CBS analyst Tony Romo could
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break down a Cleveland Browns game and make it interesting.
Nice people who deserve a
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plug: Jasper Nye, Doug Jones, Jake Gagnon, Les Lazaruk, Jack Brodsky, Rick Brodsky, Ashley Howard, Larry Kielo, Brent Parker, Brian Utley, Colby Whyte, Holly Armstrong, Maureen
Baker and Caelan Armstrong.