Niagaran officially part of history
Linesman from Fort Erie on the ice the night a record four playoff games go into overtime
The Stanley Cup playoffs bring a new level of intensity to the ice, says a Fort Erie resident who has worked more than 130 National Hockey League post-season games as a linesman.
In his 20-year career, Brad Kovachik has made calls in 1,360 matches in the regular season, and in 2014 worked several games of the final between the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.
In 2015, he was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs when he suffered an MCL strain – a knee ligament injury – in the Eastern Conference final between the Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He got caught up in the action when Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos attempted to check a player
In last year’s playoffs, Kovachik officiated in three rounds and so far in 2017 has laced up for three games in the first round: Game 1, between the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators; Game 2 in the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals series; and Game 3 of the Boston BruinsOttawa Senators quarter-final series.
Tuesday’s Bruins-Senators required overtime, as did three other games on the schedule that night. It was the first time in NHL history that four playoff games required extra time on the same night,.
Kovachik calls that proof of evenly matched teams are in the post-season.
“It just shows the parity that lies in the league right now,” the longtime resident of Fort Erie and native of Woodstock said. “Any team that’s in the playoffs can beat any other team, any given night.”
The veteran linesman and his colleagues expect added pressure during overtime in the playoffs, but it doesn’t get to their heads.
“You just have to keep doing what you’re doing. Keep your head in the game and move forward,” he said in a telephone interview.
Kovachik and his striped-shirt colleagues are often calling games involving the team they cheered for in their younger years as. He was Bruins booster growing, but objectivity is key and has been for his entire career.
“Every official had that favourite team growing up, but that gets put on the back burner,” he said. “You can’t really think about that.”
Asked about predictions and some of the surprises that have occurred so far, Kovachik said he stopped trying to guess who will win it all a long time ago.
“I think the last three or four predictions I’ve made about a Stanley Cup winner, they’ve been beat out in the first round,” he said with a laugh.
Kovachik was scheduled to work the line in Anaheim this Friday night, but the Ducks swept the Calgary Flames on Wednesday, ending the series. He said he will wait to hear where else he is needed in Round 1 before getting ready for the second round.
In 2001, Kovachik worked his first playoff game and his first NHL regular season game was in 1996.
Every official had that favourite team growing up, but that gets put on the back burner. You can’t really think about that.” Veteran NHL linesman Brad Kovachik