Lots of what-ifs to end a wonderful season
When the Canadian Hockey League awarded hosting duties for the centennial Memorial Cup to Regina instead of Hamilton, there was certainly some disappointment around here. It would’ve been terrific to have that event in town.
Fifteen months later, that decision now looms far larger than anyone could’ve imagined.
We’ll never know how things would look today if a different choice had been made, but the only team the Bulldogs couldn’t beat at the national championship was the one that wouldn’t have even been there without the
free pass given to the host. Take them out of the mix and, well, who knows what story we’re talking about now.
Then again, that’s only the first of the what-ifs the Bulldogs and their fans will be contemplating this morning, now that a wonderfully memorable hockey season has screeched to a whiplashinducing halt.
What if a few of the seemingly dozens of shots that hit goalposts and crossbars all week went in instead of out? What if top playoff sniper Brandon Saigeon wasn’t injured in the first period of the first game appearing to leave him without much on his usually lethal shot? What if regularseason scoring leader Matt Strome hadn’t run into the first slump of his career over the past month? What if the refs had called goalie interference on the winning goal on an infraction they’ve whistled all season? We could go on.
Ultimately, though, losing in the semifinals wasn’t about hypotheticals. It was simply the result of one of the most potent offences in the league all year finding the well dry when it was needed the most. Scoring just nine goals in four games — Regina had 19 in the same period — wasn’t nearly enough
The Bulldogs were as good or better than the well-rested Pats in nearly every facet of the game. Except the one they keep track of on the scoreboard, which is the only one that counts. So for the first time ever, a Hamilton team returns from a Memorial Cup experience without the championship trophy.
It’s disappointing, for sure. It’s a rare opportunity lost. Heck, last time a team from this city was at this event a different Trudeau was prime minister, the CN Tower was just about to open and
the Timbit had only been introduced a month before. You never know when the next time will arrive. Hopefully it’s not another four decades, but there are no guarantees.
A chunk of the lineup’s core won’t be back next season. Magic can’t always be conjured. Good bounces don’t always come your way. This team is set up to still be good, but OHL championship good? Another trip to the Mem Cup good? That may be a stretch.
Yet even as the loss stings, it’s impossible not to believe this amazing spring has gone a long way to helping this young organization turn a corner.
Three years ago when they arrived in town, the Bulldogs were 10th in league attendance at 3,844 a game. Last year they’d jumped up to seventh at 4,114. This past regular season they were sixth with an average crowd
of 4,251. Even though they’ve been climbing, this long playoff run surely introduced this franchise to thousands of locals who hadn’t sampled it before.
Whether that translates into increased attendance in the fall remains to be seen, but it can’t hurt. You’d expect a few of those folks will have bought in. Fewer than 500 more per night and Hamilton is in the top five. A little over 700 more and it’s top three. That would seem to eventually be reasonable.
Why might people come back? The thrill of watching a championship being won was joyous. It’s been 11 years since a hockey team representing this city did it, and 18 since the Tiger-Cats managed the feat. The thrill of watching it won against the top team in the country that was seen by many to be unbeatable was better. Doing it on home ice was
outstanding.
The visuals from Game 4 of the Ontario finals when nearly 9,000 people were wearing yellow Tshirts were amazing. As was the image of even more people waving rally towels for Game 6. And the auditory explosion over the final few minutes of the championship game was goose bump inducing.
Watching four Hamilton minor hockey products contribute heavily to the team’s success — Ancaster’s Nick Caamano, Grimsby’s Saigeon, Hamilton’s Isaac Nurse and Caledonia’s Owen Burnell — will provide a boost to local programs.
And the viewing party on the City Hall forecourt in front of the new Hamilton sign was hopefully the start of a new tradition that’ll be repeated regularly and often. Show all the Ticats’ away games on the screen there this season
(with plenty of advance notice) and in short order you’ll have the kind of community-building opportunity that great cities embrace. Do it again for the Bulldogs in next year’s playoffs for road games and it’ll gain traction for sure.
But that’s later. As spring gives way to summer, this will be remembered as a great year. A successful, memorable, talkabout-it-down-the-road kind of year. A year that eclipsed nearly all expectations and ended just two wins short of the ultimate prize.
If only the Memorial Cup tournament had been awarded to Hamilton ....