Hughson outstanding in the snow during NHL Winter Classic

SCENE & HEARD: Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster Jim Robson turned every head in the house at Penticton’s Lakeside Resort in the summer of 2012 when he introduced Jim Hughson as “the best hockey play- by- play announcer of all time.”

Hughson, born in Fort St. John but now a proud resident of Crescent Beach with his wife Denise and two young children, was being inducted into the B. C. Hockey Hall of Fame.

“I didn’t say one of the best, I said THE best,” Robson was recalling earlier this week. “Some people questioned it and I said: ‘ OK, who’s better?’ ”

Robson, who had cleverly eliminated himself in advance, was prepared for the obvious: “I told them Foster Hewitt was the pioneer but pointed out he had a six- team NHL to deal with, there were a limited number of games and none of the players wore helmets so they were easy to identify. Danny Gallivan was the most loved, worked 10 Stanley Cups and had all those great Montreal teams to cover, which put him in the spotlight.

“Bob Cole probably has the best voice but always seems to have trouble identifying players. Our own John Shorthouse is very good; he knows the players and does his homework.

“But everything Jim Hughson does is top notch. Today, he has 30 teams to cover with 25 players on each roster and so many new faces each year. He’s flawless.”

Hughson, a five- time Gemini Award winner for his work in the broadcast booth, was again humbly accepting accolades this week from coast to coast for his spectacular work at rinkside during the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

“It was a great day,” he says. “Only Canadians — and a few northern Americans — would go outside for five hours on the crappiest day of the year to watch a hockey game and proclaim what a fantastic time they had. We are unique.”

Not, as Robson will tell you, as unique as Hughson himself. HERE ‘ N’ THERE: Team 1040 program director Mike Whittingham hit pay dirt when he put Vancouver Canadians broadcaster Rob Fai together with B. C. Lions veteran Angus Reid as guest hosts for the Bro Jake morning show for two weeks during the holiday break. Their chemistry clicked right from the start and was duly noted by a barrage of Twitter and email messages from listeners asking if there would be any further on- air life for the two.

SHORT HOPS: Darcy Rota, president of the Coquitlam Express junior hockey club, has friends in high places with the Canucks Alumni, many of whom are former NHL teammates. For a second consecutive year, Rota hosts Alumni Night with 22 former Canucks on hand for a pre- game barbecue before the Express/ Cowichan Valley 7 p. m. faceoff on Saturday. Canucks mascot Fin and anthem singer Mark Donnelly will be part of the fundraising projects for the Terry Fox Foundation.

END ZONE: Hastings Racecourse security guard Eric Dudley has been acknowledged with the Great Canadian Award of Merit for his actions this past summer after calmly talking a distraught patron from taking his own life by jumping from the rooftop of the racetrack.