Big Ern
04-15-2008, 12:27 AM
With a day or two to do some thinking and pondering after the Broncos' exit, I felt the urge to post one more time on the forum this season...there's a few things to mention that stick out in my mind, and general thoughts on the season.
First...on the last game:
The results don't matter. It's over.
It was clear that the Broncos did not play the way they intended to in that game...the players wil be first to admit that. Myself, I expected a bit more from the group in game six, but unfortunately it did not happen.
That doesn't matter either. What does matter, is how the officials, Devin Klein and Chris Savage handled the game. I swear I didn't want to rip officiating again...and I would not have mentioned one word otherwise. But Mr. Savage prompted me to by calling that last penalty of the game with 51 seconds to go and the Broncos down by three goals. The fans had just excepted what was going to happen, the players were starting to feel the emotion of the loss, and the fans in turn were starting to roar in appreciation of a great season. Savage had to wreck all of that by pouring salt in the wound.
I'm sorry to the WHL, to whoever else reads the forum and is offended, and on and on...but face it: Chris Savage is an ABSELOUTE lethargic idiot...a joke....
There..the rant is over. On with the rest of my post now.
A lot of thoughts have gone through my mind the last couple of days about the season gone past. I mean to post as many as I can in here, but I know I'll forget a few things...
The guys had a great run. Swift Current was once again buzzing with excitement about their hockey team. It was so much fun to be in the midst of all of that during playoffs.
This was an AWESOME group of guys in that dressing room. They played for each other, they played through very painful injuries, and were a tight-knit team. I got to know a few of them on a personal level. Dale Weise and Levi Nelson come to mind. Dale gave it his all this year. He came in August with the goal of being a dominant force on the ice as much as he possibly could. He accomplished the feat, and more. Aside from that, he is a terrific person. Levi came back and was feeling under the weather a bit to start off the campaign. When he did arrive back, he gave us the entertainment we are all used to seeing from him. When he played smart, he could control the hockey game. I've known Levi for the better part of three years now. He's a very fun guy to be around. These are just two examples. There are positives to mention about every player on the team. Guys like Bretton Stamler, Zack Smith, and Travis Yonkman come to mind...Bretton is a brilliant person and brought with him a sense of maturity and leadership when he arrived in Swift Current. Mike Wilson was a pleasant surprise...he was one of the most important guys on the team, and although unsung at times, he was often the hero. You can sense if I were to go on and on about every guy on the team, it would not be readable. There is so much to be said when you're around these guys a little bit. For lack of a better term, most of them are beauties. This is what caused my head to drop in the final few seconds of the game Saturday night. I suppose everyone was disappointed, but it's tough to think that some of these guys that you've come to know...the 20-year-olds, will probably never be back again. Thank Godness we have FACEBOOK to deal with that to some extent. :) Anyway, again, we had one hell of a group of guys this year. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all for what they provided this season.
How about the management? From the bottom of the ladder, Dean Chynoweth has brought this team back to respectability. They have once again become known acrosss the league as a speedy and offensive team...a team that can kill if you're not careful. That means a lot...it really does. Tim Kehler no doubt played a big part in the season as well. From the day I met Tim, I knew he was going to be a big piece of the puzzle this year. You could sense it somehow. He's pretty intelligent. Not only that, but the professionalism shown by our coaching staff was outstanding. I don't recall one slip with the media from either coach....that really is somethng to be happy about. You see people from other teams in the league lose their minds like children about a badly officiated game, and so on. You didn't see that here. Those points add up. Thanks to our coaching staff and team personnel for all their hard work this year. They, led by our general manager, did a great job. When a quality person leads the way like he does, other people follow.
I have a quote here which I think fits in well at this juncture in the write-up. It's a post from fellow WHL FANS poster Link Dog from yesterday:
As disappointing as losing is, there are still so many things that were positive in this last year. The young talent we have that Dean has brought in, is going to be exciting to watch for years to come. The boys also left it all on the ice and the examples set by the leaders on the team for the younger guys will only bode well for the future. Reading some of the posts that have been written questioning players hearts and desire and other things like that, is more reason for players not to come to fan forum sites and read some of this stuff. Fans only know small parts of the story that is going on in the room. I know that all teams have bumps and bruises during the playoffs. But talking to someone in the organization last night, we have guys on this team that, if it was say the middle of the regular season, would not be playing. They played through injuries that they would not have been playing through under different circumstances. The courage and heart of this team can never be questioned. Congrats to the team on a successful and very entertaining year. They are the reason the rink was finally rocking like it used to. (I even saw some grey hairs getting into the Let’s go Broncos chant in the third period last night.) I am sure this taste of success will make the boys work even harder this summer so they can continue the run even farther next year. As always, Let’s Go Broncos!!!!!!! Wooooooo!!!!
I really have to say...that was a post I totally agree with. It goes a long way in explaining everything.
Lastly, how excited should we be for next year's team? I doubt that Weise and Nelson and guys of that sort will be back, but how about Codey Eakin and the likes? Bronco fans have reasons to be impatient for August. This year's excitement should generate more season ticket revenue for next season.....everything looks positive, and it's full steam ahead. GO BRONCOS GO!!!
It's been fantastic.
Random THOUGHTS:
-it seems like we're all a big family...brought together by the crazy highs and the extreme lows of the game we as fans all love to watch. The players are the ones who make it happen on the ice, and with this town being so small and close-knit, it draws us all closer to our home team. It was a lot of fun to attend the games every night.
-I'm feeling the boredom to some extent already. I spent the winter watching hockey here at home, or putting on some of the 20 000 plus KM that I drove watching the team this season. Every KM was worth the drive. This is all I live for.
-how about the Hitmen? Man, do they have a deep team...but not deep enough. Goaltending is a big question. I would love to see some of that upcoming series, but it seems that idea was kyboshed when I looked at the schedule tonight. It kinda' sucks, but what are you gonna do? Since the Broncos are out, I can now throw some predictions out...why not? I seriously predict Lethbridge to win in seven games...maybe six. They've had Calgary all year, and I doubt that it's going to change this post season.
-for me personally, I don't exactly know what lies ahead. It's a riddle. No matter where my place of residence is next season, I fully intend to purchase three season tickets or so. We'll see what the summer brings on. Maybe a new blog of my own?
-right now, I'm going to delve right into NHL playoffs. Everyone knows who I cheer for. I'll not say the word in fear of jinxing the team's success. :)
-thanks to everyone for reading the game recaps this year. Your comments and everything was appreciated. What I like is to go back the next morning after posting and checking what different fans think from their point of view.
Have a good summer.
Ern
First...on the last game:
The results don't matter. It's over.
It was clear that the Broncos did not play the way they intended to in that game...the players wil be first to admit that. Myself, I expected a bit more from the group in game six, but unfortunately it did not happen.
That doesn't matter either. What does matter, is how the officials, Devin Klein and Chris Savage handled the game. I swear I didn't want to rip officiating again...and I would not have mentioned one word otherwise. But Mr. Savage prompted me to by calling that last penalty of the game with 51 seconds to go and the Broncos down by three goals. The fans had just excepted what was going to happen, the players were starting to feel the emotion of the loss, and the fans in turn were starting to roar in appreciation of a great season. Savage had to wreck all of that by pouring salt in the wound.
I'm sorry to the WHL, to whoever else reads the forum and is offended, and on and on...but face it: Chris Savage is an ABSELOUTE lethargic idiot...a joke....
There..the rant is over. On with the rest of my post now.
A lot of thoughts have gone through my mind the last couple of days about the season gone past. I mean to post as many as I can in here, but I know I'll forget a few things...
The guys had a great run. Swift Current was once again buzzing with excitement about their hockey team. It was so much fun to be in the midst of all of that during playoffs.
This was an AWESOME group of guys in that dressing room. They played for each other, they played through very painful injuries, and were a tight-knit team. I got to know a few of them on a personal level. Dale Weise and Levi Nelson come to mind. Dale gave it his all this year. He came in August with the goal of being a dominant force on the ice as much as he possibly could. He accomplished the feat, and more. Aside from that, he is a terrific person. Levi came back and was feeling under the weather a bit to start off the campaign. When he did arrive back, he gave us the entertainment we are all used to seeing from him. When he played smart, he could control the hockey game. I've known Levi for the better part of three years now. He's a very fun guy to be around. These are just two examples. There are positives to mention about every player on the team. Guys like Bretton Stamler, Zack Smith, and Travis Yonkman come to mind...Bretton is a brilliant person and brought with him a sense of maturity and leadership when he arrived in Swift Current. Mike Wilson was a pleasant surprise...he was one of the most important guys on the team, and although unsung at times, he was often the hero. You can sense if I were to go on and on about every guy on the team, it would not be readable. There is so much to be said when you're around these guys a little bit. For lack of a better term, most of them are beauties. This is what caused my head to drop in the final few seconds of the game Saturday night. I suppose everyone was disappointed, but it's tough to think that some of these guys that you've come to know...the 20-year-olds, will probably never be back again. Thank Godness we have FACEBOOK to deal with that to some extent. :) Anyway, again, we had one hell of a group of guys this year. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all for what they provided this season.
How about the management? From the bottom of the ladder, Dean Chynoweth has brought this team back to respectability. They have once again become known acrosss the league as a speedy and offensive team...a team that can kill if you're not careful. That means a lot...it really does. Tim Kehler no doubt played a big part in the season as well. From the day I met Tim, I knew he was going to be a big piece of the puzzle this year. You could sense it somehow. He's pretty intelligent. Not only that, but the professionalism shown by our coaching staff was outstanding. I don't recall one slip with the media from either coach....that really is somethng to be happy about. You see people from other teams in the league lose their minds like children about a badly officiated game, and so on. You didn't see that here. Those points add up. Thanks to our coaching staff and team personnel for all their hard work this year. They, led by our general manager, did a great job. When a quality person leads the way like he does, other people follow.
I have a quote here which I think fits in well at this juncture in the write-up. It's a post from fellow WHL FANS poster Link Dog from yesterday:
As disappointing as losing is, there are still so many things that were positive in this last year. The young talent we have that Dean has brought in, is going to be exciting to watch for years to come. The boys also left it all on the ice and the examples set by the leaders on the team for the younger guys will only bode well for the future. Reading some of the posts that have been written questioning players hearts and desire and other things like that, is more reason for players not to come to fan forum sites and read some of this stuff. Fans only know small parts of the story that is going on in the room. I know that all teams have bumps and bruises during the playoffs. But talking to someone in the organization last night, we have guys on this team that, if it was say the middle of the regular season, would not be playing. They played through injuries that they would not have been playing through under different circumstances. The courage and heart of this team can never be questioned. Congrats to the team on a successful and very entertaining year. They are the reason the rink was finally rocking like it used to. (I even saw some grey hairs getting into the Let’s go Broncos chant in the third period last night.) I am sure this taste of success will make the boys work even harder this summer so they can continue the run even farther next year. As always, Let’s Go Broncos!!!!!!! Wooooooo!!!!
I really have to say...that was a post I totally agree with. It goes a long way in explaining everything.
Lastly, how excited should we be for next year's team? I doubt that Weise and Nelson and guys of that sort will be back, but how about Codey Eakin and the likes? Bronco fans have reasons to be impatient for August. This year's excitement should generate more season ticket revenue for next season.....everything looks positive, and it's full steam ahead. GO BRONCOS GO!!!
It's been fantastic.
Random THOUGHTS:
-it seems like we're all a big family...brought together by the crazy highs and the extreme lows of the game we as fans all love to watch. The players are the ones who make it happen on the ice, and with this town being so small and close-knit, it draws us all closer to our home team. It was a lot of fun to attend the games every night.
-I'm feeling the boredom to some extent already. I spent the winter watching hockey here at home, or putting on some of the 20 000 plus KM that I drove watching the team this season. Every KM was worth the drive. This is all I live for.
-how about the Hitmen? Man, do they have a deep team...but not deep enough. Goaltending is a big question. I would love to see some of that upcoming series, but it seems that idea was kyboshed when I looked at the schedule tonight. It kinda' sucks, but what are you gonna do? Since the Broncos are out, I can now throw some predictions out...why not? I seriously predict Lethbridge to win in seven games...maybe six. They've had Calgary all year, and I doubt that it's going to change this post season.
-for me personally, I don't exactly know what lies ahead. It's a riddle. No matter where my place of residence is next season, I fully intend to purchase three season tickets or so. We'll see what the summer brings on. Maybe a new blog of my own?
-right now, I'm going to delve right into NHL playoffs. Everyone knows who I cheer for. I'll not say the word in fear of jinxing the team's success. :)
-thanks to everyone for reading the game recaps this year. Your comments and everything was appreciated. What I like is to go back the next morning after posting and checking what different fans think from their point of view.
Have a good summer.
Ern