By Joel Smart (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 1, 2012
It’s always a strange sensation to cheer for the away team, but especially so when you’re sitting amongst the hometown press and management. That’s where I found myself in a two-games-in-two-nights doubleheader between the Abbotsford Heat and the Chicago Wolves. The Wolves are the farm team for the Vancouver Canucks, and so many of the players on the team have played (or will one day play) for the NHL team.
I found myself with media credentials for the games, thanks to the efforts of sports editor Sean Evans, and with my interest in watching promising Canucks prospects like Chris Tanev and Jordan Schroeder at an all-time high, I opted to attend both games. The immediate proximity between UFV and the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre (AESC) may have also played a role in my decision.
There was something ever so magically special about walking around behind the scenes at a spectator event, and I felt ever so slightly like I’d finally made it as a journalist when I picked up a copy of the latest stats guide that had been prepared for the press. A free can of root beer from the cooler reinforced the sense that I was someone. Of course, being a bigger game than usual, the press box was full and we were seated in the overflow section. So much for my imaginary plans to rub elbows with those who actually know what they’re doing!
The game itself was spectacular. AHL hockey, at times, seems startlingly close to NHL calibre. The Wolves went up 3-0 before a near-comeback when the Heat turned it up in the third. Two of the Wolves goals came from Steve Reinprecht, who the Canucks acquired in the trade with Florida that saw David Booth come to Vancouver earlier in the season. After the 3-2 Wolves victory, I followed the rest of the press down in the bowels of the arena and attempted to get in on some scrum action. A reporter from Team 1040 asked most of the questions, while I stood there, slightly dumbstruck.
Yet, if the first night was intense, the second game was on a whole different level. The overflow seating completely full, as the Canucks sent over 25 individuals from scouting and from management to check out the game. As cool as it was to witness these individuals, it also meant that I would be watching the game sitting next to the off-ice officials on a delicately-balanced table atop a wooden riser. Yet, what was lost in terms of the view was made up for in performance by the Wolves. Reinprecht continued to shine by potting an additional pair of goals, and by the end of the night the team had scored five times. The Heat, on the other hand, had started the game poorly, and their performance only got worse throughout the night. The final score was 5-0, and though Eddie Lack was great in net, he wasn’t put to the test often in the game. Schroeder finished the night with a goal and an assist.
At the end of the night we were taken into the dressing room to interview Wolves head coach Craig MacTavish, who was justifiably happy with his team’s performance. The amount of Canuck management and press in the area was intense. Not only was Team 1040 interviewing the players and coaches, but so was CKNW.
The two-night experience was both fascinating and enlightening. For one thing, I was very impressed by the amount of work that goes on, even at the AHL level, to monitor and detail the stats of each game. Individuals are employed to count faceoff wins, or hits or shots. It’s all measured and updated on the fly. It’s an impressive feat, and one that makes me all-the-more interested in attending another AHL game soon. The AESC is a pretty great venue for hockey; there’s not a bad seat in the house.
