January 22nd in Calgary, Ablerta... first stop on Alberta road trip.
After a long drive west yesterday (where I managed to watch the entire season of HBO’s “Eastbound & Down”), we landed in Calgary around 6:30pm and then we were off to the races.
After a quick change, Coaches Hunchak and Higo, Curtis Amiot, goalie coach David Marcoux, and myself hustled over to the Saddledome in time for the opening faceoff between the Flames and Chicago Blackhawks.
I will admit that I’m not a fan of either team, for me it was Dustin Boyd versus Troy Brower.
Over my 10 years covering the tribe, they are two of my favourites. Watching them on the ice and talking to them off the ice over their years with the Warriors, I was fortunate enough to see them mature and grow into great young men.
I’ve been to a Flames game before, but this was my first chance to see the exciting Blackhawks, and I’ll tell you what... they’re worth the price of admission. They’re young stars are exactly that, STARS.
Chicago downed the Flames 3-1, handing Calgary their 6th straight loss.
Today we were back to the Saddledome to drop off the gear and had the chance to catch the Flames practice.
McIlrath and Stanton sat on the bench awaiting the Flames to come out.
As you can see alot of the boys sat on the bench waiting for the Flames to finally come out.
As we watched the Flames warm up, the first thing that I noticed was the WHL presence.
Warriors fans remember this face, that's #16 Dustin Boyd.
Boyd taking a shot during warmup.
Former Medicine Hat Tiger Jay Bouwmeester.
Former Kamloops Blazer Jerome Iginla (left) and goalie Mikka Kiprusoff.
Former Red Deer Rebel Dion Phaneuf (standing) and former Blazer Robin Regehr.
Before the Flames took the ice I had the chance to talk to Sportsnet’s Peter Loubardias. Peter is one of my favourite people to talk to. His passion for junior hockey is unbelievable, and he’s been great for giving me advice over the past couple of years. He’ll be in Red Deer tomorrow night; hopefully I can talk him into joining me for an intermission.
Be sure to join me for all the action tonight when the Warriors battle the Calgary Hitmen. The Pre-Game show is on the air at 7:45pm. Great intermission guests scheduled tonight that I hope you’ll enjoy.
I’ll talk to Quinton Howden and Dylan McIlrath about their Top Prospects experience. As well, I’ll run an interview with former Warrior David Bararuk, who will be back at the Civic Center next week for the Trans Canada Clash. I really enjoyed talking to Bararuk, he’s another one of my favourites. He went from a stick boy to a top scorer in the WHL, and he’s enjoying a successful career away from the rink.
