Author Archives: Joey Pitt

The Dream is Dead: Canucks Eliminated From Playoff Contention

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The Vancouver Canucks did everything right on Tuesday night.  They played a perfect home game against the Seattle Kraken, but that wasn’t enough to overcome the massive scoreboard watching that the Canucks had to do in this final week of the season.  While Vancouver was holding on to a 3-1 lead over Seattle, Dallas and Vegas finished regulation tied 2-2, giving both teams points.  Vancouver’s only hope was a tie with Dallas at 93 points for the second and final wildcard spot, but with the Dallas shootout victory over Vegas, Vancouver’s mathematical window finally closed.

It was a very tumultuous year for the Canucks, beginning the season with their worst start since the dreaded “Messier Years” of the late 1990s, the slump of star forward Elias Pettersson, and a penalty kill that was on pace to be the worst in the entire 105 year history of the National Hockey League.  On December 5th, Vancouver finally cleaned house, firing Head Coach Travis Green and General Manager Jim Benning.  Benning would initially be replaced by Interim-GM and Canucks legend Stan Smyl, later replaced by new Director of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, before Patrick Allvin was finally hired as the permanent General Manager of the Canucks.  On the bench, the Canucks turned to Bruce Boudreau.  In their first game under Boudreau, the Canucks shut out the Los Angeles Kings 4-0, and “Bruce There It Is” was born at Rogers Arena.  Vancouver went 8-0-1 in their first nine games under Boudreau, clawing their way back up the Western Conference standings.  Although the Canucks got very close, they simply could not overcome their atrocious start to the year.

In the coming summer, there are big changes expected to come to the Canucks roster, and it’s still up in the air if Bruce Boudreau will be brought back as head coach.  But as the saying in Vancouver has gone for the past 52 years;

“Eh, there’s always next year.”

(Photo: Vancouver Canucks / twitter.com/canucks)

Canadians Look to Bounce Back

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The Vancouver Canadians are trying to get back to their winning ways as they travel to Oregon for a six game series with the Hillsboro Hops.

Although Vancouver still sits atop Minor League Baseball’s Northwest Division, things have not come as easily for the Canadians as of late.  After picking up seven wins in their first 10 games to start the year, Vancouver lost a pair of games to the Eugene Emeralds back home at Nat Bailey Stadium this past weekend, this being the first time the C’s have lost two games in a row this season.

When the C’s have been firing on all cylinders, their batters have truly been the story in the early part of this season, putting up five runs or more in seven games this season.  Addison Barger leads Vancouver in both Runs and RBIs, putting up nine and twelve respectively, while Trevor Schwecke has knocked three over the wall so far this season.  These batters are expected to be vital in the coming series against Hillsboro, Despite currently sitting one game back of .500, and two games behind the Canadians, the Hops have outscored their opponents 63-61 in fifteen games this season.

Sem Robberse will start his third game of the season on the mound tonight for the C’s. The Right Handed Pitcher currently has seven strikeouts and a 4.50 ERA in ten innings pitched.  The Hops have yet to announce their starter.

The six game series with the Hillsboro Hops begins tonight at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro, Oregon, with a 6:35 start time.  The Canadians return home to Nat Bailey Stadium next Tuesday, when they begin a six game series with the Everett Aquasocks.

11 YEARS AGO TODAY: Burrows Slayed the Dragon

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“Burrows, steals, cutting in, shoots! SCORES! They’ve slayed the Dragon!”

Canucks play-by-play commentator John Shorthouse’s legendary call from Game 7 of the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals still rings through the head of many British Columbians.

Most Canucks fans can tell you where they were the night of April 26, 2011.  They can tell you about the the disappointment of Alex Burrows being denied on a penalty shot.  They can tell you about the pit of despair in their stomach they felt when Chicago tied the game in the last two minutes. They’ll definitely the feeling of impending misery, knowing Chicago could eliminate Vancouver for the third straight year.  And they’ll be able to tell you about the pure euphoria they felt when Alex Burrows let go a slapshot from between the hash-marks, high to the blocker side, beating Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford in Overtime, and sending an entire province into a frenzy.

It’s been eleven long years for Canucks fans since the Spring of 2011, where Vancouverites saw their team go all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, in a losing effort, and the team has gone through extensive changes and misfortunes in the years since, but fans remember that Springtime with reverence and nostalgia, as one of the greatest moments of their fandom.  Alex Burrows scored 193 regular season goals and 19 playoff goals in his career with the Vancouver Canucks, but none are as memorable as Game 7 against Chicago.  It has gone down in the books of greatest Vancouver sports moments, along with Greg Adams’ Game 5 Double OT winner against the Maple Leafs, and Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal at the 2010 Winter Olympics against the United States.  Alex Burrows was inducted into the Canucks’ “Ring of Honour” at Rogers Arena in 2019.

(Photo from Rogers Arena)

“They’re Technically Still Alive!” How the Vancouver Canucks can STILL make the Playoffs.

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Coming into last week, the Vancouver Canucks were riding a five game win streak, and only sitting six points back of third in the Pacific Division, a steep hill to climb, but still doable.  The Canucks proceeded to go 1-2-1 over that week, lose Captain Bo Horvat to an injury, and find themselves six points back of the Dallas Stars for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.  With only three games left in the regular season, the odds of the Vancouver Canucks making the Stanley Cup Playoffs are incredibly slim, but it’s not impossible.

Currently sitting six points behind Dallas, and three points behind the Vegas Golden Knights, the only other team still in the hunt.  There is only one, albeit farfetched scenario which would land the Vancouver Canucks into that final wildcard spot.  Vancouver would have to win their final three games against the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers, while Dallas has to lose all of their remaining games, and Vegas has to lose all but their matchup with the Stars.  Although this sliver of hope is just that, a sliver, Canucks Coach Bruce Boudreau is still confident that his team has a chance of defying those odds.

“We’re still alive. There’s only 6 days left in the season…Crazy things can happen in sport. I’ve seen it happen a lot on the last day of the year.” Boudreau said, when he spoke to the media following practice at Rogers Arena on Monday morning, also adding “If you give up hope, you’re done, so you always have to believe there’s a chance.  If we win tomorrow… we might live to fight another day”

The Canucks have went 31-15-9 in 55 games since Bruce Boudreau took over as head coach at the beginning of December, and he’s hoping he can tack three more wins onto the record before the season is out.

(Photo: Vancouver Canucks / twitter.com/Canucks)

Goaltending Crucial in Abbotsford’s Success

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Spencer Martin and Sheldon Dries

The Abbotsford Canucks are riding high in their inaugural season, currently riding a franchise record eight game win streak, and poised to control home ice for the opening round of the American Hockey League playoffs.

Fans have had quite a lot to cheer about at Abbotsford Centre this season, with the incredible development of defenceman Jack Rathbone, the offensive production from Sheldon Dries and Sheldon Rempal, the fairy-tale run of Yushiroh Hirano, who became the first Japanese-born player to ever score an American Hockey League goal, and the emergence of the goaltending tandem of Spencer Martin and Mikey DiPietro.

Spencer Martin was signed by the Vancouver Canucks to be a 5th string goaltender.  To hop in and bat clean-up should an injury occur to Thatcher Demko or Jaroslav Halak.  Then he got some time in the crease in Abbotsford, and quickly took the starters job away from DiPietro and Arturs Silovs.  Once Martin became the number one guy in the Abbotsford net, he’s played the best hockey of his career, going 19-4-2, with a 2.43 Goals Against Average and three shutouts.  Mikey DiPietro, on the other hand, began to elevate his game to compete with Spencer Martin, which has led both goaltenders to play at the highest levels both have in their professional careers.  With the playoffs rapidly approaching, and only three games remaining in the regular season, Abbotsford will be going with DiPietro, as Vancouver has called up Martin for the remainder of the season, following an injury to Jaroslav Halak in Vancouver’s loss to Ottawa last week.

The Canucks host the Bakersfield Condors on Tuesday night, before finishing off the regular season in Winnipeg, with a pair of games against the Manitoba Moose.  Should Abbotsford hold on to third place in the AHL’s Pacific Division, the first round of the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs will begin May 3rd at Abbotsford Centre.

(Photo: Abbotsford Canucks)

BCHL’s Final Four is Set

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Langley/Alberni Valley Handshake

The Final Four in the British Columbia Hockey League Playoffs are set, and ready to begin this weekend.

The Langley Rivermen punched their ticket to the BCHL’s Costal Conference Final, following their 5-2 win over the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in Game 6 on Saturday night.  Langley is the sole surviving lower mainland team in the playoffs, following Chilliwack’s elimination at the hands of the Nanaimo Clippers last week, and the Rivermen will now travel to Vancouver Island to take on those same Clippers.

Forward Max Dukovac has led the way offensively for Langley, putting up six goals and seven assists for thirteen points in eleven games across the first two rounds, most notably scoring the triple-OT winner, sinking Alberni Valley in Game 4.  Between the pipes, Ajeet Gundarah has been stellar, clocking a 2.33 Goals Against Average and a .929 Save Percentage across the first two rounds, including 35 saves in the sixth and deciding game against the Bulldogs.  Driving the train for the top seeded Nanaimo Clippers is goaltender Cooper Black, who leads the BCHL playoffs in all goalie stats, with an astounding .947 save percentage, and a 1.71 Goals Against Average.

In the Interior Conference Finals, it will be the “Battle of Highway 97” as the West Kelowna Warriors attempt to shut down the top seeded Penticton Vees.  West Kelowna took care of the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in six games, while Penticton made quick work of the Prince George Spruce Kings.  The Vees eliminated the Warriors in five games in the 2020 Playoffs before the COVID shutdown, and the Warriors are looking to exact some revenge.  West Kelowna got the better of Penticton in the regular season, winning four of the seven matchups this year.

Games three, four, and six (if necessary) of the Costal Conference Finals will take place at Langley’s George Preston Arena. Dates yet to be announced.

 

(Photo Credit to Garrett James)