Hartley Miller's Slap-Shots December 15th Edition

By Hartley Miller

Prince George hockey fans have a strong allegiance to the PG Cougars in the WHL, the PG Spruce Kings in the BCHL and the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. These three teams have underachieved this season, and as a result, their fans are very disappointed.

Optimism at the beginning of the season has been replaced by reality. This begs the question- which of these three clubs has been the biggest bust to mid December?

Candidate number one: The Cougars! This team sits 13-16-1-3 and only 8-8-1-2 since Coach Mike Vandekamp and Assistant Coach Stew Malgunas were sacked. Three months ago stories were circulating about how this was going to be the Cougars year. They were expected to finish a solid 2nd in the division (just behind Vancouver) and no worse than 4th in the Conference. With a so-called high powered offense (just 87 goals in 33 games), the Cats were destined as contenders with an opportunity to earn that elusive banner. Yes, Eric Hunter returned and NHL first round draft pick Devin Setoguchi was acquired in a trade. It didn’t matter that two first round bantam draft picks were surrendered for Setoguchi because this was supposed to be a winning and exciting season for the Cougars.
Well, to date, the Cats are 16 points behind 2nd place Kamloops in the very weak BC division heading into their weekend double header at the CN Centre. The final 39 regular season games already appear to be anti-climatic because in all likelihood, this team will not move up or down in the standings.

Candidate number two: The Spruce Kings. This team sits in 5th place in the Interior Conference, barely ahead of Merritt and Westside. It is a shame because they have built up such high hopes, especially since they are hosting the Royal Bank Cup in May. If they don’t improve in the New Year, the team should do the honorable thing, and give its host berth in the National Jr. "A" Championship to a more deserving club in the BCHL. Yes, keep the tournament in PG and choose another club other than the Spruce Kings to participate. Of course, this will not happen, but it still isn’t right to compete when the credentials don’t back it up. The Royal Bank Cup was supposed to make it enticing and attract elite players. Instead, it’s been a revolving door with one player, after another, begging for mercy, and a one way ticket out of town.

Candidate number three: The Canucks. This team is floundering around the .500 mark. The record is bad and their boring style of play is worse. The team has no flair, no "pizzazz" and no excitement. The great Roberto Luongo was hailed as the savior, but this marquis goalie can’t score (just like the rest of his teammates). Last season, the team was fun to watch, with "interesting" personalities and issues.

So, who is the biggest flop? Ask three different fans and you will get three different answers. After careful consideration (with my sincere apologies to both the Cougars and Canucks) my choice, by a narrow margin is the Spruce Kings. President Rick Turgeon, your team can now take a bow as the winner of the biggest loser CONTEST.

From the quote rack:

"Oakland is doing so bad that Raider fans are now wearing eye patches over both eyes."

Jay Leno, on one of the sad sack NFL teams.

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"Looks like those NFL prognosticators were spot on when they predicted the Bengals would finish
9-7 this season. As in 9 wins, and 7 players arrested." Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times "Tipsheet can’t wait to get its hands on her recipe for turnovers."

Jeff Gordon, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in his Tipsheet column, on the new cookbook by the
wife of ex-Rams quarterback Tony Banks.

"Prince is scheduled to perform at the Super Bowl. Which means an Identity Malfunction."

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

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"There was a wild brawl before a basketball game in Belgrade, Serbia. It all started when the PA wouldn’t stop playing Ron Artest’s new CD."

Bill Littlejohn

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"I was cranking the boat docks and I guess there was a party the night before because I reeled in a bra."

Professional bass fisherman Jim Murray, recalling the strangest catch he ever made.

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And in case you missed it:

St. Louis fired coach Mike Kitchen and replaced him with Andy Murray. It’s the fourth coaching change in the NHL this season. In other words, the Blues have thrown the "sink" at Kitchen.

The Toronto Star reported that Hockey Night in Canada ratings are down 19 per cent for the early game and 33 per cent for the late game from a year ago. The audience for the late game is also 11 per cent lower than it was the season before the lockout.
With Don Cherry still on board, one may assume the TV rating numbers are sour "GRAPES".

And how was your week?

Hartley Miller is the sports director for radio stations 94X and the Wolf@97fm. He also writes for the
PG Free Press. Send along a quote, note or anecdote to hmiller@94xfm.com

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