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HomeSportsHart AttackHARTLEY MILLER’S HART ATTACK – (Telus Cup attendance sags) May 5, 2017...

HARTLEY MILLER’S HART ATTACK – (Telus Cup attendance sags) May 5, 2017 EDITION 626

Was the Telus Cup a success?

Was the season successful for the three high profile Prince George based hockey teams?

Let’s take a look…

First, the Canadian midget hockey championship at CN Centre:

The week long tournament was very successful (9 / 10) in terms of competitiveness.

The host Cariboo Cougars had just one win (1-2-2), but that was against the Cape Breton West Islanders, who captured gold and became the first team from the Atlantic region to do so.

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This is just one example of how close the six teams were.

After going just 2-3 in the round robin, Cape Breton only made the playoffs because the Cougars failed to win their last game (a 2-2 tie against first-place Mississauga Rebels).

Both semi-final games (St. Francois over Regina, 4-3 in OT / Cape Breton over Mississauga, 2-1), plus the gold medal nationally televised game (Cape Breton over St. Francois, 5-4 in OT), were all decided by just one goal.

There was not a dominating team or a dominating player at the Nationals which added to the intrigue of the competition.

While many of the games were captivating, the Telus Cup was not a huge hit with Prince George fans.

Sure, they supported the Cougars in their five nightly games (in the range of 1,200 to 1,600), but the absence of Cariboo in the playoffs took its toll.

Hockey Canada reports that overall attendance for the 19 games was 16,937 (or 891 per game) which includes 1,207 for the gold medal game.

These figures look respectable, but tickets sold or freebies, does not properly reflect how many rears were in the seats.

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Many of the day games were played in front of three or four hundred or less.

In addition, I was at the Final, and would estimate about 1,000 (and I am being generous) were on hand.

To give this perspective, the 2013 Telus Cup in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario set a record with 32,470 fans passing through the turnstiles at Essar Centre.

That is double the 2017 number!

Sault Ste. Marie has a population of 73,368 which is about the same as Prince George (74,003 according to the 2016 Population Census released by Stats Canada).

When establishing a mark for PG attendance, 5 out of 10 would seem appropriate considering it was just half of a record total.

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With the Cariboo Cougars having completed play last week, it’s an opportunity to reflect on their season as well as the two junior teams in Prince George.

The good news is that all three showed improvement in 2016-17 from the previous year.

Cariboo achieved a goal of finishing first in the BCMML (34-5-1).

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They also accomplished another objective of capturing a Provincial midget championship, but the team came up short in their Telus Cup expectations by not advancing to the semi-finals.

The Prince George Spruce Kings were 11 wins and 22 points better than their previous season but still finished below .500 (25-27-4-2).

As big underdogs in the first round against the first place Wenatchee Wild, the Spruce Kings were competitive, however, their season ended in game six on a sour note when they blew a 3-1 third period lead, giving up two goals in the final minute.

The Prince George Cougars set a team record for wins (45) and points (96) but they faltered in the first round again, losing in six games to a much younger Portland team.

The Winterhawks eventually lost in five games in the following round against the Kelowna Rockets.

Both the Prince George and Cariboo Cougars deserve a 9 / 10 and the Spruce Kings a 7 / 10 based on expectation in regular season play.

Overall, the number drops substantially when the playoffs are accounted for (and Telus Cup performance for Cariboo).

May is here and with that off-season news, stories and developments are in full swing.

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The 2017-18 season isn’t too far off in September.

Yes, success was achieved by the three Prince George hockey teams over the past 12 months but the enthusiasm was tempered by the disappointment of their last game.

If (and it’s a very big IF) the PG Cougars, PG Spruce Kings, and Cariboo Cougars can build upon their recent accomplishments then the outlook for Prince George hockey has never looked better.

FROM THE QUOTE RACK:

New Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky was greeted with some boos when he showed up at the Celtics-Bulls game in Chicago. Who did they think he was, Jay Cutler?

*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com\

The Raiders acquired Oakland native Marshawn Lynch, insisting that he’ll be a legitimate part of the offense and not a circus sideshow to keep locals’ minds off the upcoming move to Vegas.
Still, owner Mark Davis had to deny a report that the holdup in the trade with Seattle was terms regarding a bearded lady to be named later’…

* Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

A man honored the memory of his lifelong friend —  an avid New York Mets fan —  by flushing some of his ashes down a Citifield toilet.  Guess this gives new meaning to the term an “urned run.”

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*Contributor Marc Ragovin

Scientists reveal that humans were in North America 130,000 years ago, more than 100,000 years earlier than presumed. They found an autographed card of Bartolo Colon.

*Comedy writer Tony Chong of Vancouver

L.A. is one of the two finalists  to host the 2024 Olympics. So if you want to attend one of the events in L.A., you should get on the freeway now.

*Conan O’Brien of TBS

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Sabres said they fired coach Dan Bylsma because Buffalo’s players underperformed. Which is a polite way of saying the team failed a-Bylsma-lly.

*Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com

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Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat.
He also is the 94.3 radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.
Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller

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