“We do not remember days; we remember moments.” ~Cesare Pavese, The Burning Brand
This is the time that we sit back, reflect and ask, where did the last year go?
I am not sure if it is a sign of age, but as I get older, it appears each year goes much faster.
2018 had more than its share of memorable Prince George sports moments.
Here are some of them (in no particular order) that caught my attention:
Brett Connolly helped the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup:
Brett Connolly set up the game winning goal by Lars Eller as the Washington Capitals beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in game five of the Stanley Cup Final. The Caps won the series 4-1.
Connolly finished the playoffs with six goals and three assists, including three points in the five games against the Golden Knights.
A couple of months later Connolly brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown of Prince George.
There was a two-hour Stanley Cup celebration at CN Centre with hundreds of fans in attendance.
.@bconnolly8 addresses the @CNCentre crowd on winning the #StanleyCup; “Prince George will always be my home” | #CityOfPG #StanleyCupinPG pic.twitter.com/8M6eRnMc4g
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) August 20, 2018
The PG Spruce Kings had their best-ever BCHL season:
The Prince George Spruce Kings won the BCHL Coastal Conference final in five games over the Powell River Kings.
The Spruce Kings began their 2018 playoff drive by capturing the Mainland Division playoff title (needing seven games to beat both the Chilliwack Chiefs and Surrey Eagles).
The Wenatchee Wild took the Fred Page Cup final four games to one over Prince George.
The Spruce Kings finished the playoffs 3-8 on the road and 10-3 at home with many of the games at the RMCA played before a full house of 2,000 or more fans.
The final #BCHLPlayoffs recap of the season: @WenatcheeWild1 are #FredPageCup champs for the first time in franchise history as they take Game 5 3-0.https://t.co/OKS19vdRQx pic.twitter.com/ReyH7DLGOm
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) April 20, 2018
Beaudry made the most of her Olympic experience:
Sarah Beaudry of Prince George was part of the Canadian women’s 4x6km Biathlon Relay team that placed 10th out of 18 at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Beaudry finished 29th out of 87 athletes in the women’s Biathlon 15-km individual race.
Megan Tandy of PG, part of the Biathlon team, competed in one race and finished 57th out of 87 in the 7.5-km Sprint.
Jamie Macdonald of Fort St. James was one of five members of the Canadian women’s short track 3000m relay team that was disqualified after a massive collision during the finals of the event.
Macdonald participated in one individual race, which ended with a crash in the women’s 500 metres preliminary.
A minor concussion suffered in training prevented Meryeta O’Dine of P.G. from competing in the women’s snowboard cross.
https://www.myprincegeorgenow.com/68816/beaudry-moon-first-olympic-experience/
Baseball player Jared Young received special recognition from the Cubs:
Infielder Jared Young of P.G. was named the Chicago Cubs Minor League Player of the Year.
Young batted .300 with 16 homers and 76 RBIs in 120 combined games between the Class-A South Bend Cubs and Class-A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
In a breakthrough year, he was also named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Month for both July and August.
Young and his parents were flown to Chicago for a special ceremony at Wrigley Field on September 27th ahead of the Cubs’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
.@jaredyoung9 of #PrinceGeorge has been named the Chicago @Cubs Minor League Player of the Year | #CityOfPG #Sports https://t.co/BBNnsYfpMa
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 18, 2018
UNBC Timberwolves climbed the ladder in Canada West Sports:
Francesco Bartolillo became the first player with the UNBC Timberwolves to win a U Sports national award.
The all-time leading goal scorer in UNBC men’s soccer history was the recipient of the Student-Athlete Community Service Award.
The four-time Academic All-Canadian led the Timberwolves this season in scoring with 10 points, including six goals.
UNBC Defender Gordon Hall and forward Paige Payne were named to the Canada West all-star soccer.
Vasiliki Louka of the Timberwolves was named to the Canada West basketball second all-star team after averaging 18.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per game.
UNBC earned a berth in the Canada West basketball playoffs in the men’s and women’s divisions for the first time in the same season.
The UNBC men’s basketball team posted its first-ever win in Canada West playoff action 71-68 over the Winnipeg Wesmen.
What an HONOUR. For the first time in @UNBC history, a Timberwolf has been honoured by @USPORTSca with a major award. Congrats to @F_Bartolillo of @UNBCMSoccer, the NATIONAL Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner. We are incredibly proud of you, Fran. Well deserved. pic.twitter.com/UjYy9uGXTZ
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) November 8, 2018
Swimmer Haley Black excelled on the world stage:
Prince George Barracudas swimmer Haley Black finished with a pair of top-10 finishes at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, China.
Black placed sixth in the finals of the women’s 100-metre butterfly and seventh in the 50-metre butterfly final.
In addition, she set a Canadian record in the preliminary heats of the 50-fly.
World Cup bronze for Asay:
Amanda Asay of P.G. played a key role for Canada in capturing the bronze medal at the women’s baseball World Cup in Florida.
Canada won the third-place game 8-5 over the USA in 10 innings.
Asay was the starting pitcher and did not allow an earned run in 5 2/3 innings.
She left the game with Canada ahead 3-2 in the 6th.
Earlier, Asay tossed a complete game one-hitter in Canada’s 5-0 Super Round victory over Venezuela.
??????? @TwitterSportsCA #WomensBaseball #worldcup? pic.twitter.com/WbQ1BeE4q1
— WBSC ⚾? (@WBSC) August 31, 2018
Change for the P.G. Cougars:
After missing the playoffs in the 2017-18 season, the Prince George Cougars dismissed Todd Harkins as general manager and replaced him with former Swift Current Broncos coach and G.M. Mark Lamb.
Harkins had a regular season record of 136-126-13-13 plus 3-12 in the playoffs in his four years at the helm.
The Cougars underwent a facelift in January by trading captain Dennis Cholowski (Portland), defenceman Josh Anderson (Swift Current) and forward Kody McDonald (PA) for several bantam draft picks (including four first-rounders) and roster players.
https://www.myprincegeorgenow.com/70325/todd-harkins-out-as-cougars-gm/
.@PGCougars part-owner Eric Brewer, when asked if low attendance this past season was a factor in letting Todd Harkins go, says its wasn’t the deal-breaker; “You got to take all aspects into consideration when moving forward with a franchise” | #CityOfPG pic.twitter.com/3aE9526hai
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 20, 2018
TO YOU AND YOURS, A VERY HAPPY HEALTHY PROSPEROUS SAFE 2019!
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This is Week 14 of ‘Hartley’s Cat Scan.’
The podcast, introduced in September, predominately features the Prince George Cougars.
My guest this week is Cougars long-time bus driver Ralph Posteraro.
He talks about his responsibility on the road, the relationships he’s built with players, his thoughts on seat-belt & transportation safety following the tragic Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash, and his run-ins with some WHL referees.
You can also find this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, and TuneIn.
LISTEN: @Hartley_Miller‘s Cat Scan – December 27th, 2018 … featuring Ralph Posteraro, the @PGCougars‘ volunteer bus driver of almost 20 years | https://t.co/RrGDEq6r0z #CityOfPG #Sports pic.twitter.com/GBfzF5wCYf
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) December 27, 2018
FROM THE QUOTE RACK:
New York Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said, “Internally, we would argue that we’re the favorites in the division right now”: Wait, I thought New York hadn’t yet legalized marijuana.
*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
The NFL has suspended Patriots receiver Josh Gordon yet again for violating the league’s drug policy.
In other words, upon further review, they’ve ruled he was in possession.
*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/
A report says sports stadium food is laced with slime, cockroaches and mice. Or as Raiders fans call that, real home cooking’!
*Comedy writer Jim Barach http://jokesbyjim.blogspot.ca/
The Raiders may have played their last game in Oakland on Monday night. After acknowledging this, the stadium grounds crew immediately started preparations for when the Raiders return from Vegas in 2035.
*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
Sears execs are expecting to be paid over $25M in bonuses, while the workers will be getting a lump of coal. Would it be fitting if the execs received payment in Sears Gift Cards?
*Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Rotating strikes are said to be continuing in Santa’s workshop. At issue are several sentences in a proposed new contract where an elf comes across as a subordinate Claus.
*Canadian 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 colour 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
Listen to him on his weekly podcast: Hartley’s Cat Scan.