Kessel HAS made a difference!

The Toronto Maple Leafs are slowly turning around their season after a horrific start. Most folks thought that they would improve when Phil Kessel (recovering from off-season shoulder surgery) was inserted into the line-up but not this much.

Without Kessel - 1 - 7 - 4

With Kessel - 8 - 6 - 3

Now an 8-6-3 record is nothing to write home about but at this pace, at least they won't finish last overall and give division rival, Boston, that #1 pick!

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Life is better at KFC!

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Did you here the Canadian Women's Olympic team beat the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League on the weekend? Wow, i bet those boys are hearing it from their friends and family as well as the other teams in the AJHL.

Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados was the star of the game making 47 saves.

Later dudes.

Winter & the $336,000 play!

I haven't posted in awhile. Mainly because i guess i have the winter blues already (and it's still fall). With the way the Grey Cup ended and already being exhausted from dragging the boys from rink to rink, i could use a break.

I am excited, however, for another Rider offseason. It is always fun to see the make-over of the team, by the rider brass, and see what pieces are brought in to make sure we're not the bridesmaids again next season. We have over a dozen free agents and the reality is, we will probably only see half of them back in a Rider uniform.

One thing that won't change is our quarterback. Darian Durant had an exceptional season and playoff run, and i look forward to seeing him grow and improve over the next couple of seasons.

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One other thing about the gaffe at the end of the Grey Cup that no one has talked about, the money! The too-many men on the field call cost every Rider, $8,000!!!!!!!

Every player on the Grey Cup winner receives a $16,000 cheque while the losers get $8,000 each.

In the end, that play cost $336, 000 for the boys in green (42 players x $8,000)!! Wow!!

Later

Remembrance Day!

Good day folks! Thank you to all the veterans out there and men and women serving our country right now. I truly appreciate what you do!

The Riders are back at practice today and are preparing for the Western final on November 22nd. They don't know yet who they will face until this Sunday, as Edmonton visits Calgary for the right to come Taylor Field and the zoo that will await them. It's going to be a long week and a half waiting for that game.

A few Riders got some good news today as the Western division all-stars were announced. Darian Durant beat out past all-stars Henry Burris and Ricky Ray to get the nod for the first time. Here are the rest of the Rider all-stars..........

R Weston Dressler

T Gene Makowsky

C Jeremy O'Day

DE John Chick

DE Stevie Baggs

LB Tad Kornagay

LB Sean Lucas

HB Lance Frazier

Montreal lead the Eastern division with 17 all-star selections.

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I skated with the Balgonie Bisons senior team this morning at 0800. Yes, that's right, 0800 in the morning. Talk about dedication, there was even 14 players there.

I'm the teams 3rd goalie or practise goalie, take your pick, and an executive member (which consists of two members). I've played 11 years of senior but i don't have it in me anymore and my knees are too bad to be on the ice a couple times a week. Besides, i have more fun watching my two boys play than i have playing myself.

The Bison should have another dominate team again this season as they strive for their ultimate goal, a Senior A Provincial title. They lost in the final last season against a powerful Shellbrooke Elks team.

The Bison lost a few guys to retirement but have reloaded by adding former Moose Jaw Warrior, Jason Weitzel and also Lance Herauf, who played in the CHL and Europe over the last few seasons.

Their unstoppable top two lines will consist of the following players.........

Grant Selinger (BCHL, NCAA, CHL, France)

Mike Flaman (SJHL, CIS)

Chad Richardson (SJHL, NCAA)

Jason Weitzel (WHL, CIS, CHL)

Lance Herauf (SJHL, CIS, CHL, Holland)

The Bison home opener is this Friday, November 13th, against the visiting Milestone Flyers. See you there.

Later

Riders beat B.C. in OT!

For the second straight week, the Riders went into OT but this time they came away with a victory. James Patrick's interception sealed the win on B.C.'s OT possession. Luca Congi kicked a field goal earlier to put the Riders up by three, to make the final score 33-30 Riders! The green machine now will face Hamilton next week and then will have a 1st place showdown, on November 7th, when Calgary comes to town!

Darian Durant threw for 319 yards in a less than perfect outing but went 6 for 6 on the game tying drive, including a 29 yard TD to Johnny Quinn, late in the 4th quarter. Durant did throw two picks in the game but followed both with long touchdown drives.

Don't ever count this kid out. He's a leader, warrior, and his teammates look to him when they are down. Durant told the Leader Post that during the game tying drive he told the guys in the huddle, "look at me.........we're going to score!" Love it! This kid is a winner folks.

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The Bonnyville Pontiacs have started the year 12-4-0 and are ranked 9th in the country. They are lead by 20 year old defenseman Matthew Register, who has 21 points on 15 games. Yes, he is a d-man!

The Pontiacs are looking for more from Balgonie native Tyler Henry, six points in 15 games, after his point-per-game rookie season last winter.

Keep it going Pontiacs!

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Well i guess i better mention that my Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a franchise worst 0-7-1 start and are the only winless team in the NHL. It doesn't look like things are going to change anytime soon either. Phil Kessel is going to have to be the second coming of a young Mats Sundin, for the Leafs to have any chance at making the playoffs.

It's not a recipe for success when you take a lot of penalties and also have the worst penalty kill in the league. This isn't rocket science. You can still be big, bad and tough but just don't take stupid penalties.

One man who is loving the Leafs poor start is Boston GM Peter Chiarelli. The Leafs traded their first round picks in the next two drafts to get Phil Kessel so it looks as if the Bruins will be picking fairly high next spring. Can you imagine the backlash Brian Burke would feel if the Leafs finished dead last and missed out on a chance to get Kingston, ON native Taylor Hall! Some NHL scouts say Hall is better then last years first overall pick, John Tavares.

I'm still holding out hope that the buds can turn it around.

Let's go Leafs!

Later dudes.

Riders back in 1st!

The Riders got back in the winning column this past weekend with a 32-22 victory over the hapless Toronto Argonauts. Darian Durant had one of his best games of the year with a 3 touchdown, no interception, effort.

After todays game, in which Montreal rolled over the Stampeders 32-11, the Riders and Stamps are again tied for first in the Western Division.

The Riders travel to Calgary next weekend, looking to take the season series from their western rivals and also take a strangle hold on first, with three games to play.

The Riders will be without Weston Dressler for 4-6 weeks as he broke a leg, late in the fourth quarter. Hopefully he can be back in time for playoffs. Shades of last season........

After 14 games this season, who would you rather have as your quarterback?

They both have 8-6 records.

% YDS TD INT

Burris 58.2 3673 18 14

Durant 59.0 3243 18 18

I take Durant in a heartbeat. Maybe it's because i can't stand Burris and his blame game when things aren't going well. Even at his young age, I think Durant manages the game better then Burris does. Hank seems to turn into Frank way to often lately and IMO, it couldn't happen to a better guy! ;)

Robyn and I will get to see Burris and Durant go head to head, as we'll attend our first away game next weekend in Cowtown. I think it's just an excuse for Robyn to spend my money at Ikea. Ha! I can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving

Later

Thanksgiving Weekend!

Good Day!
Thank God the long weekend is here. I need three days off badly! I haven't been able to shake the feeling of being tired all the time. Hopefully the kids and dogs let me sleep in this weekend. Although, sleeping in for me is usually about 0730.

As of now, the boys don't have hockey this weekend but that could change as we'll find out what teams they will be playing for today or tomorrow.
My oldest, Isaac, had his last try-out last night. He is still in the running for Atom Tier II but most likely will be playing Atom House, which is fine because he is all about having fun and just hopes there are friends on the team.
My other boy, Jackson, is going into his first year of Novice and his first full season as a goalie (just like Dad). He will be playing Novice Tier II. Now, going into the Novice try-outs, we were leaning towards just telling Prairie Storm that we didn't want Jackson to play Tier I because we thought he could take this year and get his feet wet and see how playing goal is for him. That changed after we saw him play. For a 7 year old, he is way ahead of where i thought he would be as far as understanding the little things and the nuances that come with playing goal. He had three sessions and in my opinion, was the best or one of the top two goalies, at worst. There is two Tier I teams so i thought (and so did about 10 other parents that came up to me) Jackson was a shoe-in for one of the two spots. Well, that didn't happen and i must say i was a little disappointed. It doesn't change anything for Jackson though, as he just "wants to play" but it makes you wonder what these "independent evaluators" are looking at. I have a lot of other things i would like to say about the way things are done behind the scenes but i won't. Not on here anyways.
I'm done with that rant!

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The Riders will be entertaining Toronto on Saturday night and it looks like it will be a less than an ideal night for football. By the time kick off rolls around, it will be below zero with a bit of a windchill. I don't believe it will be a factor though as i think the Riders will be rolling tomorrow night.

There is just something about the Riders, that after last weeks stinker, they will come back with a chip on their shoulders and lay a beating on the CFL's worst team.

There has been alot of talk (nothing good) about the performances of Wes Cates and Darian Durant this past week. Well, i have no doubt that both of them come back and have one of their best games of the year. We will win by at least three TD's and the defence will keep Toronto's offence under 10 points. Take it to the bank.

Go get em' boys!

Later

Bad Case of the Mondays......

Well another week begins and so does hockey season for my boys. Evaluations for Novice, Jackson (he's a goalie), started tonight and Atom, Isaac, starts Wednesday. It will be a minimum of five nights a week in a rink, right until the end of March. It's a long hall but everyone seems to love it! I'm semi-retired as i told my Adult Safe Hockey team to find another goalie because this body can't do it anymore. I imagine i'll still get called to play about a 5-10 games this winter. And no, i won't miss it.

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Did anyone see the shootout in the game between Vancouver and Calgary on Saturday night? Olli Jokinen came in on Roberto Loungo and fired a slap-shot, from the hash marks, right into Loungo's chest. Yes, i believe it was on purpose. So what does Vancouver do? They send Alex Edler to shoot and he comes in on Mikka Kiprusoff and does the exact same thing. A taser right to the chest! Love it. That is going to be one hell of a rivalry this season as both teams battle for the Northwest Division crown.

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It's nice to see my brother, assistant coach with the Bonnyville Pontiacs, having a successful start to the 09/10 season as the Pontiacs are off to a 5-1-0 record. It looks like the Pontiacs are keeping the puck out of their own net which is a big reason for the hot start.

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I am going to try to find time to update this blog more often. I just have to fit it into my schedule. Right now the family is in bed so maybe i'll become a late night blogger.

Later