Another Great Game In Hamilton!

For years - back in my hometown of Halifax, I had the privilege of playing hockey every Thursday afternoon with some of the best players in the city - a group of "black aces", most of whom had a history of some level of hockey fame (or in a couple of cases, infamy). Without dropping too many names, the group often had 'special guest stars' - guys who'd visit the city on business from time to time - and subsequently show up for our Thursday 4:30-6pm skate. Murray Wilson was one of my favourites (Murray is still involved with The Habs - who've always been my favourite team - as a colour commentator with our sister station, CJAD in Montreal) to play against. Incredibly smooth skater. and a great shot - very fast, and along the ice, which, when placed expertly as NHL'ers tend to do, are very hard to stop. (I played nets in those games, by the way, just in case I hadn't mentioned that.)

One thing Murray Wilson CAN'T do? He can't comfortably wear all his Stanley Cup rings at the same time, which is pretty cool.

After the game, in the downtown core, at Halifax's Metro Centre, we'd throw our gear into our respective cars, and head for a post-game get-together at one of Halifax's many bars in the area. There's a lot of camaraderie between guys who like playing hockey together, and who respect each other's game, and these guys were the most fun to play with than anyone I've had the pleasure of being on the ice with...and I miss that.

It's one of the reasons I like to volunteer my time as in-house announcer at Copps Coliseum here in Hamilton for the Oldtimers Hockey Challenge every year. This year was another fun game, with a great bunch of very talented guys - Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith, Gary Leeman, Dave Ellett, Tom Fergus, Craig Muni, Glenn Anderson, Steve Shutt (one of my Hab heroes), Dale Hawerchuk, Bob Probert, Chris Nilan - and a couple of guys who are ALWAYS there - Gaston Gingras and Jimmy Mann. I think Mr. Mann must have a heart as big as a house. He'll be a part of this touring team until he can't move his legs anymore, I think. I've got a ton of admiration for all of these guys, but especially men like Jimmy who make a point of keeping it going.

I would be making a huge mistake if I didn't mention a couple of the best female players in the world, who played this year. In years past, Geraldine Heaney was part of the game, but I was alittle sad she wasn't there at the Hamilton game this year. However, a couple of her teammates from the many World Championship and Gold and Silver Medal-winning Canadian Women's teams did participate.

...none other than Vicky Sunohara and Hayley Wickenheiser! Awesome players - and I think Hayley scored the two nicest goals of the game. I'd love to get a chance to face shots from Hayley...or any of these players. Not just because they're great players, but because they're great people, doing their best to help raise the awareness of Ontario Special Olympics with their game here in Hamilton, and to raise as much money as they can in the process.

This year, David Sauve of the Ti-Cats provided some local flavour to the game, by scoring a touchdown on a penalty shot in one of the game's many stunts.

Speaking of stunts - the man with the microphone at ice level, who co-ordinates all of it - is former NHL referee Ron Hoggarth - a friendly spirit with just the right line for the occasion every time he turns on his mic. He has fun with the crowd, and with the players of both teams, taking 'shots' at anyone in a good-natured way, and moving the game along with both precision and professionalism.

Speaking of 'BOTH TEAMS' - the Law Enforcement Team, with lots of members of the Hamilton Police Service on their bench, would be a force to reckon with against any team you might think to throw together with your best mates. They're very good, with great goaltending (something I have a tendency to always notice, being an 'old goalie'), but are basically the Washington Generals to the Hockey Legends' Harlem Globetrotters. They may go into the game knowing they are probably going to lose to a team deep in Hockey-Hall-Of-Fame-level talent, but they also know that the big win is for Ontario Special Olympics. I'm also pretty sure that they - like me, when I had the chance to play regularly against some of the best talent around - were just happy to be on the ice, and be a part of it.

My thanks again to Cathy Sproule - and the rest of the team at Xentel DM Inc - for having me be a part of the game again this year. I'm already looking forward to the next one.