The Week That Was... and the Road Ahead

Cover your screen with whiteout and you can call it "the road today".

- So, I received more positive reviews for the work done on the Commandos webcast yesterday. First off, this proves that sometimes people actually do watch them (and shockingly, it wasn't even close friends or relatives... and I didn't have to pay them that much). Secondly, it reminded me of something I brought up with the Commandos earlier this season; if the MHL wants to make the pay-per-view webcast system more lucrative, serious consideration should be given to some form of "free preview". For example, the first home game of the season in each rink to start the year as well as the first home game after the holiday break is offered for free, courtesy of fasthockey.com and the league. Let's face it, the MHL as a whole will never have the following of the Q... people will pay to watch a major junior game online and then complain about quality afterwards. For Jr.A, all but the diehards will simply not pay up front for fear of an inferior quality product, be it shoddy camerawork, lack of commentary, etc. In both examples, the odds of a less than stellar product exist... but far fewer people will willingly risk frittering away their money for a broadcast at a lower level of the game. By allowing a game to be seen on the house, the MHL and it's clubs that have a higher quality broadcast to offer will eliminate what the fan could perceive as potential risks involved with purchasing the product, while at the same time using what could be a strong promotional tool to bring (and in some cases, re-introduce) the league and it's caliber of play to people who are looking for a good game to watch.

- The Jonathan Huberdeau incident has been making it's rounds on the interwebs last night as well as today. In what was probably his last game in a Sea Dogs uniform, Huberdeau got a little heated while being held back by linesman Jay Doiron, who eventually fell to the ice and lay injured for some time. Huberdeau was given a misconduct for abuse of officials and this afternoon had a four game suspension leveled upon him by the league. Tricky situation here. Personally, although I've seen numerous occasions where Huberdeau has thrown a tantrum over this or that when things don't exactly go his or the team's way, and according to this explanation on the Q site, the suspension is just, when I watch the footage, I see a player trying to do something that happens with great frequency; that is, trying to break free of an official. Unfortunately, an accident occurred that led to an injury of an official. It was not a bright decision on Huberdeau's part... but what happens if Jay Doiron doesn't take that tumble? As well, the league will allow this suspension to be carried out while Huberdeau is at the World Juniors' in Russia. Once again, the league is simply following the rules as directed. That being said, knowing what they know of the situation and knowing Huberdeau's impending on-ice situation, does it not seem like the league is just trying to save face because they feel they need to do something? It's a decorative suspension and neither deters that type of behavior - if in fact they feel it's truly that worthy of suspension, nor does it prove any sort of point. It's just a sad attempt to save face. As well, here's hoping Jay Doiron - definitely one of the better linesmen in the league -  recovers quickly.

- So picture this... you're living in a town with one of the best Jr.A teams in the country. In this town, that team is the highest level of hockey for miles around and is a flagship franchise in the league which it plays. You're poised to host (and very well positioned to win) the championship emblematic of the best team in Eastern Canada and have lost a grand total of three times in regulation. It's a Saturday night, the team is at home and frankly, the options for entertainment are not particularly plentiful given the geography of the situation. Would it not make sense if one was a hockey fan to take in the local team as they continue on a memorable march to what could prove to be a very rewarding season? Apparently not... at least if you live in Truro. Only 448 fans came out to support the Bearcats as they took on the Dieppe Commandos on Saturday night. That represents about 25-30% capacity of their home arena. The average attendance per game for the entire season thusfar represents about 35% total capacity of the rink. I understand games before Christmas usually do not draw as well for a plethora of reasons... but at what point does reasoning turn into ridiculousness? Without being close to the situation in Truro, all I can do is ask what exactly is keeping fans away? The population base, the talented team and being one of the only games in town all work in the Bearcats favor. What exactly is working against them?

- This week is a busy one locally, with the Cats in action three times, the Flyers twice and the Commandos once. It all starts tomorrow as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan pay a visit to the Coliseum in a 7PM start. Moncton is looking to bounce back from a 7-3 loss in Victoriaville on Friday night while Bathurst is looking to ride to momentum gained from their last game this past Saturday night at home which saw them blow a 5-1 lead to Halifax before finally prevailing 7-6 in OT. The switch behind the bench - firing Eric Dubois and hiring Danny Dupont - has been a success so far, as most shakeups of that kind are to any club. Can they keep it up tomorrow in Moncton? After that it's two more Maritime rivals on the docket when the Sea Dogs roll into town Friday night, followed by a rematch with Halifax on Saturday night. The Dogs will be minus Jonathan Huberdeau and the Moose will be sans MacKinnon and Drouin thanks to World Junior selection camp (as well as Konrad Abeltshauser, recouping from a wrist injury)... for the Cats Dimitri Jaskin will be off to represent the Czechs at the WJC. The Cats are looking to avenge an early season loss to the Dogs that has been considered by some to be their worst effort of the season... while the Moose will be looking to turn the tables on Moncton after perhaps their worst performance this year, a couple weeks back at the Coliseum. Good times will be had by all (until one team loses).

The Moncton Flyers - coming off a 5-1 interleague loss to the Halifax Lions over the weekend - are gearing up for a pair of tilts, Saturday night at the Red Ball Internet Center against the Saint John Vitos followed by a visit to the Miramichi Civic Center (which incidentally makes the AJL look like the Bell Center in terms of broadcasting facilities) to take on the Miramichi Rivermen. The Flyers will be looking to cushion their lead in the standings, which is currently at a narrow two points, albeit with four games in hand over second place Charlottetown.

Finally, the Commandos have just one game on the docket this weekend but it's tough enough that it will probably feel like two or three. Dieppe plays host to the Truro Bearcats - who on Saturday night did this to those same Commandos in a 2:30 start on Sunday afternoon. Dieppe will be looking for redemption while shuffling the lineup due to the always tricky exam season that also makes life interesting for the coaching staff in Dieppe - but worthwhile in the long run for the guys on the roster.