Lots percolating so lets get to it.
ICEDOGS SEASON ENDS- NO PLAYOFFS
The last time I called a playoff game for this franchise was back in April 2019 when it was game 5 in the 2nd round vs Oshawa. The Generals won that game 2-1 and closed out the series in 6. How long ago was it? Jason Robertson was playing for the IceDogs and he's a star in the NHL now. The pandemic shortened 2019-2020 and wiped out 2020-2021 in the OHL. The last two seasons have featured missed playoffs. This season was particularly hard to take given how quickly the season went south and far the team felt. Three coaches and over 25 trades caused roster turmoil and once things started running downhill, it became a runaway train. The 3rd head coach Ryan Kuawabara had a record of 6-35-4-1 in his tenure. It's not all his fault though as many nights the IceDogs did not ice a complete roster. I felt bad for the players who were trying but having three different ten game losing streaks during the season weighed on them. Still, there were bright spots. Forward Kevin He likely will be highly ranked for this years draft after a 21 goal campaign as a 16 year old. Zak Lavoie, who came over before Christmas from Mississauga had 29 goals between his teams and Alex Assadourian showed some promise after being acquired at the trade deadline from Sudbury. Forwards Daniel Micheau and Declan Waddick both eclipsed the 20 goal plateau with 23 and 27 respectively. G Owen Flores battled hard and while his close to 4.60 goals against average was not great, his save % which was beyond .890 showed his compete level as many nights the IceDogs were badly outshot. Armed with two of the top five draft picks and a top import pick, Niagara can hasten something of a rebuild but with a ton of holes in the lineup trading anything and everything nailed down is a real fear as we saw how things worked out last year. This was a model franchise before and can be again, but the hard work needs to start now, and needs to start with more structure in the hockey operations department.
MY OWN SEASON
Another busy season comes to an end personally as my time stretched from Niagara to McMaster and one trip to Sarnia to fill in on a TV broadcast between Sarnia and Ottawa on Hockey Day in the OHL. The IceDogs season and the challenges it presented are documented above but I did feel our crew did its finest work both on and off air. We, to me, are NHL regional caliber top to bottom , and you can quote and challenge me on that. I'm happy to have a chance to articulate. Sometimes when a team is struggling, you work hard to tell a story and create storylines and our crew did that game in and game out. The effort level and quality was peak, and I'm proud of the work we did because it was not easy trying to drum up interest on a repeated basis for a team that was falling further and further out of the playoff picture as the season progressed. As for the other sports I called, well McMaster football proved to be a similar challenge. The team was 2-6 and cost themselves a couple of wins with an eligibility infraction involving a player. The playoffs for a program that had long modelled itself on excellence was not in the cards. That said, again Bubba O'Neill and I did some of our finest work under some adverse circumstances, working hard to tell great stories about great student athletes. With basketball and volleyball, the set up was simple. It's me, three cameras, a table and a microphone. Basketball comes naturally to me having coached and broadcasted it for a number of years. Volleyball is one I'm still trying to figure out but it's a ton of fun to call. The highlight of the whole season, hockey included, was being at the Men's Volleyball Championship broadcasting elite volleyball in front of a packed house on CBC Sports. That tournament featured a roller coaster of emotions as well but I would not have traded the experience for anything. I'll have some more concrete thoughts about the industry as a whole, but those are my initial thoughts on the season that was. It sure was busy with over 60 games done while maintaining a full time work schedule and getting to see almost all the games my rep goalie daughter plays. I will say that age 50, the elusive NHL or network dream grows dimmer as things get more competitive and trends younger, but I look young, feel young and have a damn solid, professional call! That said, there were a ton of professional ups and downs this year, and that certainly took a personal toll on me. Still, no need, or no time to mope around and feel sorry for myself. Many would love to be in my position.
TIM MOSES
What can you say that has not been said before? I really cannot top the tribute John Lu had on www.tsn.ca seen here: https://www.tsn.ca/other-sports/remembering-our-friend-and-colleague-tim-moses-1.1937100 . Post TSN and in retirement Tim joined YourTV in Niagara and was a fixture on sports productions both in studio and live. His gentle spirit, good humour and ability to remain calm in the face of the stress of live TV helped everyone, and he made everyone around him better. Mentoring younger on and off-air talent came naturally to Tim and he was a favourite of just about everyone. When I got the job of broadcasting Team Canada's World Jr Training Camp and Exhibition games for TSN GO, it was Tim who was right there helping me out, taking pictures of me, clearing out a broadcasting area and setting up my music stand as I didn't have a desk. He also visited with many former colleagues and you can tell how much he was in his element. We were all blessed to have him in our life as a work colleague, mentor and just all around super guy. If you go on Twitter, many others have voiced their tributes to Tim. Tim, you will be missed. RIP.
Until Next Time
Steve Clark
Steve is the TV voice of the Niagara IceDogs, a position he has held for 15 years and also is the on-air voice of the McMaster Marauders football, basketball and volleyball teams.
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