RIMOUSKI, Que. – If first impressions are worth anything, the Kelowna Rockets can‘t wait to play in le Colisee de Rimouski.
An old building, the 43-year-old home of the Rimouski Oceanic is a mix of three WHL barns: Medicine Hat, with its wraparound seating; Prince Albert, with its wooden beams; and Moose Jaw, with its steep steps. Maybe because of this strange familiarity, or maybe because they‘re excited to be playing in the Memorial Cup, the Rockets are anxious to step on the ice.
“I think it looks fantastic,” Rockets head coach Ryan Huska said on Wednesday afternoon, minutes after arriving at the Colisee de Rimouski, which seats 4,285 and has a standing-room capacity of 5,062. Today, the Rockets practise at 1:15 p.m. local time (10:15 a.m. PT), then open the 10-day tournament on Friday against the host Oceanic. Game time is 4 p.m. PT.
“For first impressions, it looks like a very nice junior-hockey rink, and our guys are excited to move their stuff in,” continued Huska. “It‘s got that old character which makes it very neat to be in. But I also see the old Quebec (City) Coliseum in here as well. There‘s a lot of cement and the seats are like the ones in Medicine Hat, but they do have some nice luxury boxes as well.”
Speaking of luxury, the team had a smooth trip on a direct chartered flight to Rimouski. After flying out of Kelowna at 9 a.m., the team landed in Mont Joli, about 40 kilometres northeast of Rimouski, then had a three police-car escort to the host city of the Memorial Cup. Three times, with their lights on, the police stopped oncoming traffic so Kelowna‘s bus could travel unimpeded.
But prior to leaving, the team gathered at Prospera Place at approximately 6:30 a.m., for breakfast, to load their equipment and luggage and to meet fans prior to leaving. About 100 fans gathered to wish the WHL champions well.
The chartered flight was on Air North, a company based out of Whitehorse, with the ride lasting 4 1/2 hours. The 737-400 hit two small pockets of turbulence, but, other than that, it was a quick and smooth ride.
Some players chose to sleep, while others, energized about the upcoming tournament, were too jazzed to nod off.
“It was a very good trip; certainly nice to fly that way,” said Huska. “We came basically across Canada, and it only took us 4 1/2 hours.
“We were up early, and that was also about them trying to adjust their (inner) clocks. So forcing themselves to stay awake is something that‘ll allow them to get on the clock a little quicker.”
Without doubt, it was easy to see that the Rockets enjoyed the charter and le Colisee.
“It was a great flight,” Rockets assistant coach Kim Dillabaugh said after the plane touched down after crossing the massive St. Lawrence River just after 4 p.m. local time. “Anytime you can travel like that, you gotta like it. But the river, it‘s absolutely massive. You hear about it, but until you see it firsthand, you don‘t realize how big it actually is.”
“I don‘t think it‘s really set in yet that we‘re here,” added Rockets goalie Mark Guggenberger. “The rink, it‘s nice and you can tell it has some history. But we‘re pretty excited to be here.”
Also aboard the plane was the WHL‘s vice president, Richard Doerksen, and the league‘s director of communications, Cory Flett. For Flett, this is his second Memorial Cup, while it‘s old hat for Doerksen. Rimouski will be his 24th consecutive Memorial Cup and 30th overall, with the 1985 edition being the only one he‘s missed since joining the WHL in 1978.
NO MISSING STEP: It seems Stepan Novotny was destined to be a winner this season no matter what.
This season, the 18-year-old winger from Prague in the Czech Republic joined the Rockets after spending last season with the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League. Novotny said while he liked the USHL, he found it defensive and wanted to play in a more offensive league.
Had he stayed in Indiana, well, it would have been a winning one, for the Ice claimed the USHL championship. Novotny, however, isn‘t regretting his choice to move north.
“Coming here, this has been a great decision for me,” said Novotny, who, in his rookie season with the Rockets, had 19 goals and 41 points in 65 regular-season games. “I‘ve learned a lot of things and went through some stuff, so, overall, it‘s been a very good process.
“And being here at the Memorial Cup, it‘s what we worked towards for the whole year. Now that we‘re here, everybody‘s looking forward to it. I think it‘s going to be a great opportunity for the team.”
ICE CHIPS: Located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, Rimouski is a town that somewhat resembles Vernon with a mix of old and new buildings. However, there are some major differences, such as how the land here is mostly flat; the signs are in French; and there‘s a large body of water that completely dwarfs Okanagan Lake. . . . The jet flew at 34,000 feet, where, according to the pilot, it was 54 below Celsius. The jet‘s speed was also in excess of 800 kilometres per hour. . . . Gas at Petro Canada was pegged at 97.4 cents per litre. . . . At Tim Hortons, the sign wasn‘t Always Fresh; it was Toujours Frais. . . . The Oceanic won the Memorial Cup in 2000, and then made an appearance at the 2005 edition in London, Ont., with Sidney Crosby. At London, the Oceanic bounced Kelowna from the tournament by defeating the Rockets 4-3 and handing the WHL champions their third loss of the tournament. . . . Kelowna outshot Rimouski 47-40, but couldn‘t overcome three goals in the second period by the Oceanic. The Rockets, who trailed 1-0 after the first, scored twice in the third, but couldn‘t tie the contest. Cedrick Desjardins made 44 saves for the Oceanic, while Kris Westblom made 36 saves for the Rockets. . . . Scoring for Kelowna were Blake Comeau, with two, and Tyler Spurgeon, while Crosby, Zbynek Hrdel, Mario Scalzo and Jean-Michel Bolduc replied for Rimouski. . . . 2005 was the only Memorial Cup tournament where the Rockets failed to win at least one game. In 2003 at Quebec City, the Rockets were 1-3, and were 4-0 in 2004 on home ice. Top of Page
