Tuesday, December 19, 2017

 

The Senators Have Arrived!!


                                                            James O'Brien

Because of my wandering nature, I had not been able to attend a Belleville Senators game until this past weekend. I was not quite sure what to expect, in the overall picture, but I did know that there would be darn good hockey. I was not disappointed in the least.


Many of the fans that I have spoken to have tried to make comparisons to the Belleville Bulls. To jog your memory just a little, the Bulls were an OHL team that was unceremoniously yanked from the city at the end of the 2014-2015 season. Then there was that hockey void. Season ticket holders got irritable in mid-September of that year, There was really nothing in the vicinity to fill the void. A few headed off to Peterborough to watch the Hamilton team play the Petes. Or perhaps they headed east to watch the remnants of the Bulls up against the Kingston Frontenacs.


All that changed, dramatically, about a year ago when it was announced that an American Hockey League franchise was moving to Belleville, That would mean that the city would be hosting the best hockey it had ever hosted. In the late 1950s, the Belleville McFarlands played at the OHA Senior “A” level. Some of their players had played in the American League, some even in the NHL.


Initially, it was a little hard to fathom. As far as we knew, the powers-that-be had been able to break a rental arrangement in Binghampton, New York, and move that franchise to the confines of the Yardmen Arena. Magically, hockey had returned to Belleville in a big way.


Commitments were made to make the rink acceptable to the standards of the league. Sadly, as far as I was concerned, they reduced the size of the ice surface to NHL standards. For 34 years, we had become accustomed to the Olympic size. It led to a certain type of play, often capitalized by the host team. The Bulls were often built to suit the ice size; speed, great passing, wide open play. It would have been nice to see an AHL team with that advantage.


All of the parties got to the proverbial discussion tables, and agreements were solidified. In the Winter Issue of Watershed Magazine, Orland French supplies the details of the agreements. Those in favour of the Senators in Belleville will tell you about the economic spin-offs that will make this viable to the city. The detractors will tell you that the city has sold the farm with the deal.


The rink looks great. Capacity has been expanded to 4 500, give or take. The hockey is exceptional. The team had a rough go last year, and the pundits did not have high expectations for the Baby Sens. But they have had a reasonable year thus far, playing .500 hockey. The play is much faster than junior hockey; the hitting is harder; the passes are crisper; the shooting straighter and faster;the players are larger and older.


The Senators scored twice in nine seconds near the end of the second period to tie the game. The Manitoba Moose proved that they are the top team in the league by burying four unanswered goals in tn the third period to take the win.


Many of the players on both teams have had a couple of cups of coffee or two in the National Hockey League. According to the whims and desires of the parent club, at any time any of the Baby Sens could be traveling along the 401, north on 416 to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. It is a capricious life.


Thus far, the Sens have played Toronto, Syracuse, Manitoba, Hartford, Hershey, Providence, Charlotte, Laval, Rochester, Springfield, Utica, Lehigh Valley, and Binghampton. They will face other teams, just not all of them. Eventually they will have road trips to California. No one will complain, in mid-February.


Get to the rink. Enjoy the great hockey!!

James Hurst

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