I don't attend a ton of Bruin games these days, but who could resist last Saturday's gala event at the new Spectra Place that had just been launched a few hours earlier.
The fact that the Bruins were hosting the Millionaires of Melville, another venerable SJHL franchise, made it even more memorable.
I'll leave the game details to our sports sandbox dweller, Josh Lewis. I want to tell you about something else.
You see, I've been harping about the need for this community to build a new arena for over 15 years, and on Saturday, I couldn't quite believe the job was done, even as I sat through the game and watched all the digital wonderments rolling out before me ... not including the Bruins, of course. There are no apps yet for power forwards or defencemen with good lateral movement.
The scoreboard, all the video functions, the new computerize 50-50 draw, digitized clock, and inventory checklists. It's almost surreal.
But it was after the game that I surprised myself. I walked past the old Civic Auditorium, the old Agricultural Auditorium when I felt a twinge of nostalgia. That's where I first made my debut as a sports reporter in Saskatchewan. The only thing digital about it, as far as I could see as I peeked through the little front window, was an ATM machine glowing in its loneliness in the front lobby. There were still some lights on in the old Aud, but nobody was home. There will be fewer reasons for going there. The sign on the front still says Home of the Estevan Bruins, but that is now a lie.
I didn't think I'd ever feel a twinge of anything but ridicule for the Aud. It's ugly, poorly designed and well past its prime. So are a lot of other things, including a few ex-sports reporters.
What other rink in the province can you think of where you can't see the ice surface from the lobby? Where else do you climb up several steps just to get into the rink portion of the facility, only to have to climb down, to find a seat? And let's not get started on the dressing rooms or the plumbing and so on.
But hey, it worked, it seemed, and I was suddenly recalling my first trips there to be entertained by the Punch and Bill show, (Ernie McLean and Bill Shinske).
Ya, I felt some emotion as I peeked in the window for a few seconds before continuing my walk back to the office.
I recalled the first of the reborn Bruins, the Kech and Ray Show, that brought life back to the franchise with the help of a few others like George Sereggela and Bill Dutton and the like following the devastating news that the WHL styled Bruins were moving on to New Westminster to a larger rink and a city with an airport.
The new ad hoc management had three weeks to make a commitment, and just like the group that got the ball rolling on Spectra Place ... they worked quickly. They hauled in equipment, (none of it digital), begged, borrowed and stole hockey players. Gary McKechney coached for a pittance and the team survived, and then thrived. They knew that if they let junior hockey go for even one year, it would be tough to bring it back. So they didn't let that happen. They iced a team and you know, it wasn't that bad.
And now I look at the old Aud, in the twilight of its usefulness and think that maybe it wasn't such a pathetic little palace after all. It had its moments. It certainly has character thanks to the characters that were allowed to ramble around in it, some of them were even hockey players.
Be proud Estevan. Spectra Place is an awesome digital complex that will develop its own personality, while the old Aud, sitting less than 100 yards away will evoke wonderful memories in quite a few of us, in spite of itself.
It had its share of sell-outs, especially in the early days. Let's see what the new kid on the block can do.
