With just about every other local hockey team done for the year, and a provincial championship on the line, you knew a big crowd was going to show up to watch the Bienfait Coalers on Saturday.
But I don't think many expected about 2,000 fans to come through the doors of Spectra Place, let alone a 50/50 pot higher than that of any Bruins game this season.
People were still lined up outside after the puck dropped for Game 3 of the provincial final against the Shellbrook Elks.
After the last Strippers games had finished for the evening, the stands filled up even more.
The 50/50 jackpot of more than $6,500 was the highest ever at Spectra Place for a hockey game, even topping the mark set at the Bruins' season opener back in September.
The Coalers found themselves slightly overmatched against the Elks, but they still had some chances of their own and put on an entertaining game for fans from Bienfait, Estevan and elsewhere.
With all profits going to the Coalers, the team made more money in one night than they would have in Lord knows how many normal games.
It's encouraging to see that even though some teams are starting to go by the wayside for financial reasons or a lack of players, there is still a huge appetite for senior hockey in Saskatchewan.
***
The Coalers weren't the only older guys playing hockey in Estevan on the weekend. The 30th annual Strippers Spring Bust oldtimers hockey tournament was staged from Wednesday through Sunday, with 32 teams playing at three rinks and attending two cabarets.
The ages and skill levels of players at this tournament can vary widely, but that's not what really matters.
This tournament is about fun, beverages, catching up with players on other teams that come back every year, and proving to yourself that you're still young enough to play the game.
Kudos to Rick Rohatyn and all the other organizers who manage to make the biggest (and still growing) oldtimers tournament in Saskatchewan a success each and every year.
***
The Humboldt Broncos and Weyburn Red Wings are tied at one game apiece in the SJHL final.
Humboldt took the first game 4-3 in overtime on Friday, with Weyburn rebounding on Saturday for a 4-2 victory.
Yes, today is Wednesday, and no, they have not played Game 3 yet, and won't until tomorrow in Weyburn.
Yes, that's four days off in the middle of a league final.
How many of you have paid off your mortgage since Game 2?
The only reasoning I can think of for such a gap is that Weyburn wanted a weekend game (Game 4 on Friday) to bring in a little more money.
Will it, though? How many fans will still be engaged after that kind of a break? In the playoffs, fans want a game every two nights, if not every night.
The Blue Jays' season opener is tomorrow. The weather is warming up. I'm not at all convinced that the Wings will attract more people on Thursday than they would have on Tuesday. And the people who do go won't see a great opening 20 minutes.
Have I mentioned that there's a four-day break for Easter after Game 4, and that the series will take 17 days to complete if it goes to seven games?
As a coach, what do you do? Do you send your guys home for a couple of days? You sure as heck can't practise four days in a row and keep them fresh.
***
Hockey Calgary is putting forward a motion to ban body checking until bantam, beginning next season.
The change will be voted on in June.
Do I really have to explain how stupid this is?
Players will apparently be taught how to check in practice, which is better than nothing, but you are going to see an awful lot of first-year bantams get run over by second-years until they catch up.
I'm sure the same people will be crying about all the concussions when that happens.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected], on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. Beware that his Twitter page may increasingly be filled with strange words like Galchenyuk, Dumba, Grigorenko and Faksa in the coming weeks.
