OTTAWA – You won’t be able to tell on Saturday night, with the flood of enemy sweaters snatching up affordable tickets and driving five hours east, but the Ottawa Senators’ seven-year tumble in attendance has now hit rock bottom.
The Canadian Tire Centre has drawn an average of just 12,050 fans per home game this season, as supporters file in for games that reach just 62.7 per cent capacity, a far cry from even the 30th-ranked attended club, the New York Islanders at a 79.8 per cent fill rate.
They’re driving away from Kanata in droves.
This hurts former Sens great and current Toronto Maple Leafs fan favourite Jason Spezza, who skated in this same building for an average of 19,408 fans before getting traded to Dallas.
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Spezza feels a mixture of disappointment and shock at what has happened since 2012, as the Sens have steadily, clumsily tumbled from the sixth-best home draw in hockey to 31st.
“I look at this as a strong hockey community with great fans, and we filled the building every night when the teams were good,” Spezza said Saturday, sitting in a CTC visitors stall he’s getting more used to with each passing season.
“It’s a little bit upsetting to see it like this. You’re not sure what the reasons are or what’s behind it. Hopefully, people can just put everything aside and just come enjoy games.
“This is too good of a hockey city. You don’t want to put it in jeopardy, where people think it’s a bad market. You need full buildings for things to go well, so I’d like to see the buildings full here again because it’s just such a strong hockey community.”
Thankfully, that won’t be an issue Saturday, for a prime-time matchup brimming with individual side stories, role reversals, and — for the visitors — playoff implications.
Sheldon Keefe, whose second hockey life as a coach sprung from the CJHL championship he brought to nearby Pembroke, will have a small army of friends and family cheering him on at Canadian Tire Centre.
“He has strong ties to this community here, and this is important game for him. So, knowing how it felt when you came back, you want to win because you want to have good feelings leaving the rink where you have had good feelings in the past,” said Spezza, who spent time talking with Keefe about their mutual connection to the area.
“We’d like to get him a win, because I know he’s going to have a lot of people here tonight. It kind of culminates him becoming an NHL coach, coming through here now.”
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Only months ago, Ottawa head coach D.J. Smith was in charge of deploying Toronto’s defence corps; Senators top-line winger Connor Brown was fighting for ice time in the Leafs’ bottom six; and the Sens’ new top shutdown defenceman, Nikita Zaitsev, was patrolling the ride side of the Leafs’ back end.
“I don’t think a game like today needs a ton of guys to get their emotion up,” Smith said. “When you have a sold-out crowd and you’re playing Toronto, guys will be fired up and ready.”
So, too, will the fans. The majority will be decked out in blue and white — for better or worse.
In Spezza’s days as a Senator, he figures the split in this barn for the Battle of Ontario was 50/50.
Now, the Leafs’ trips east have resulted in an urgency for the home side to score early in an effort to take the crowd of it.
“Here, when we were the home team and Leafs fans came in, we expected it just because of the Ontario proximity,” said Spezza, who’s been blown away by how well Leafs fans travel.
Toronto ranks third-overall in road attendance (behind Nashville and Calgary) this season, averaging a vocal 17,904.
“Like, it’s really impressive. It’s everywhere we go. We hear cheers when we score goals and the ‘Go! Leafs! Go!’ It’s a real effect, and it helps us on the road. And it’s pretty cool as a player to be on the road and have fans cheering for you,” said Spezza.
Ol’ Vintage then allowed himself to think back to early 2000s, when the interprovincial rivalry had bite and the CTC was rocking on the regular.
“It’s an electric building,” Spezza said, fondly.
“Our playoff runs here, the whole city gets behind you. Really loud. It seems like with most Canadian cities, sometimes the regular-season crowds can be a little subdued. And then as playoffs hit, everybody kind of gets the fever of playoff hockey, and I think Ottawa was probably similar to that.
“There were some electric times here. Sitting in the dressing room and you’re sitting under the stands, so you can kind of hear the rumble of the crowd and it definitely gets you excited.”
Saturday could be one of those rare nights in 2019-20 when vehicles choke the drive to Kanata and the barn comes back to life.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
