Gordie Robertson Day, Friday Audio

I had a chance to chat with Trail hockey legend Gordie Robertson this afternoon. The former Smoke Eater and gold medalist at the 1952 Olympics got a pretty special honour in Vancouver yesterday. The city officially marked "Gordie Robertson Day" as the colourful hockey hero got a chance to take in the Canada vs. Switzerland men's hockey game live.

The tickets came as a result of a total stranger who heard that Robertson felt slighted when he wasn't offered tickets or a chance to carry the torch. Both slights were rectified. You heard about it on Mountain FM and there's also a good article in The Province that spells it all out. It was a very kind gesture by Coquitlam resident Ed Rogers to invite Robertson to the game as his guest.

One interesting note from the night was that during an interview with him in the intermission he got a big ovation when they mentioned that Gordie had played for the Trail Smoke Eaters. That name still carries a lot of weight!

Robertson wasn't just a participant with the Edmonton based club that won gold for Canada in 1952. He scored 4 goals in 8 games and was a major contributor to the cause. If you want to learn more about Gordie you can check out this sports reference article or check out the article at the Trail Historical Society's website.

I've had the honour of chatting with Gordie a few times on Mountain FM's Overtime. He's always honest and entertaining. Here is a chat I had with him today on his experience at the Olympics and the honour bestowed upon him by Vancouver...

Gordie Robertson on Mountain FM's Overtime

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I guess the last question is whether or not Robertson will get a chance to attend the gold medal game. I hope Canada makes it to the game and Gordie is there to see it.

FRIDAY AUDIO

Smokies President Tom Gawryletz tonight's "Fan Appreciation Night"

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Nelson Ford Smokies Play by Play on Mountain FM: Westside 2 Trail 1 (OT)

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Smokies Assistant Coach Brian Youngson after the Westside OT loss

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Castlegar Rebels MVP Ryan Aynsley (former Merritt Centennial)

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Brown carries torch and road trip audio

Smokies forward and Trail native Justin Brown got the chance to carry the Olympic flame in Cranbrook this weekend. The injured Smoke Eaters alternate captain chatted with me tonight on Mountain FM's Overtime.

Smokies forward Justin Brown talks torch

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Congrats to Justin on what was I'm sure a pretty cool experience. Now we're just hoping to see him and all the other injured Smoke Eaters back in the line-up as soon as possible. Right now a total of seven Smokies are on the mend. Graeme Strukoff, Mitch Kaufmann, Thomas Abenante and Brown didn't make the road trip. Travis St. Denis, Curtis Tonello and Sam Mellor all got hurt during the trip. At this point only Abenante's injury appears to be season ending, but you never know what you're going to get until that hurt player steps back onto the ice. We'll see what kind of line-up the Smokies can put together tomorrow night against Powell River!

ROAD TRIP AUDIO

Nelson Ford Smokies Play by Play: Trail 5 Powell River 4

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Nelson Ford Smokies Play by Play: Victoria 4 Trail 1

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Nelson Ford Smokies Play by Play: Alberni Valley 4 Trail 2

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Nelson Ford Smokies Play by Play: Langley 8 Trail 5

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Former Smoke Eater Tye Lewis of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs

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COAST VS. INTERIOR

I mentioned on my twitter that I was going to look up the stats comparing the coast to the interior when it comes to penalties taken. The coastal teams average just under 1 more "time shorthanded" per game than the interior teams. The top 4 most penalized teams are coastal clubs (Langley, Burnaby, Nanaimo and Surrey) while the 4 least penalized teams are interior teams (Prince George, Trail, Penticton and Vernon). Langley (who Trail played on Sunday and will host Thursday) is either on the power play or shorthanded an average of 12.68 times a game, while Trail is on the power play or shorthanded only an average of 9 times a game. I don't think it's a co-incidence as it appears the game is called somewhat differently on each side of the province.