Atlantic & East Coast Report

Election Night in Canada — With Bob Cold and Hairy Kneel

Bob — "Welcome back to election fans across the Country. Well it’s been an odd game to this point. The Liberals are leading but they’re looking a little tired out there and I have to say they’re definately being a out skated so far in the contest. We’ve got a stoppage underway at the moment as the officials have gone upstairs for a ruling on the last play. It’s difficult to tell from this angle if the last shot made it through so this might take a while."

Hairy — "Absolutely, Bob, the puck was bouncing around quite a bit on that play and I can tell you that the folks in the video booth don’t want to make any mistakes on this one."

Bob — "In the mean time Hairy, why don’t we bring our viewers up to date on the action so far."

Hairy — "Sure thing Bob. We’re about mid-way through the first period and this veteran Liberal team has a small lead. I can tell you right now though that their lead sure doesn’t reflect the action in the game to this point. This upstart Conservative expansion team is really taking it to the Liberals at every opportunity."

Bob — "They sure are Hairy. The Liberals may be the odds on favorites in this game, but it looks like someone forgot to tell these Conservatives that. What’s your take on what we’ve been seeing so far?"

Hairy - "Well Bob, right now the Liberals are looking like a team that’s back on its heals. They’ve gone into a defensive mode trying to hang onto their small lead, but it’s still early in the game and they desperately need to put some insurance on the board. This game is not over yet and this is no time to sit back."

"Conservative captain, Stephen Harper, really set the tone for this game from the opening face off when he fired a GST bullet past the Liberal defensemen and drove it home. I think that really took the big red machine by surprise and they still haven’t managed to fully recover from it."

Bob — "Sure thing Hairy and that turnover down in the far corner early in the game didn’t help either."

Hairy — "There's no doubt that hurt em Bob. On their best chance of the game the Liberal Captain picked up the puck in offensive zone with that Gander Weather Office pass but he failed to capitalize on it. He just didn’t seem to know what to do down there. He stick handled around the issue way too long and finally had the puck picked right off his stick. Harper, who’s been very quick out there, took it the length of the ice and drove it home to pick up a big point for his team. A really bad decision on the Liberal’s part not to take the shot Bob."

Bob — "Indeed Hairy. I have to admit I expected much more from this veteran team, but they don’t really seem prepared for this game."

Hairy — "I think you’re right Bob. I don’t think they expected this upstart Conservative team to get off to such a quick start, but there’s a lot of game left to play yet and we may see two completely different teams coming out of the dressing rooms after the intermission."

Bob — "The action in this one has been pretty much one sided to this point Hairy and we’ve only seen any real chances from the starting lines. The second and third strings have been a non-factor to this point."

Hairy — "Absolutely, I mean that’s true on both ends of the sheet. So far both Captains have been carrying their teams and that’s going to have to change if one side or the other hopes to break this game open. Some of the key offensive players on both sides just haven’t shown up for this one and neither captain can keep up this pace for the duration"

Bob — "True, I certainly expected to see much more action out of players like McKay and Stronach for example. I have to wonder why we haven’t seen more of these two so far? Is that big mid-season Stronach trade still playing itself out in this game?"

Hairy — "Could be Bob. That move caught everyone by surprise. The McKay / Stronach line was a big one for the Conservatives but since the trade we haven’t seen much from either player."

"Neither one has had any real ice time in this game. I think both teams are a little wary of pitting them against each other in such an important contest. They may not be sure of what could happen. The Conservatives look like they want to stick to their game plan and not let things to get to aggressive out there, not yet anyway. They’d rather use their speed and agility to wear down their opponents. On the other side of the coin, the Liberals can’t afford to get too rough. If they take any more penalties or they could knock themselves out of it all together."

"They did manage to kill off that Goodale income trust penalty a short while ago but they sure can’t afford to take too many more of those if they want to stay in this one."

Bob — "Are you surprised the Conservatives haven’t been a little more aggressive in the corners and along the boards Hairy? I mean this Liberal team is much older and they’ve been beaten up pretty badly the entire season. Wouldn’t the Conservatives be better off if they started hitting a little harder?"

Hairy — "I think a lot of people expected exactly that from this team, but I think they’ve come into this one realizing that they have to be wary of the experience of this Liberal team. It's definately going to be a big factor in the outcome. It looks like they’ve decided on a different game plan but we may see them get a little more aggressive if they’re still behind late in the game."

Bob — "A lot may depend on whether or not the current review results in a point for the Conservatives. The referee is still talking to the of ficials. Why don’t you walk us through the play that lead up to this delay Hairy."

Hairy — "Sure thing Bob. It all started back in Liberal territory when Martin stepped out and tried a long lead pass over the hand gun issue. The play had the potential to open things up for him here at home but he fanned on the pass and his counterpart intercepted it in the neutral zone. Harper took it back down the ice, split the defense and managed a weak bouncing shot on the net that may or may not have scored. We’ll just have to wait and see what the decision is on this one."

Bob — "Indeed we will. In the mean time, everyone’s been talking about all the money this Liberal team spent getting ready for this contest Hairy, do you think its going to pay off for them?"

Hairy — "I really don’t know Bob. Yes they’ve spent a lot of money but the big question is have they spent it wisely. Did they spend it in ways that would ensure a win? I’m not so sure they did."

Bob — "Ah, here we go folks, it looks like we have a decision and.... yes, it looks like the Conservatives have scored another one on that hand gun issue. This game just got a little closer. Here we go again, now let’s get back to the action"