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Canucks Corner with Jason Romisher: Magical run of 1994 reason why the Canucks should not give up just yet

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EIC
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Pavel Bure had a playoffs to remember, scoring 15 goals and 16 assists for 31 points in 1994.

The Vancouver Canucks entered the All-Star break with two consecutive losses to drop them to 20–19–11 on the season with 51 points. They currently sit in a tie for tenth in the Western Conference.

Many pundits believe the Canucks should trade their veteran players and go the way of a full rebuild. There is an historical argument against this direction. Most SFU students who are Canucks fans remember the thrill and anguish of the 2011 season, in which the Canucks won the President’s Trophy, and then suffered a 4–0 defeat to the Bruins in Game 7 of the NHL Finals.

I am not making an analogy between the 2016 Canucks and that 2011 team. However, there are some parallels to 1994.

Many SFU students were not even alive in 1994 when the Canucks also reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. That season is remembered in the hockey world as the year when the great hero Mark Messier led the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup Victory in 54 years. That playoffs included a Messier victory guarantee in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils and Ranger players like Brian Leetch and goaltender Mike Richter becoming legendary. That narrative almost did not happen because of a Vancouver Canucks team that came breathtakingly close to a spoiling the Rangers’ dream season.

The Canucks that season were led by a determined and hardworking captain Trevor Linden; a veteran goaltender in Kirk McLean; colourful tough guy Gino Odjick, and electrifying winger, Pavel Bure. The Canucks finished the 1993–94 campaign with a mediocre 41–40–3 record good for seventh in the Western Conference. Few thought Vancouver had any chance to even get through the first round in a loaded conference featuring very strong teams such as Calgary, Detroit, and — don’t laugh — Toronto.

In their first round match up the Canucks drew the heavily favoured Calgary Flames. Calgary jumped out to a 3–1 edge with a roster still loaded with players from their 1989 Stanley Cup victory. The series became a war as the Canucks won in overtime in game five, overtime in game six, and double overtime in game seven on Pavel Bure’s legendary winning goal.  

The Canucks then crushed the Dallas Stars in five games, followed by another five game beat down of the Maple Leafs to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

The finals saw the Canucks fall down three games to one against the Rangers. Vancouver then throttled New York 6–3 and 4–1 before one of the best game sevens in NHL History. The Rangers leapt ahead 2–0 when Trevor Linden stepped up and netted a shorthanded goal early in the second period. Mark Messier then scored to give the Rangers a 3–1 edge. Linden was a man possessed that night, and scored again early in the third period to make the score 3–2. With five minutes left, Canuck centre Nathan LaFayette who had just one goal in the regular season beat Richter with a wobbly shot that rang off the post!

The final minutes of the game were extremely hectic as the Canucks fought and pushed for the equalizer. With 37 seconds left, there were three faceoffs in the Rangers’ zone as Richter was pelted with shots. As the buzzer sounded, the New York storybook victory was complete. However, one is left to ponder what would have happened in overtime had the Canucks beat Richter and how a Canucks victory would have affected the history of the game.

The 2016 Canucks have a Team USA Goalie who brought the Americans to the brink of gold in the Vancouver Olympics, two gifted offensive players in the Sedin twins and a roster mixed with youth and veteran talent. If they scrape in the playoffs is the 2016 edition of the Canucks capable of the magic of the 1994 team?

Nobody knows right now, but one thing is for certain; if the Canucks decide to trade away their veteran players at the trade deadline, we will never find out.

Having the time of your life

By
EIC
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Christopher Tierney (Johnny), and Jenny Winton (Penny) star in Dirty Dancing.

The highly romantic story of Johnny and Baby falling in love through dance has captivated audiences since Dirty Dancing’s release in 1987. Fans of the film were clamoring to relive that magic at the opening night of the Dirty Dancing stage show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. There were hoots and hollers as soon as the iconic music filled the theatre, before any of the cast members even graced the stage, and the nostalgia was palpable.

Set in 1963 at Kellerman’s, a wholesome family resort in the Catskills, the story idealizes the era and is an unrealistic yet gratifying story of young love and standing up for others no matter the cost. The costumes were bright and colourful and suited the era well, and the set was versatile with moving screens and video projections that set the scene. The band was positioned on a platform upstage behind a shuttered screen, and although the screen was opened at some points, the band seemed like a hidden afterthought.    

Of course the dancing in this show better be superb, and it lived up to expectations wonderfully. Penny Johnson (Jenny Winton), Johnny’s dance partner, was stunning, as were the other couples performing along with them. But the best scenes were between Baby and Johnny, and the audience showed no shame in cheering them on when things got steamy. The two leads, Gillian Abbott and Christopher Tierney, had brilliant chemistry, and the excitement builds as they rehearse for their big dance number.   

This was one of the liveliest audiences I’ve experienced in Vancouver, and they were very invested in the show. When Johnny asked Baby “Want to hear something crazy?” one eager audience member shouted “yeah!” But perhaps the most popular moment was Johnny running down the aisle of the theatre and jumping on stage to take Baby out of a corner and dance with her for the finale of Kellerman’s end of season show.

The power of dance and of the conviction to act on your beliefs makes this an inspiring story that leaves you wanting to dance and have the time of your life.

Warehaus dance collective showcases the talents of SFU grads

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EIC
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Sofija Polovina, Megan Hunter, and Akeisha de Baat in Doe.

Warehaus dance collective, presented by Dance Allsorts, packed the Roundhouse Theatre with the performance of Doe, a new work, and VITA which — according to the post-show talkback — has been majorly reworked since last spring. The audience filtered into the theatre in waves, buzzing to see the three women in Warehaus (Akeisha de Baat, Megan Hunter, Sofija Polovina) perform again after the successful debut of VITA at Launch 2015 last spring.

The performance was a triple bill: the two pieces by Warehaus were interspersed with a short work by guest choreographer Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien. I felt a swelling pride at the start of the show when the presenter announced that every person that we would see onstage was a graduate from SFU’s School of Contemporary Arts. It is inspiring to see the amount of creativity and talent coming out of this university and pouring into the professional arts community in Vancouver.

Warehaus kicked off the show with the 12-minute Doe. I recognized the costumes immediately from the show’s poster — three women in loose suit jackets posed identically on a staircase.

In Doe, Warehaus adopted structured body shapes associated with ballet and modern dance styles only to distort and fragment them. The soundscore was also divided: the sounds of human whispers or voices were followed by silence and then dizzyingly pounding music. Doe confidently broke down and merged dance styles. Moments of smooth unison were interrupted by angular, jarring arm and leg movements as if someone had thrown classical repertoire into a blender.

The second piece, For the Time Being, choreographed by Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien (another SFU graduate), made exceptional use of movement, lighting, and music. It transported us into a lonely world where only two bodies existed — arms and legs carving with precision in silence through a thick layer of fog onstage.

The light of two projectors behind the dancers caused a tunnel of vision through the fog that made the stage appear deeper than it was. They reflected brilliantly off the dancers’ white costumes to turn them different colours when the fog lifted and the music started. The virtuosic duet and the building soundscore (fusing a David Bowie cover and music from a video game) combined to give the piece an awesome vibrancy and edge.

Warehaus finished the show with the longer piece VITA. The first ten minutes of the piece had me leaning forward in my seat — and I was not the only one — squinting to try and decipher what exactly was happening onstage.

Three orange shins upstage lit up so gradually it felt like time slowed down. They barely outlined the dancers’ heads and shoulders, which struggled to lift or move as if magnetic with the ground. Synthesized music with a double thump like a heartbeat grew louder until the dancers’ backs finally came into view, muscles defined in the low-level lighting and shadow.

VITA was full of passion — once the dancers got moving their smooth, silky movement phrases starkly contrasted with the harsh industrial soundtrack. The image of the three dancers with their heads thrown back, arm and back muscles flexing and contorting, made the piece feel like a battle between fleshy human bodies and a violently mechanical world.

Though different, the two Warehaus Collective pieces were poignant and innovative. The three dancers are highly receptive to each other as they perform. They show a unique aptitude to embody different movement qualities and rapidly shift between them, revealing the influence of gaga technique within the collective.

After having seen these three exceptionally strong performances, I look forward to seeing the future works of Warehaus and Mihaila Patterson-O’Brien

 

Don’t rush through your university years

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EIC
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[dropcap]I [/dropcap]spent six years completing my undergraduate degree, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. The idea of a traditional degree only taking four years to complete is becoming an old-fashioned ideal, and to rush through it just to be able to say you finished it ‘on time’ misses the point of the university experience.

University is the best time of your life to explore new subject areas, take up new hobbies, try on a career you think you might like through a co-op placement, or go on an exchange. Passing up these types of experiences by focusing solely on the courses you need to graduate will earn you a degree sooner, but it will be much less valuable than a degree that comes with some extra work and life experience behind it.  

If you can’t decide what to major in, don’t worry — think about doing a joint major, double major, or a major and minor; perhaps even two minors. Don’t let the fear of taking longer stop you from getting the most out of your time here. Having that extra minor might lead to an amazing job opportunity once you graduate, or might set you apart from someone who is not as well-rounded.

Also, consider doing co-op. This is just another experience that you should not avoid just because of the time commitment. If you graduate with no work experience, your chances of finding a decent job will be much lower than someone who has already worked in a variety of relevant positions. Plus, co-op jobs tend to pay very well, and I personally found them to be a great way to save up money for those semesters when five classes really didn’t allow for much part-time work.

And if you’ve been thinking, ‘oh, this is all well and good but I can’t afford a few extra semesters,’ then co-op may be a solution for you — you can spend a bit more time completing your degree while making some money along the way.

The simple fact is that graduating from university and suddenly being in the ‘real world’ with no more student perks or discounts can be daunting. Why not soften that transition and plan your next move from the comfort of student life. Most day jobs are really not all they’re cracked up to be — especially your first one.

If you’ve been turning down opportunities like writing for your student paper, going on an exchange, joining your student union, or taking on that cool volunteer job you heard about just because you want to focus on school and get out of here as soon as possible, I would urge you to consider what you’re missing.

University is not just about your classes — of course, it’s important to devote time to them and maintain your GPA — but think about how much more valuable your time here will be if you take one less course per semester and spend that time on an extracurricular activity that you’re passionate about.

Enjoy being a student for as long as you can.   

Four juice cleanses that will change your diet forever

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EIC
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Feeling bloated? Never fear! These simple juice cleanses will help you unclog your body and open your mind.

  1. The “Urine Luck”

The nutritional properties of your urine are almost magical. This cleanse is simple and cheap! Every time you go to the washroom, bring a cup to catch some of your golden goodness. After you have about five fluid ounces, you are ready to enjoy!

Tip: Best served warm.

  1.  The “Chevron”

We’ve all heard that techron can be good for your car, but did you know it also purifies your pores from the inside out? This cleanse won’t be cheap, but if you can afford to consume one litre of gasoline a day for nine straight days, then this is the cleanse for you! While you will probably die during this cleanse, at least the gasoline will scrub away unwanted cloggage. Warning: cases of both heightened flammability have been reported.

Tip: Mix with coconut oil for maximum flavor and health benefits!

  1. The “Frank-ly I’m Crazy”

Grab a shot glass and a timer, because to complete this juice cleanse you will need to take a shot of Frank’s Red Hot sauce every hour! This cleanse will literally set a fire in your belly and burn away unwanted fat. Your bowels will literally explode as your body removes old waste from your system.

Tip: Avoid all other natural laxatives while doing this.

  1. The “Unicorn Blood,” made by The Dark Lord Inc.

There is only one cleanse that can give you immortality and a beach-ready bod — and that’s this! A unicorn’s thick and silvery blood is rich in Vitamins E and will help remove all unwanted toxins from your body. You will instantly stop aging while the rough fibre cleanses your colon! (Available for purchase at most drugstores and online at darklordinc.ca)

Tip: Mixes well with Mott’s Clamato juice!

Sports Briefs

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EIC
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Harper led both teams in scoring with 26 points

Men’s Basketball

The SFU men’s basketball team lost on Thursday to Central Washington University, 82–69. The loss was the team’s 13th straight. Michael Harper led the game in points, scoring 26 points in 36 minutes of action. JJ Pankratz was second on SFU with 15 points, and freshman Oshea Gairey had 12 points.

Softball

Head Coach Mike Renney has added another new recruit; as Dallas Tilley has committed to join the Clan for the 2016–2017 season. A transfer student from Douglas College, Tilley batted .537 in conference play during the 2015 season, and was selected as a North Region Second Team All-Star. The team starts their season Spring Hill Invitational tournament February fifth in Alabama.

Cross Country

Head Coach Brit Townsend has been nominated as a finalist for Sport BC Female Coach of the Year. Last season, Townsend led her team to the NCAA West Region Division II and the GNAC women’s cross country titles. The award will be handed out March 10th.

Swimming

Lauren Swistak and Adrian Vanderhelm have both been named CollegeSwimming.com National Swimmers-of-the-Week for NCAA Division II. Swistak was victorious in four individual races and three different relays, while Vanderhelm won six individual races and one relay.

Signing Masato Kudo will revitalize Whitecaps

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EIC
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Kudo (right) has been prolific in Japan, scoring once every three games.

For the past five years, the Vancouver Whitecaps have been on an upward trend. After their abysmal debut season in 2011, the boys in white have been get- ting slowly but steadily better. The past season the Whitecaps were a defensive juggernaut, letting in the least amount of goals in the league. What prevented a run at the MLS cup, though, was their inability to score up front. Coach Carl Robinson addressed that issue over the winter break by signing Japanese striker Masato Kudo.

Kudo’s previous club was Kashiwa Reysol, in Japan’s J.League. Though this team is probably not a household name here in Canada, the J.League is one of the strongest leagues in Asia, and has produced a plethora of talent over the years. In 2011, Kudo was a big part of Kashiwa Reysol capturing the league title, and Whitecaps fans will be hoping that Kudo can replicate that win- ning form here on the west coast.

Kudo’s stats definitely deserve kudos. In 189 games, he has scored 66 goals, for an average of just over one goal every three games. If he could continue that from here, it would really help solidify Vancou- ver’s attack, and give some needed experience to the Caps’ up and coming forwards such as Kekuta Manneh and Octavio Rivero.

When it comes to players from the other side of the Pa- cific, the Vancouver Whitecaps have a long history of success- ful signings. The most prolific player of Asian descent to play for Vancouver was Y.P Lee. A legend back in his home country of South Korea, he was part of the national team that came fourth in the 2002 World Cup. In his prime, he played for European giants such as PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham, and Borussia Dortmund before signing on with the Whitecaps. The first Asian player to play for Vancouver was China’s Long Tan back in 2011. In fact was the first ever Chinese-born player to play in the MLS. More recently, Iran’s Steven Beitashour was a solid part of Vancouver’s back line before being traded to Toronto FC this offseason.

 

The Asian country most represented for Vancouver is actually Masuto Kudo’s home nation of Japan. Tokyo born Jun Marques Davidson played 50 games for the Whitecaps in the 2012 and 2013 seasons, before moving on to play for Carolina and eventually in the Thai Premier League. A Vancouver alumnus who still plies his trade in the MLS is Daigo Kobayashi, who, after playing for the Whitecaps in 2013, was traded to the New England Revolution and remains a key part of their squad.

 

No other team in the MLS has had as many players from Asia as Vancouver, with six. In the past most of these signings were integral parts of the team, and Masato Kudo will be looking to add on to these previous successes. Right in the prime of his career at 25 years old and with a long history of goal scoring, he just might be the spark that sets off the Vancouver Whitecaps on their best year yet.

SFU men’s hockey top of BCIHL

By
EIC
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Jono Ceci had three points against Selkirk Saturday night.

It was another terrific weekend for the SFU men’s hockey team. After sweeping the road games against Eastern Washington the previous weekend, the Clan were back home at Bill Copeland for another set of back-to-back games. The team was able to defeat Eastern Washington and fellow contenders Selkirk College, extending their winning streak to six games.

The first game was the type of high-scoring, offensive game you’d expect to see in the 1980s. Both teams combined for a total of 81 shots, and 11 goals were scored between the two teams. Jesse Collins of EWU scored two goals in the first, and the always

Beau Walker added another, with Jesse Mysiorek, Jesse Wil- liamson, and Michael Sandor scoring for SFU after two to make it 3–3.

In the third period, SFU looked like they were off to win another. Mysiorek and Sandor both added their second scores to make it 5–3 with just over 10 minutes to go in the third. How- ever, EWU scored two in quick succession to tie it up. That set the stage for Tyler Basham to score with just over one minute left to give SFU the win, result- ing in a third consecutive victory over the Eagles 6–5.

 

“It was just a two-on-one play,” explained Basham after- wards on his winning goal. “I had [Matt] Luongo driving to the net and he took the [defender] with him. I was able to beat the goalie low blocker [with a] quick shot, right against the post [. . .] it was kind of a dagger to the other team, those are the types of goals that just take a team out of the game.”

The game the next night was against defending champions Selkirk College. It was a pivotal match of first versus second. Since SFU was two points up on Selkirk, they had the chance to go four points clear with a win in regulation.

Jono Ceci scored SFU’s first two goals to give them a 2–0 lead early in the second, before Ryan Edwards and Jamie Vlanich scored twice to give Selkirk the lead, the second time in as many games SFU had blown the coveted two goal lead. But Tyler Basham saved the day once again for SFU, scoring with over eight minutes remaining to tie the game up at three. Matthew Berry-Lamontagna would score the only shootout goal for either side making the final score 4–3.

 

“[It was] a desperate Selkirk team against an SFU team that won five in a row,” said assistant coach Tom Spencer after the game. “We got outplayed for forty and found a way to win.”

The big story of the game, however, was the loss of Jesse Williamson. One half of the top defensive pairing for the Clan, Williamson took an awkward hit near the end of the second period to his head and did not return. He was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons, according to Spencer.

The win in overtime, along with Selkirk’s win against UVic the next day, means SFU is only one point up on the champs. With the loss of Williamson, the Clan’s defence will have to step up to fill the void left by him down the stretch.

Men’s wrestling team wins in rare home meet

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EIC
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The meet was only the second time the team played at home all year.

The SFU Men’s Wrestling team took to the mats and faced the Southern Oregon University Raiders last weekend. It was a successful meet for the Clan. In one of the few times the team has been able to compete on the Burnaby campus this semester, they came away with a 23–20 win over a team they had not beaten in three years.

“Well, as a whole it was a success, because we got to wrestle at home in front of a pretty big crowd,” said Justin Abdou, head coach of the men’s wrestling team. “A lot our supporters got to come out and see our better guys compete, and our best wrestlers wrestled very well. Some of our younger guys showed that they still need more matches, more experience, [and that] has given us something to build on.”

“It was the first time we’ve beaten those guys in three years, so that was nice as well.”

One of the stronger performers of the day was Cruz Velasquez. He was able to easily defeat Matt Peterson of SOU, improving his record overall to 25–8.

“He’s one of our leaders,” said Abdou on Velasquez. “I would say he’s more of a silent leader than anything. He leads through his preparation and work ethic. He’s having a very successful season after a disappointing end to last season, where he went academically ineligible second semester and didn’t get to compete. This year he’s taken care of everything from academics right through preparation for every meet.

“I couldn’t be happier with how this season has gone so far. I think he needs to diversify his attacks a little bit more, and he’s going to be a real threat to contend for an All-American honour and a berth at the NCAA tournament.”

The meet was the second of only two wrestling meets the team will host here on the Burnaby campus this season. From now on, the team will be on the road. Despite that, coach Abdou relished the opportunity to play in familiar surroundings.

“I think it’s important because it gives us a bit of an ad- vantage being here,” he said on the importance of wrestling at home as opposed to on the road. “We’re in our own building, we don’t have to travel, everything is comfortable to us, so we have an advantage over our opponents when they come here. And I think it’s also great because they’re is a very rich tradition with Simon Fraser University wrestling. A lot of alumni live in the area and it gives them a chance to feel connected to the program and see our up and coming athletes compete.”

So what does the team need to improve on heading into the final stretch of the season?

“I think that a couple of our guys need to wrestle with more confidence, go out and try to impose their style and their will on their opponents instead of waiting to see what’s going to happen, and letting the other guy control the pace of the match,” elaborated Abdou. “I think in our wrestlers that are doing well, they’re going out and taking control, and some of our wrestlers that are struggling are taking more of the wait and see attitude out there.”

The team’s next meet will be Tuesday, January 27th against North Idaho College. The NCAA Division II Nationals will be March 11 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Heathers hits the spot, In a Blue Moon comes close

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EIC
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Anita Wittenberg and Brett Christopher star in In A Blue Moon.

Based on the 1988 cult film Heathers, starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty, this dark comedy musical about high school life is over-the-top and deliciously daring.  Think Mean Girls, with a lot less pink and a lot more murder.  

Veronica Sawyer (the hugely talented Christine Quintana) is a nerdy teenager with a middle-of-the-road social status. She dreams of having the power and untouchable quality of the Heathers, the three most popular and cruel girls at school — all named Heather. After they learn of her excellent forgery skills, they bring her into the group to use and abuse her.

Meanwhile, Jason “JD” Dean (Kamyar Pazandeh), the mysterious, trench coat-wearing new kid, has Veronica preoccupied. He notices that Veronica doesn’t really like her three new friends, and decides that a little justice is in order. Before she knows it, Veronica is an accomplice to murder and things get way out of hand.

I never thought a show with so much inappropriate, disturbing content, like suicide, sexual abuse, and brutal violence, could be so entertaining, but Heathers has catchy songs, sharp dance numbers, and a stellar cast that gave this little-known ’80s film a new life at the York Theatre.

Arts Club’s new production In a Blue Moon by Lucia Frangione is touring the Lower Mainland until January 30. This show is a much more serious family drama, and though I felt satisfied by its end, it took a while to pick up speed.

After being widowed by her diabetic husband, Ava (Anita Wittenberg) decides to move to a family cottage near Kamloops with her Vancouverite daughter. When they arrive, they find that her husband’s brother, Will (Brett Christopher), has been calling the place home. Frankie (Emma Tow) is only six, and she and Will develop a cute relationship while Ava struggles to find her feet and open her ayurvedic massage clinic.

All kinds of tensions between the three characters brew throughout the first half of the show, but are only hinted at; it is during the second half that the story picks up steam, conflicts come to a head, and we learn a bit more about each character. This is where I felt the show really came together.

Ava and Will develop an attraction for each other, but they both agree it’s probably best to avoid that complication. Not to mention the fact that Will has an on-again-off-again girlfriend, as well. My favourite scene features Ava chugging a bottle of wine and trying to calm down while she waited for his girlfriend to leave.

Although it took me a while to become invested in this story, it wasn’t any fault of these actors, who all gave very sincere performances. I was especially impressed with Emma Tow who played Frankie at both age six and 13, switching between the two with ease. The photos projected on the giant moon behind the cottage also added a nice, nostalgic feel to the show — they were used to fill in some plot details and were effective at shifting between scenes.

With strong writing and characters, In a Blue Moon is a complex, authentic story about three people learning how to live with each other after such a profound loss.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024