MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — Mayor Clive Tolley is relying more on his hockey knowledge and less on the luck of the Irish in predicting that the Moose Jaw Warriors will defeat the Saskatoon Blades in six games.
The only two Saskatchewan teams left in the WHL playoffs meet in the Eastern Conference Final, with the first game on Friday, April 26, in The Bridge City and the second a day later. Games 3 and 4 are in The Friendly City on Tuesday, April 30 and Wednesday, May 1.
Following the recent city council meeting, media reminded the mayor that his prediction of the Warriors defeating the Swift Current Broncos in five games — not seven as the Express accidentally reported — was spot-on, with the mayor acknowledging his accurate forecast.
“After that first game, when we got our butts kicked, I was questioning my ability to judge hockey. But we’ve got the strongest team we’ve ever had,” Tolley said.
“They came back really, really strongly and won one convincingly, so I’m looking forward to the matchup with Saskatoon for the East Division championship,” he continued.
“We’ve only had one East Division championship in the time that the Warriors have been here (so) I’m predicting Moose Jaw in six in this series (with Saskatoon).”
Media asked the mayor how he accurately predicted the previous series’ win and whether his last name was “McTolley” or if he had a leprechaun in his garden.
He replied that he’s been around hockey “an awful long time” and has never seen a junior team here — either the Canucks or Warriors — with power and scoring ability like the current group. He noted that the 20-year-olds have done well in leading younger players who are also performing well.
“We’ve got tremendous depth when our third and fourth line comes on. We’re playing really, really well. So I think we’ve got all the ingredients to have a championship team,” Tolley said.
Tolley said he spoke with Swift Current’s mayor at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) conference in mid-April about creating a friendly bet for the second-round series. He learned that his counterpart doesn’t do that because the Broncos always lose when he does — so they didn’t.
While Tolley said he may speak with Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark about a friendly wager, he didn’t want to put pressure on the Warriors, considering they won the previous round without any bets on the table.
Meanwhile, Tolley said he looked forward to the games here on Tuesday and Wednesday and was eager to see the Events Centre sold out with an enthusiastic crowd.
“It’s fabulous. It’s been a long time coming. When we built this building, we hoped that they (fans) would come, and now we have a team that is drawing the fans in and it’s just tremendous,” he continued. “The energy … (and) noise in the building (and) the 50/50 for the booster club, it’s just all really, really good.”
Tolley added that he’s “a bit superstitious” with the jerseys he wears, so instead of wearing a shirt with the old logo, he hopes to purchase a new one with the new Snowbirds’ decal.
