The Selects had a record of two wins and five losses against
the WHA squads and no victories in the seven matches they faced off against NHL
teams. Actually, they did better than expected by winning a couple of the
earlier games against the pro teams. It was expected that they would lose them
all, even get crushed in most of them. The Selects’ club did meet the forecast
by prevailing in the next eight games without a loss versus the collegiate plus
a couple of Canadian major junior clubs. Mekkar and teammates showed dominance
in those matches except the last one due to the fatigue factor. This despite
having a roster that was younger overall than all of the squads so far on this
portion of the hockey tour.
Mekkar recalled that the coaches and team officials still
always expected more from the team. At the same time, the Selects’ players were
being constantly reminded to be on their best behavior and frequently told,
“You are goodwill ambassadors representing your country”. Mekkar joked to some
of his teammates, “If that were true, those in charge would have sent the real
top tier national team instead of us. The one that plays in the annual World
Championships, the Olympics, and big tournaments like that! Our squad was sent
to fulfill previously made exchange agreements.” All of his teammates that
heard the rebellious native’s comments laughed as they knew he was absolutely
correct in his assessment.
This travelling circus as Mekkar referred to it still had
other stops to play more matches after the stint in North
America . The schedule was supposed to be very packed and have the
team arrive in quite a few cities all over. Yet, the reality of the daily news
passed onto to the players became a running comedy of errors in their minds.
The whole farce seemed to Mekkar that whoever was arranging the different
matches to be played was ill-prepared. The lack of organization of the tour was
turning out to be more like a continuing gag. The team members didn’t know from
one to the next if the schedule match would take place that day or not.
Cancellations and changes in the calendar would at times be discovered the very
morning of that particular game day. It was frustrating to say the least for
Mekkar and many of the others.
Maybe, Mekkar figured it was just an absence of finding
quality opponents for the Selects to face off against. Of course, neither he
nor any of them really knew for sure. Sometimes the players were informed with
excuses of arena scheduling changes along with a host of other justifications.
Mekkar thought many of those admissions were untrue. He knew better through
what he learned about prearranging playing time and space availability planned
far in advance. He did just recently help manage, along with teammates, a team
and home facility while performing on the ice at the same time. There were
matches already cancelled on this tour that would have taken the Selects to Brazil , Australia ,
Japan , Thailand , France ,
Germany , England , and South Africa . At least there still
a few games left thought Mekkar. Anyway, the Selects next game on the docket
was in Switzerland
and they now had no idea what to expect.
Well, Mekkar was notified that he is now not welcome from
participating in some engagements and cities in Canada . This was due to some
altercations with opposing fans, coaches, and players. From what even a few of
Mekkar’s own team members considered as over-the-top taunting, swearing, and
object throwing in retaliation to having items poured on him in the sin bin.
Mekkar didn’t care what they said about or how they labeled him. As a pest,
Mekkar was not about to let up with respect to his behavior either. His
attitude was if management wants to send me back home then do it otherwise shut
up and move on. As for the objects thrown back at the crowd Mekkar now admitted
he might have went too far in his reaction because it incited the fans even
more against him.
On one occasion, Mekkar went to his bench to retrieve one of
the two of his heavier twigs encased with a thicker layer of fiberglass. He
called them his special fighting sticks and proceeded to engage another
combatant in a stick fight by the home bench. Mekkar thought of these fights
while wielding the lumber as like a dual between medieval knights aiming their
lances. In this case he was on sharp blades on frozen water instead of on
horseback. Mekkar had practiced this type of one-on-one battle back home. He
became extremely adept at it. This time he knocked the other guy’s wood club
from his grasp.
In Mekkar’s fury he swung his stick at the fellow willing belligerent’s
head in a downward chopping motion. The adversary ducked out of the way and one
of the homeside coaches received a vicious slash across the face instead. It
goes without saying that Mekkar was kicked out of the game and then later
reprimanded by his squad’s officials for his violent conduct. Mekkar later felt
that someone in the Selects management must have appeased another important
individual in that city. He was lucky that no assault charges were filed
against him in a court of law. It was a different time and place, but he would
not be able to escape in the same manner today. Mekkar got to continue on the
rest of the tour and was not sent back home at this point. Still, Mekkar was on
a very short leash.
The panorama in Switzerland to Mekkar was so
beautiful in some areas of the country he thought they should put them on
touristy postcards or for sale paintings. Since the Selects came into town
early the day before Mekkar got to check out some of the surrounding sights.
Yet, he was really tired and the rapid travel time zone changes affected his
body today. He learned from working at the airline with his mama, well dragged
along by her, that a good rule to follow was one day of rest for crossing every
three time zones travelled. Utterly the recovery time was going to be shortened
in preparation for this matchup and its 2pm local start time.
Arctic warrior that he is, Mekkar thought that it was a
weird time to begin a hockey game. He attributed it to some type of local media
broadcast reasoning or cause. Mekkar would soon learn why this oddity was in
effect. When his squad arrived at the rink about an hour prior to game time,
Mekkar went to check it out. Wow, he quickly noticed the differences and then
went directly to the visitor’s lockerroom area to change and get ready. Mekkar
described what he saw to a few of other teammates. Most of the Selects’ players
were already into their pre-game rituals and ignored him. A few others on the
team didn’t believe his story at all.
Mekkar didn’t even bother to converse with any of the
netminders, just because to him they are aliens or from space. He felt that
goalies are the only individuals crazy, weird, or stupid enough to accept a
position where they received rapidly firing discs at themselves. Plus, other
players coming at them too! Mekkar has performed netminding duties in the past
but only in practices. Additionally, the assignments were by his coaches under
duress and desperate to fill a need. The net duties taken by him were always
against his better judgment and wishes. Even though it was to help the team, he
thought who in their right mind would be crazy enough to play this position as
a regular job.
No wonder the goalies are all nuts to accept hard solid
rubber pucks flying at them at dangerous speeds. Only recently the last of the
maskless guardians of the net had retired. At least by carrying this function
outside of formal games Mekkar gained an appreciation of what he personally knew
what the netminders go through. However, Mekkar was not about to change his
game because he believed it would render him less effective on the ice.
As the team came out onto the ice Lasse discerned that yes
there was a roof, but no building walls around the outside the stands and the
arena. The overhead lighting was not the brightest either. Fortunately there
was some day light that contributed to the atmosphere there. Mekkar had earlier
tried to warn his teammates but they did not listen or rebuffed him altogether.
So, he didn’t speak anymore about the conditions and would let them find out
for themselves.
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