April 14th - Cam Tait's Two Minute Warning

0:00The red numbers on the digital clock above a door in the Edmonton Euler's dressing room. Red, 1026. He stood in front of a fridge, plum full of water bottles. In a pair of blue gym shorts, blue sweatshirt, bare feet. For the majority, he looked content. But you could tell, something was on his mind. A heavy burden, perhaps. Maybe he felt he was responsible for the Euler's two-one shootout loss Monday night. Perhaps two, snapping his stick mere seconds after the game ended, showed his personal disappointment. Yet, such an action, an emotional outburst, if you will, showed his passion and commitment to his craft. He grabbed the fridge's door handle, prided wide open. Then, slowly and methodically, fetched just the exact water bottle. He cracked it, and took a long, swig. Euler's head coach Chris Knoblock came up on his left side, probably a routine visit. Like the silent check-ins parents make on their sleeping children, to see that they are indeed okay. The man nodded. The two spoke for a few seconds, quietly. Then Knoblock gently put

1:06his right hand on the man's right shoulder. Good job, Knoblock said. Then the coach walked away. With his water bottle in his left hand, the man looked straight away. A little downwards. He looked at the equipment. Equipment, a mere few minutes earlier he got out of. And he looked at the people formed in a semicircle. With cameras, recording devices, and endless questions. He knew he was next. They were coming. And when they moved the portable horseshoe form to right in front of his stall, he walked over to answer questions. Yes, the Euler's got beat 2-1 by the Colorado Avalanche. In the aforementioned shootout. Goaltenders. The last man standing in shootouts. So he could have felt he was going to be scrutinized in his media availability. The man didn't put on a ghost costume to hide his disappointment. Yet he was solid. He is improving. And I'm getting more and more confident of the Euler's marching into the playoffs with this man. Connor Ingram. Two-minute warning Gregor. Haley. Krueger. This is Camtate. Sports 1440.