COLUMN: Playoff time is tense, even off the ice

To say that the Ontario Hockey League playoffs can be tense is an understatement, especially when you have two division rivals meeting like we have now between the Soo Greyhounds and Saginaw Spirit.

Add in eight regular season meetings between two teams that were battling for a division title, and things are bound to blow up at some point.

It happened Monday night — but not on the ice. The incident occurred after the game, between myself and a Saginaw Spirit staff member who turned out to be their bus driver.

The altercation involved a tense exchange about media access to certain areas around the arena. It started during an intermission and ultimately led to an exchange following the game in which the staff member threw out threats like “kick your ass” and “lay you out.”

Saginaw’s assistant general manager ultimately stepped in before things escalated any further.

Let’s rewind a bit. It’s been a tense stretch since it was first confirmed that these two teams would meet in round two, heightened by the fact that Saginaw head coach Chris Lazary refused to speak to SooToday for a preview article about the series.

I have been covering the OHL as a reporter for decades, and my dealings with the Spirit — a division rival that has faced the Greyhounds a lot — have always been good.

It’s no secret that I get along well with the staff members I deal with on a regular basis, including general manager Dave Drinkill as well as the entire Spirit coaching staff of Lazary, associate coach Jake Grimes, assistant coach Garrett Rutledge, and goalie coach Rick Ice.

That relationship likely helped diffuse this situation as well.

Following conversations with the OHL office and Saginaw’s staff, an amicable solution was reached today with regards to post-game access for interviews following tonight’s game four.

You’ll hear many journalists say: “We’re not the story.” But sometimes, as much as we try not to be, we end up being part of it.

There were ways the entire situation Monday could have been avoided, but issues can escalate quickly when there’s a misunderstanding.

I will give the Spirit organization credit for the way they’ve handled the matter in the days after the initial incidents.

While at Saginaw’s morning skate today, Drinkill, Lazary, and Spirit director of communications and broadcasting Dillon Clark all made efforts to check in and make sure everyone was on the same page.

In some ways, to use a cliché, these types of incidents are the nature of the beast in playoff hockey. When things are as tense as they are, it can boil over quickly.

That’s not to say it’s okay to threaten anyone.

At the end of the day, with the potential for four more games left in the series, Monday’s events are a lesson learned for everyone involved.