Maple Leafs’ Fan Day goes to the dogs as pups come to play

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That old showbiz adage — ‘never work with children and animals’ — didn’t apply to the Maple Leafs on Thursday’s inaugural Fan Day.

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The players and coach Craig Berube had a blast in front of 8,000 mostly young supporters at Scotiabank Arena, the ideal distraction from their losing record in the waning weeks of the season. The Leafs put their skills and their dogs on display in a joint event with the PWHL’s Toronto Sceptres that included each club staging a 3-on-3 game.

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“When you’re going through tough times, you forget that the game is fun,” said Berube. “Yes, it becomes a job and you get paid, but today was different for the guys. You’re giving back to the fans and community who support us.

“I get the pressure; it comes with playing here. But I’d rather have pressure than no pressure.”

THREE’S COMPANY

Though he probably wanted a full, intense practice on a rare date the busy NHL schedule allowed for it, Berube did light shooting drills leading up to the Blue versus White 3-on-3. Defencemen Brandon Carlo and Troy Stecher, rare scorers, were among the snipers, with Calle Jarnkrok’s last-second winner on Joseph Woll ending the afternoon in a 10-10 tie.

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Defenceman Morgan Rielly was excused with a case of the flu.

An intermission featured a shootout competition, in which fourth liner Steven Lorentz followed up the team’s lone goal on Tuesday against the Islanders with a nice move.

“I skated by Chief (Berube) and said: ‘Were you watching?’,” laughed Lorentz. “Unfortunately he was looking away, so I don’t know if I’ll be getting a look (in a real tiebreaker).”

TURN BACK THE CLOCK

Berube made a surprise appearance in the shootout., though with 64 goals in 1,143 NHL regular season and playoff games, the odds were with Joseph Woll, who out-waited the coach’s move.

“He might be angry with me,” Woll joked of potentially losing a future start. “He tried to come in a little slow to throw me off. I let the puck come to me.”

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Berube played long before the shootout era so was rusty on breakaways.

“I wasn’t feeling bad coming in on him, but thought if I try and make a move, I might fall, which wouldn’t be good. So I shot it, but my shot won’t beat anybody.”

SIMON SAYS WOLL’S ALL EARS

Woll and a young fan were joint winners of a centre-ice Simon Says contest, hosted by Steve Max. A frequent feature at SBA and other pro sports events, Max’s high-speed chatter quickly reduces the field in the repetition game. But Woll used his game-face laser focus to beat all other teammates when ‘Simon Says’ was not part of the command.

“I was talking to Cowboy (Easton Cowan) and wondered if it would be effective just to close my eyes and try not to look at (Max),” Woll said of his winning strategy. “Never played Simon Says with a pro before. And I got to wear a crown.”

RETURN OF THE HOUND LINE

Phoebe still has lots of fleet fur on her at age 9 and a half.

Stecher’s purebred Bernese mountain dog was the fastest end–to-end on the ice of any Leaf player/owner, who skated backwards to entice them.

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“She’s still got it, just like her dad. I’m a proud (father),” Stecher said. “She’s in her element on the ice. She’s a bit old for her breed, but I got her in my rookie year in Vancouver and she’s been with me ever since. She’s well-travelled to (seven NHL teams). She just had a spa day with a treat bag, so maybe I’ll open that up, but only one, she’s on a strict diet.”

The younger pups struggled a bit. Wiliam Nylander entered both Pablo and Banksy, one just missing Phoebe’s eight-second finish, the other lagging behind. Zoey, belonging to Matthew Knies, simply ran around the ice.

“All those hours of training paid off,” teased Matias Maccelli.

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