Every time I turn the TV on these days, there’s Canada failing to win yet another medal. I’ll be honest: I like watching the Olympics, but the main thing I’m getting from the goings on in Beijing right now is an intense desire to be watching the Vancouver 2010 games instead. Judging by the fact that a good number of the Olympic-themed TV ads I’m seeing on CBC feature references to winter sports, I’m not the only one who feels that way.

Watching these Olympics is also fuelling my need to see a real sport played. A sport I care about all the time and not just every four years. A sport that has sustained me through many a long winter (in Ottawa) and one long, stupidly winterless school year (in Vancouver). That sport is of course hockey, preferably hockey played by the Ottawa Senators. Sadly, there are still a whopping 37 days until the Sens’ take the ice for their first pre-season game on September 20 against the Rangers.

This hockey drought is really making me appreciate the times when hockey was there. Even the monstrosity that was last season was better than this no hockey state. With that in mind, I will now continue my series of 2007-2008 Season in Review posts, revisiting the dreary month of November.

Episode III - It’s Hard to Hold a Candle (November)

Ah, yes. November. A month that ended in five straight losses (two in shootouts). At the time it seemed like a fluke, but in retrospect I suppose it was our first signal that the Sens might not be invincible, and that the season could go badly. Things started off on the wrong foot with a 6-4 win over Atlanta that, as John Paddock said at the time, felt more like a loss: after building a 5-0 lead in the first two periods, the team allowed the Thrashers (mostly Ilya Kovalchuk, who had a hat trick despite having been treated to dinner by Dany Heatley the night before, the ungrateful jerk) to come within a goal in the third. It wasn’t pretty, and I wasn’t happy. More bad news for the Sens: Jason Spezza hurt himself in practice and missed the first six games of the month with a groin injury. This didn’t seem to slow the team down much, however, as they won five of those six games and, having won eight games in a row overall, set a new team record for longest winning streak. The one loss without Spezza was less than impressive: a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals (they get my vote as this season’s arch-nemesisisisis), who were struggling mightily at the time, having lost 10 of their previous 12 games. But it was only a couple of games after Spezza returned that things really got bad.  The losses piled up: 4-2 to the Sabres. 6-5 in a shootout to the Penguins, with our new friend Jarkko Ruutu scoring the winner. 4-3 to the Flyers. 3-2 to the Islanders, again in a shootout. And finally, 6-5 to the Predators in regulation to end the month. Two 6-5 losses. They gave up six goals against twice in one week. It was terrible, but it felt like an anomaly. I know now, of course, that this losing streak was actually foreshadowing how the season would end. If only I could go back in time and warn us all.

Memorable Moments: I have deleted much of this month from my memory already, but there is one moment I treasure. One moment which never fails to bring a smile to my face when I look back on it. Picture it: Long Island. November 28, 2007. The Senators have lost three in a row and the fans are beginning to lose hope. They’re now in overtime in a game against the Islanders when the Isles get a 2-on-1. The fate of the game hangs on the defensive play of that one man back for Ottawa. Who is that one man? Please, please let it be Chris Phillips or Anton Volchenkov. Alfie? Mike Fisher? Chris Kelly? No, it’s … oh crap, it’s Jason Spezza. Well that’s it, the game is over, we’re toast. But wait, what’s this? Spezza has positioned himself between the two Isles players and the net. He’s … he’s … he stopped them!! Jason Spezza has played a perfect 2-on-1! He saved the game! Spezza saved the game with a great defensive play! Savour it. Savour … oh, we lost anyway. But I must admit that I still have Spezza’s brilliant 2-on-1 saved on my DVR somewhere.

Eye on a Player: Jason Spezza was the centre of attention for much of November, as I recall, because of his groin injury. Even if he hadn’t been, he’d be my choice for hero of the month just for that 2-on-1. When Alfie sat out a game due to a sore groin, Spezza took on the role of groin injury mentor to his ailing captain, advising him not to rush back. "Groins are tough," he told the CBC. "You don’t want them to linger." For not rushing back from an injury, for playing a beautiful 2-on-1, and for coming up with one of my all-time favourite hockey player quotes — Jason Spezza, I salute you.