Page 33 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 156

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Issue #156 January 2026
www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #156 January 2026 33
33

It Is What It Is
january crossword puzzle

By Peter Collins RUBBER-NOSED SWAMP DONKEY?
RUBBER-NOSED SWAMP DONKEY?

DOWN
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Cockney rhyme dialect
2 Buzzing instrument
s the year draws to a close, NHL 14 15 16 3 Enclosed egg: Latin

Afans start to panic if their team 4 Bible sling king
is not in contention for the playoffs. 17 18 19 5 Squealing monosyllable
With more than a third of the season 6 Put before the carte?
done trends start to appear regarding 20 21 22 23 7 Windy City coll.
the direction each team is heading. 24 25 26 27 8 Awkward in social settings

From a Canadian team point of view, 9 Secret information
early indicators are that Vancouver and 28 29 30 31 10 Uh huh, in Uruguay

Calgary are in play for the first overall T 11 Political 180
draft pick in 2026. At this writing only 32 33 34 35 36 12 Old ‘boneshaker’ vehicle

Montreal and Edmonton are in the 13 Free-range film lioness
playoffs and their hold on these spots 37 38 39 40 19 Queen in Madrid
is tenuous at best. With even average 21 Text bye-byes
goaltending both teams would be in 41 42 43 44 25 Cartoon format: Abbr.
much better shape. Winnipeg is rolling 45 46 26 Do an off the wall job

along at a five-hundred clip, with their 27 ___ has fleas – Uke tuning
playoff hopes dependent on their star 47 48 49 50 51 52 30 Before you shine

goalie, Conner Hellebuyck, returning 31 Collections
to health. That leaves the Leafs and 53 54 55 56 32 Hand-tapping language
Sens, and they are both in jeopardy of 33 Does a spin-___
missing the playoffs. Both teams, for 57 58 59 60 61 34 Dynamite device
several reasons are underperforming 35 Y’allternative
and not meeting expectations, and 62 63 64 36 On a bobby or a penguin
that isn’t sitting well with their fans. 39 It’s on the edge
Just listen to the call-in shows in both 65 66 67 42 Eq’whine’, say
cities and you’ll hear fans complaining 44 Highest-pitched lyre string
endlessly about them. The Senators 46 Journey, in Swahili
fans are hoping their perpetual rebuild ACROSS ACROSS 48 Favors one side
is all but over and they expect their 1 Turn your car ‘into’ this 40 Kiln house 49 CPA’s trail
team to dominate. Injuries and shaky 5 Persian gulf native 41 Having a full shape 50 Tara was her home
goaltending are holding them back. The 10 The Lane in Cugat’s line 43 Fred Baur’s burial ‘can’ 51 Eisenhower running mate
most serious team trauma is in Toronto, 14 40s head-Turner 45 Rubber-nosed swamp donkey 52 Crystal-lined rock
where the Leafs are missing the 15 Krusty’s Simpsons’role 46 Rivière of fame 53 Cotton bud, in the UK
previously oft maligned Mitch Marner. 16 Cash 1968 ‘studio’ 47 Cleared customs July 1969 54 Hindu beads
Many fans were happy to see him leave 17 World’s shallowest sea 53 Shirt label letters 58 ___ au Vin
for Las Vegas, but now it seems as if his 18 Run clockwise, in England 55 File format acronym 59 Frontiersman Carson
teammates miss him. Their power play 20 Only just begun 56 Called a netizen 60 At Rod Hull’s hand
has gone from ninth best in the league 22 Big foot letters 57 One kept in the ‘loupe’
to twenty-seventh best and that is cause 23 New Zealand parrot 61 UK stuffing stuff Strange but true facts
for concern. However, the biggest 24 Redondo Beach official bird 62 Potato, in South Asia A chef’s white hat is called - a toque.
concern is that Austen Matthews seems 28 Skin conditions 63 Before facie, apparently Caesar salad was invented in Mexico.
to have lost his mojo. Until this year he 29 Big Apple ‘ppl.’ 64 Impressed with his foot? Scotland’s nat’l animal is the unicorn.
th
was scoring at a rate of 1.18 points per 32 Address for Julie Andrews? 65 Root beer maker A jiffy is in fact, 1/100 of a second.
game and dominating the opposition. 36 ‘Club’ attendant 66 Straight command You can’t hum if you hold your nose.
This year he is on pace for a paltry .80 37 Cookie twist 67 Of sound mind Candles were once eaten - in famines.
points per game, and he looks lost on 38 Basic arithmetic, briefly The wind is silent. What we hear is
the ice. Let’s hope that the Canadian the wind blowing against an object.
teams turn in around in 2026, so we can

Puzzle by Douglas Taillon
finally win our first Cup since 1993. Puzzle by Douglas Taillon Solutions on page 35