CALGARY — When last the Flames played a game of this import here in Calgary, Joe Colborne was a 14–year-old in a Jarome Iginla jersey, living and dying with every Miikka Kiprusoff save and Martin Gelinas un-noticed goal.



It was 2004, and Colborne’s heroes — for whom he now plays — had miraculously wound their way to a Stanley Cup final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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“I remember at school, if it was a game day it was almost mandatory you wear a jersey. Or wear red,” said Colborne, the memory bringing a smile to his lips. “The car flags were going, and if you had to be out for some reason, you were listening to (the game) on the radio. You could tell (when the Flames scored) just by sitting outside. All the horns would start going off.”



Calgary is, no more or less than Montreal, Winnipeg or Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, a hockey town through and through. They just haven’t been treated to a superior hockey team for a long while, or popped out of bed on a Saturday morning like tomorrow, thought ahead to a series-clinching game, and built their day around a 7 p.m. puck drop that will clear the streets of Calgary. (Except The Red Mile, of course.)



“It’s such a cool experience for this city, and a bunch of my family and friends have been saying, it’s been awesome,” said Colborne, whose jersey now drapes the shoulders of young fans across this city. “(The 2004 Flames provided) some of the best memories growing up. It’s pretty easy to dream big when you’re watching those guys out there. It was incredible. Nobody expected them to do too much damage, but they bonded together, had the right chemistry going…”



There was, it should be noted, a Game 7 loss in Round 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs that rivals the game the Flames and Canucks will play Saturday night at the Saddledome. But that team didn’t have the promise this one has, with its Johnny Gaudreaus, Sam Bennetts and Sean Monahans.

With loveable head coach Bob Hartley, who provides such eloquence while at the same time butchering the English language just a tad, this team looks like the real deal. It’s a club that people can invest in long-term, and Saturday it can win its first playoff series. They’ll start pouring at about 1 p.m. here in Calgary, and won’t stop toasting their heroes until long after the game is done.Compared to Vancouver, where years of success have left fans somewhat blasé about this year’s Canucks, these Flames own Calgary.“You go to shopping malls, you go to restaurants,” Hartley began. “You go to get gas, you have to sprint to the nozzle because fans they want to put the gas in the car for you. That’s how crazy it is right now.“We’re a big part of the culture of this city,” he continued. “I saw this city, two years ago in the flood, face a humungous challenge. Downtown was soaked, the Stampede was in jeopardy. But because of the leadership of the people in this great community, we stepped up.“We didn’t know if we were going to be able to start the (2013-14) season. I saw the people here — 300, 400 people a day, working around the clock. Cleaning up, rebuilding all the basement of the Saddledome. And here we were, playing Game 1.”

Now, Hartley’s voice is picking up some tenor. He is so proud of what has been accomplished here to get to this clinching opportunity; he begins to orate like the Quebecois Martin Luther King.He had a dream, and that dream is playing out.“This city, this community, has lots of grit. Lots of character,” he proclaims. “We look like them and they look like us. That’s why we’re one.“I can’t tell you how proud I am to be a Calgary Flame. I honestly hope that this is my last stop. I hope I will retire as a Calgary Flame.”Whoa, Bob. Retire? Wait a sec.What about the Canucks and Game 6?“No fear. We have NO fear,” he promises.

Vancouver flexed their muscles in Game 5 and beat Calgary soundly – everywhere except the scoreboard. The shots favoured the Canucks 43-21, but with this Calgary team, possession means little. Corsi is still an old goalie around here, and as such, it took total domination by the Canucks to produce the skinny 2-1 margin by which they extended the series Thursday night.

On Saturday the Canucks will get the full wrath of Flames Nation, but on Friday afternoon it was Hartley doing the talking.



“I always tell players, ‘Make mistakes, Make mistakes. Go, do your best. Leave everything on the ice for the fans, for yourself,’” he said. “We’re in the same situation as a few days ago when the L.A. Kings showed up here (for Game 81) and we had (Game 82) in Winnipeg. We had to win one game out of two.



“We took care of the defending Stanley Cup champions right in our barn, right in front of our fans,” he said. “Tomorrow is exactly the same challenge. We believe in ourselves.”



And this city believes, again.



It’s been a long time.