Doyle: Winterhawks sympathetic to anthem blunder

It was a moment that will live on blooper reels for many years, but the team involved in the Memorial Cup anthem flub has no issue with the woman behind the microphone.

During the opening ceremony of Saturday's Portland/Halifax game, the rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by local singer Alex Normand was, well, an adventure. One word forgotten in the second line, mumble and hum the tune a little more - and then, uh oh! In case you're one of the few who missed it:

The crowd at Credit Union Centre took over and helped Normand through the rest of the anthem before she recovered to belt out O Canada. Many of the Portland players could be seen chuckling on the bench during the performance.

"I know if I was up there I'd probably do the same thing. Its obviously pretty nervous and nerve-racking stuff," said Winterhawks forward Ty Rattie.

"Actually, me and Learsy (Taylor Leier), my roomate were trying to do it the other night. I can't figure out the words so don't ask me to do it, that's for sure."

Winterhawks Coach Travis Green most of his junior career in Spokane before playing 970 NHL games. He's used to hearing the anthem.

"I felt bad for the girl actually. I know how it can feel to be in a group of people and lose your train of thought," added Green. "I thought it was really good the fans helped her out a little bit, I was really happy to see that. You can ask our players - every once in a while I get tongue-tied in the room as well so I know how it feels."

Alexis Normand is expected to perform O Canada during Tuesday's game, but it will be a one-song outing with Halifax taking on London, an all-Canadian game.

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