In the wake of the tragic accident in Saskatchewan which claimed 16 lives, it wasn’t quite business as usual at the rinks during the Canadian North Balsillie Cup.
The moments of silence prior to each of the divisional final games were a stark reminder that our time alive is finite, and the joy that we derive from playing hockey is a common bond that reaches beyond borders.
It was particularly gratifying for me to catch up with so many people whom I had not seen in many years, among them a few of the Larocque brothers, Archie Wetrade, JP Rabesca, and Dave Wedawin. They were with the Gameti 45-plus team, and I found myself as both their friend and foe all in the same weekend.
My name was attached to the Coldwell Banker White (CBW) team, which weathered a series of unfortunate injuries throughout the weekend. One in particular, to our goalie Chris Barbier, left a particularly large void in need of filling. Donning the big pads and the bigger stick, I looked less like a legitimate backup and more like a cheap shoddily made knock-off of the real thing assembled offshore by child labour.
Undaunted, Gameti must have figured that if I was good enough for Coldwell Banker White (winless in three games) then I would be good enough in goal for them. To their credit, and perhaps regret, they handed me their vacant goalie assignment, and from that point on went winless as well.
To put the tournament’s disciplinary brass at ease, let me state that the Gameti-CBW game did not feature a fight between JP Rabesca and Ted Kidston, and they were both worthy of their MVP caps – Most Valuable Pugilist, no doubt.
One hockey tournament of a slightly different sort remains, and will take place tomorrow at the Multiplex. The WIMPS year-end bunfest will be a series of 10 minute mini-games among the typically six teams parsed from the enrolled participants. This is not confined to WIMPS members. Anybody can play after stumping up the $30 entry fee.
Contact the president himself to sign up for what is likely to be the last major event before the switch on the ice compressors gets switched off for the summer.