For 21 years the Dean Turnquist Spring Fever Road Hockey Tournament has had a sacred mission to raise money to help underprivileged kids play sports.
And once again, hundreds of participants took part in the annual two-day event on April 30 and May 1 at the Innisfail Arena. Adult teams played Saturday, while kids took to the pavement on Sunday.
“It's been a great turnout; everybody's having a lot of fun,” said Turnquist, adding this year's tourney is on target to raise up to $5,000. “We have 11 adult teams this year and there's 20 kids teams in three divisions – peewee, novice and atom.
“It's also the first year we went to mixed teams with guys and girls,” he added.
Turnquist noted a number of new teams in the tournament this year from outside of Innisfail, as well as a long list of new and returning players.
Innisfail natives Nick Bell and Andy Willigar were two of those returning players.
Bell spent time in the Western Hockey League with the Red Deer Rebels about five years ago, and Willigar just finished his third season in the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League) with the Columbus Cottonmouths.
“We love to come and support Dean. He's a great family friend,” said Willigar. “It's for an excellent cause and it's a great time to come out here and play some road hockey.”
Both Willigar and Bell played on the tournament-winning team on Saturday and contributed to the fun and entertaining aspect of the tournament, as well as its competitive spirit.
“I've been playing in the tournament about five or six years,” said Bell, noting his team's last two consecutive wins. “Hopefully we can pull off another championship here. We all give a hundred per cent,” he said, pointing out the community support for the tournament each year from both the public and players.
“It's good to give back to the community and give our support,” said Bell, noting how Innisfail supported him during his minor hockey days here.
Willigar agreed. “We're both really proud to be from Innisfail. It's for an awesome cause.”
Andy Willigar
"It's for an excellent cause and it's a great time to come out here and play some road hockey."
