There's nothing like a grand old game of fire wagon hockey to get the blood and spirit flowing ñ especially during a winter as harsh and nasty as this has been. And there is also nothing like seeing the spirit of hockey rise above it from the most unlikeliest of players.
Last Friday night at the Innisfail Arena the Innisfail Eagles were playing their last game of the regular season against the Fort Saskatchewan Chiefs. There was a lot on the line for each team. Both the Eagles and Chiefs needed the win to not only secure second place in the Chinook Hockey League standings but to claim home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The importance of this game was not lost on the large, enthusiastic crowd who came to watch Friday night hockey at the arena to cheer on their heroes. They were led by their new unnamed mascot, a delightfully silly looking bird creature who is sure to get a fine and appropriate moniker in an upcoming contest at the Innisfail Middle School.
The game started with the appropriate high-level intensity one would expect from such an important match. The first period flew by with end-to-end action. No goals were scored as both goalies stoned their opposing teams.
When the first period was over it was a time for fans to remove themselves from high adrenalin competitive action and take in what is really important about Canada's game ñ fun and love for hockey.
Eaglettes hockey took centre stage during the intermission. There was one group of four- and five-year-olds playing at one end of the ice and a second batch playing at the other.
They played for about 20 minutes and every second was completely adorable to watch. They skated a little, fell down, got up, skated a little bit more and fell down again. It all took your breath away, not necessarily because we saw the indomitable human spirit rise up again and again but because these little tykes were having the grandest time ever playing Canada's game.
Bernie Vanderham, the Eaglettes manager, has been involved with the program for the past seven years. Due to a leg injury, Vanderham can't join them on the ice but he's there with his tiny players every game and was filming every bit of their Eaglettes action last Friday with a huge smile on his face. He knows what is really important about hockey.
It's about kids having the idea of the game in their veins at the earliest age possible and having it alongside the idea the game is supposed to be fun, that it builds character, sportsmanship, camaraderie and the beginnings of discipline.
Of course there was no ìwinnerî in terms of numbers of goals scored from the Eaglettes' games but every child left as one because they had a chance to play, do their best and have a lot of fun.
As for the Eagles they went on to defeat Fort Saskatchewan 1-0. The local squad gets second place and home ice advantage. They had fun too. But with adults that comes with the notion of competition and winning.
The Eaglettes get it with just a simple turn on the ice where the magic of uninhibited imagination creates that dream in the first place.
