Storm/Knights fundraiser a hit with fans

Kevin Laliberte
Smoky River Express

Last Tuesday’s fundraising hockey game between the McLennan Knights midget squad and the Grande Prairie Storm junior ‘A’ hockey club was a slap-shot success story. “The guys absolutely loved the experience,” says Leo Giroux, who shares the coaching duties for McLennan with Scott Hicks. “It’s not every day that you get the chance to lace ’em up with junior ‘A’-calibre players.” Francis Lessard, manager for the Knights hockey club, echoed those comments by describing the experience as both unique and memorable. “The boys were thrilled to be on the same ice surface playing with the Storm and savoured every minute of it,” he said. The fundraising event, hosted by the McLennan Minor Hockey Association in support of the McLennan Knights, was held Feb. 13 at H.W. Fish Arena in McLennan and helped generate approximately $1,000 in proceeds for the local club. Several Storm memorabilia, including jerseys, sticks and various other promotional items, will be up for grabs during the evening through various fundraising draws. The evening event consisted of an on-ice practice by the Storm from 6 to 7 p.m. “Fans in McLennan watching our practice got a taste of the pace of junior ‘A’ hockey. Hopefully, it will encourage them to visit Grande Prairie and catch some Alberta Junior Hockey League action and support their Peace Country junior ‘A’ team,” says Storm business manager Don Moon. The real excitement came shortly after 7 p.m. when the Knights and Storm players split up into two teams for an entertaining exhibition game which saw Team Black edge out Team Yellow by a score of 8-7 “It was fun for them (Storm players) to see the enthusiasm and excitement displayed by the midgets,” says Don Moon, business manager for the Grande Prairie Storm. “The team really enjoys getting out into the Peace Country community. It wasn’t that long ago that most of them were bantam and midget hockey players looking to make an impression on a junior ‘A’ coach.” Moon says the opportunity for McLennan midget players to skate alongside Storm players in a fun scrimmage gave them a clear idea of what’s involved to succeed at the junior ‘A’ level. “Hopefully in a few years we’ll see some of those players in a Storm uniform.” And that would be par for the course on a team that is often referred to as the Peace Country Storm, based on the prominence of players from the region. “Over half of our players are from the Peace Country and many of them grew up playing hockey in smaller centres.” “We’re proud to represent this region at the junior ‘A’ hockey level in Alberta,” he adds, noting that it’s extremely important for the team to get out into the Peace Country in an effort to expose up and coming hockey players and potential fans to junior ‘A’ hockey. As far as the possibility of coming back to the region is concerned, Moon says it’s something management is seriously considering. “For years we have discussed the idea of playing exhibition games in different centres in the Peace Country.” “I’d love to be able to take the entire operation and move it into McLennan or another Peace Country centre for a weekend during the exhibition schedule.” “The biggest stumbling block is the fact that in most smaller centres in the Peace Country the ice doesn’t go in until late-September or October. Our exhibition schedule is usually the last week of August into the first week in September.”