The air was thick with excitement in locker room 2 at the Dryland’s Arena on Dec. 19. Coaches Eddie and Steve Aie had been putting the Ashcroft Tornadoes through their paces since the middle of November with practices and scrimmages fuelled by heart and sweat, and the Tornadoes were hungry for a game.
So a very special game was arranged for the team of young warriors in training. The dressing room was quieter than usual as the kids were wondering if they could take on their formidable opponents.
They geared up bravely, and went on the ice to face the Ashcroft RCMP. The officers had put together a top-notch team with very little notice, and so many thanks go out to their team manager, Sgt. Dave Prentice.
Each team warmed up for two minutes and observed what they were going to be up against.
The first minute into the first period all trepidation was washed away when the rocket, Hunter Beckett, scored the first goal. The officers gritted their teeth and pushed forward. Kyla Horsting Minnabarriet and Ali Aie bulleted through the defence and took the action to the RCMP end of the ice where Jarren Morgan, Aidan Tegart and Hayden Aie brought some heat to bear.
Team RCMP answered back with onslaught of shots, but Pearce Brown was there before the puck was. Cody Rupert and Nicholas Cooper-Chardon and Lloyd Johnson played a good defensive game, while Zac Ortloff and Christian Needham and Kate Curan took the puck aggressively to the net.
Team RCMP’s goalie Jan Boyes had tremendous support on and off the ice. The Ashcroft RCMP pulled out all the stops in the second period resulting in a two minute penalty against them for holding which enabled the Tornadoes to win the game with a final score of 9-5.
It was a fantastic hour of hockey where kids got to play with their local heroes. Hopefully this will become a yearly event.
Brandy Cooper-Chardon