Aspiring hockey players suited up against the city of Lethbridge’s beloved major junior hockey team in a fun outdoor street hockey game last weekend.
The Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and three homebuilders within the subdivision community of Copperwood hosted a community street hockey event on the west side of Lethbridge on Jan. 19.
This was the second time the Hurricanes banded together with the Copperwood community to participate in the event.
“The community is a lot bigger, so we’re starting to get a lot of support. It is good to show the support back to the Hurricanes and back to everybody else. As you can see in these events, it turns out to be a success,” said Brody Prete, a sales associate with Stranville Living.
Daytona Homes, Ashcroft Homes and Stranville Living were the three companies on site. Each of the companies had a show home next to the street hockey games being played.
In each of the three show homes, clusters of Hurricanes players rotated shifts to sign autographs for all the fans, while the rest were out playing street hockey with the kids.
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There were two street hockey games taking place simultaneously, a 10-year-old and under game as well as a 10-year-old and over game.
“It’s awesome. They come and support us all the time, so it is nice to come out and do something for them once and a while too. The fan support during our playoff push has been awesome. The last game was a sell-out and playing in front of that atmosphere was great,” said Joe Arntsen, a rookie Hurricanes defenceman.
The first-year WHL player has put up three points (one goal, two assists) in 30 games this season. Arntsen is currently living with fellow defenseman Koletrane Wilson, who is in his last year of eligibility with the Hurricanes. The rookie admits that Wilson has made the adaption to the WHL a bit easier for himself by helping him get familiar with the ins and outs of the league. Wilson has been able to provide Arntsen with someone to speak with, as this is the first time he has lived away from home.
The event is all about the kids enjoying some fun with the hometown team and players who they often look up to during their respective tenures.
“It was fun to play with the Hurricanes because I want to play in the WHL when I am older and I idolize them,” said Brody Tatlow, a fifth grade Lethbridge student from the Copperwood community.
The Hurricanes World Junior Championship gold medalists defenceman Calen Addison and centre Dylan Cozens, made a surprise appearance near the end of the event to sign as many autographs as possible for the young fans in attendance.
The Hurricanes roster is now locked in with the passing of the Jan. 10 trade deadline, so the team as is will be the squad the city will put all their hopes into.
The Hurricanes currently sit third in the eastern conference, trailing only the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Edmonton Oil Kings. If the playoffs started today, the Hurricanes would face their Highway 3 rivals the Tigers in the first round.
