Castlegar team gives gift of hockey Stateside, takes win in home province #Kraft Hockeyville
By Kyra Hoggan
The Castlegar Bantam House Vikings (ages 13 and 14) are proving there is more than one way to show winning spirit – first, by sharing their love of the sport with our neighbours south of the border and second, by beating out the rival Trail Warriors to take home the championship from the 2014 South Okanagan Bantam House Tournament.
It all began at the very start of the year, when Castlegar was gearing up (literally and figuratively) to participate in Castlegar Minor Hockey Week.
Vikings head coach Chris Barlow (you may recognize his name as city director of Transportation and Civic Works) said this celebration usually means scheduling some sort of skills competition or similar fun event – but this year, the team decided to do something different.
“Last year, I was coaching on my daughter’s Atom House team. We were down in Spokane, playing against the North Idaho Cristero League from Coeur d’Alene,” Barlow said. “They found a place in my heart – in all the coaches’ hearts – they played so hard … but their equipment was old and worn and mismatched. Some of the gear was really outdated, and some of the skates were ancient.
“Some of the kids didn’t play very well for midget level – but they played as a team and took care of each other. They played with a lot of heart, and we were really impressed by that, and by them.”
This inspired Barlow to email his counterpart in the U.S., Vince Hughes, offering assistance.
“Both my son and daughter play minor hockey …We have played various Cristero teams over the years and I have always been impressed with their determination and sportsmanship,” Barlow wrote, explaining he’d noticed some equipment issues, as well. “As Canadians, we live and breathe hockey, and it is fair to say that almost all of our families have excess, high-quality gear that their kids have grown out of.
“I hope that I am not out of line, but I wonder if the Cristero hockey club would be interested in a donation of hockey gear to distribute as your club sees fit.”
He received a touching email in reply, in which Hughes said the club was only about 17 years old, with organizers who had never played hockey before.
“None of the parents had ever played, most didn’t what offsides or icing were (some still don’t),” Hughes wrote. “Many of the families struggle financially. One family had eight boys playing in our club one year. The boys participate in a skate-a-thon every year to raise money to play hockey.”
He went on to say that the club would welcome any assistance Castlegar could offer, particularly skates.
Since then, in honour of Castlegar Minor Hockey Week, the team has been collecting gear, and has now gathered more than a dozen large duffel bags, two of which are filled with nothing but high quality skates.
“The kids fell in love with the idea right away, they thought it was neat,” Barlow said. “And we loved it, not just because it would help our Southern neighbours, but because it helps our kids to realize how lucky they are to be playing such a great sport.”
They don’t have a date to transport the equipment Stateside yet, but plans are in the works.
Now, argue the cause is Karma, love of the sport, or combination of the two, but Castlegar’s Vikings then went on, last weekend, to take the title against arch-rivals the Trail Warriors at the 2014 South Okanagan Bantam House Tournament in Osoyoos.
“The Vikings finished round-robin play with 15 points out of a possible 15 by winning every period and every game,” Barlow said. “After beating Kelowna in the semi-final, the Vikings squared off against the Trail Warriors in the final game.
“It was a hard-fought battle that took two overtime periods and seven rounds of shootout to finally decide with the Vikings ending up victorious. In addition, the team won the tournament’s sportsmanship award by having the least number of penalties by a large margin.”
The final score against Trail was 3-2, but it could be said the real win was the team spirit exhibited by the Castlegar Vikings, and the spirit of caring competition their efforts promoted.
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