At Christmastime, I received a surprising phone call from a former and long-time Kipling Royals’ senior hockey player, Kevin Fonagy. He asked me if I was interested in playing on the Royals’ alumni team in the 2nd Annual Kipling Royals vs. Windthorst Pirates Alumni Game. The event was started, last year, as a fundraiser for the Kipling Health Foundation.

I was a bit confused by the invitation, as I haven’t laced up the skates, in a senior hockey game, since a short-lived comeback (four and a half periods, to be exact) in the 1985-86 season. Along with being confused, I was flattered and thankful for the invitation.

Although I’m down to playing in five or six hockey games a year I was willing to give it a go, as these opportunities don’t happen very often. As anyone that has played hockey knows, the dressing room camaraderie, the sweet stink of hockey equipment, the anticipated battle and the replaying of the game afterward are elements that are as important or, sometimes more important to the participants, than the actual game or its outcome.

Many of the alumni teammates, on both teams, have played together since their minor hockey days. There were more than a couple of us, in the Royals’ room, that go back over 35 years. That bond shared between teammates and rivals, quite often forms life-long friendships.

The game didn’t just bring old teammates and friends together again, it also revived an old hockey rivalry between two communities that goes back many, many years. That rivalry became more and more evident as the game wore on. The intensity of the game increased as the score remained very close late into the third period.

The Royals’ pulled their goalie in the last minute, in an attempt to the tie the game. The Pirates held off the Royals to preserve a 7-6 victory. Friendly alumni/reunion/fundraiser hockey game aside, I know the Pirates were as happy with their victory as the Royals were disappointed in their defeat. It appears more than just friendships die hard.

The game was very entertaining for the participants, coaches and fans. Everyone at the Windthorst Rink enjoyed the intensity of the game and the fellowship that followed. It was also a sad reminder of the state of senior hockey in our communities. If having alumni games is the only way to keep the old rivalry going I, for one, will never turn down the invitation.

“When you’re part of a team, you stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they would do the same for you.”-Yogi Berra (1925-)

PERRY HUBBARD
Guest Columnist