Rockies rocked the rink

Times Reporter

 

The second annual Rock the Rink took place at the Family Centre on Jan. 22. People had a chance to enjoy beef on a bun and other snacks before sitting down to cheer on the Strathmore Rockies. 

“It’s just an opportunity for the Rockies and EnCana to give back to the community a little bit and for the community to come out and meet some of the Rockies players,” said Tammy Schwass, game day coordinator and volunteer. 

“I think they will always try to have it on home ice.” 

The partnership with EnCana began a few years ago when Rockies President Samantha Holmes-Domagala approached EnCana. 

“They approached EnCana about getting some support for the team and because we have a lot of operations out here, it’s a natural fit,” said Richard Dunn Vice-President of Regulatory and Government Relations for EnCana. 

Dunn said it is a family-oriented event, for people to come down and have a chance to meet the team and socialize with other hockey fans. 

“Here, you’re influencing youngsters and they are seeing from a role model perspective. Now here are all these girls playing a very, very high level of hockey, going to school and acting as great role models for these youngsters,” said Dunn.  

There was face painting, colouring and souvenirs for the kids and 50/50 draw for the adults. After dinner people gathered to watch the Rockies take on the Minnesota Whitecaps. 

Friday’s game saw a close battle between the teams and Rockies goalie Lundy Day faced 50 shots.  Despite the Rockies’ best effort the final score was 8-3 for Minnesota. 

Continuing the evening’s celebration, two future Rockies players from the Strathmore Storm novice team, Kaia Gron and Kamryn Johnson, skated with the team during warm-up. 

The first period was high paced, with the only goal coming from Minnesota on a power play.  During the first intermission, EnCana coordinated a shootout where five youngsters had the chance to shoot on the Rockies’ goalie.  In the second period the Rockies scored two quick goals, but Minnesota pulled ahead with four goals. The girls fought hard to kill off Minnesota’s power plays, as they had a total of nine penalties throughout the game. 

The Rockies had many scoring opportunities and battled with the Americans to the end. Each team scored one goal and the final score was 6-3 for Minnesota. Overall, the Rockies played a physical, hard game and it was thrilling to watch. 

Sunday featured another game where the score did not accurately reflect the pace and quality of play on the side of the Rockies. The final score was 9-3 for Minnesota, though it was back and forth for the first two periods of play.  The Rockies opened the scoring in the first few minutes of the game. Minnesota answered with two goals. Then Michelle Glendining scored for the Rockies to tie it up, but before the end of the period Minnesota went ahead by one goal. In the first two periods both teams were tied in shots on goal, though in the third Minnesota sent a flurry of shots on Rockies’ goalie Amanda Squire and succeeded in burying a few more goals to secure the win. Final shots on goal were 51-39 for Minnesota. 

The Rockies next six games are on the road against Edmonton and Minnesota. Saturday January 29th the Rockies will travel to Bonneyville to play the Chimos.

The team will play at home again on February 18-20 when they play host to the Manitoba Maple Leafs. Locations for the next home games are still being confirmed.