Comedian Kelly Taylor addresses the crowd at the Hockey Day Banquet at the Shellbrook Community Hall. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Building community

Hockey Day in Shellbrook a success

Jan 19, 2020 | 2:27 PM

The Hockey Day in Shellbrook weekend drew the crowds on and off the ice as the community rallied once again in the quest to fully renovate their arena.

The project is currently in phase two which saw upgrades to the lobby glass and insulation, door replacements, main washrooms, heating system, and a state-of-the-art icefield under the ice surface. The rink boards and glass were also replaced as well as the benches and penalty boxes.

The third and final phase will be coming soon with an estimated completion of Sept. 15, 2020. This phase is the addition of solar panels.

The Shellbrook Arena drew a large crowd during the Mintos versus Contacts game on Saturday. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

Committee member Stephanie Gosselin said they won’t know the total amount raised for a day or so, but she is confident they exceeded their goal for this year.

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“We had a great day (Friday), it was awesome. We had a ton of people out for our appreciation event. We had the game between the teachers and the students which was exciting,” Gosselin said.

On Friday they also held a Skate Club Showcase followed by the Shellbrook Silvertips versus the Birch Hills Blackhawks.

“It went into overtime and a shootout, so it was a super exciting game. Unfortunately we didn’t come out on top, but it was a great game and the day was packed,” Gosselin explained. “(Saturday) it was busy right from the beginning.We had an IP tournament that’s the initiation players and that’s always fun to watch.”

Saturday morning, they held a street hockey tournament followed by an AA midget game between the Beardy’s Blackhawks and the Martensville Marauders.

Soon after the Prince Albert Mintos took on the Saskatoon Contacts.

“[They] drew a huge crowd so it was great,” she said. “ A great afternoon and we have some local connections on both of those teams which makes it a little more exciting.”

Music, food and laughter

The two-day event ended with the Hockey Day in Shellbrook Banquet at the Shellbrook Community Hall emceed by Comedian Kelly Taylor. The special guest of the night was NHL alumni Dennis Hull.

Before the Banquet on Saturday, the crowd listened to some local music. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

Gosselin said the total cost of the project is $2.2 million and they’ve raised $1.9 million to date. The funds from this year will go towards that remaining $300,000 goal.

Just over half the project has been funded by grants, 23 per cent funded by various Hockey Days, 22 per cent by donations and two per cent from in memoriam donations.

Prince Albert Mintos Head Coach Danton Danielson said it’s a big honour for them to be involved in Hockey Day in Shellbrook.

“We were excited and looking forward to this one for a little while now and just to be able to come out here, a change of scenery for us to play a home game in front of a big crowd,” Danielson said. “This is part of our community too, the Shellbrook area …we have four players with some history in this minor hockey association and it’s nice to be able to have them kind of come home and put on a show for the fans.”

A large crowd supported the games and and it seemed as though there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.

“I think anytime you get that opportunity to be sort of a key event or a thing people are excited about coming to watch its pretty motivating,” he said. “The guys should be able to take a lot of motivation out of that and I think the guys were.”

Players race to the puck during the Prince Albert Mintos versus Saskatoon Contacts game Saturday afternoon. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

“For the most part the guys had a good experience today and one that they’ll remember for a long time.”

The game featured two hometown boys from the Mintos in Ashton Ferster and Gage Helm. Dallyn Peekeekoot and Marek Schneider both played minor hockey in Shellbrook as well.

Proud Premier

Premier of Saskatchewan and local MLA Scott Moe also made an appearance at a few events throughout the weekend.

“A real credit to all of those involved on the organizing committee,” Moe told paNOW as he watched the Mintos game. “A credit to all of those involved whether they’re just in attendance or just helping out here and there.”

He also wanted to give credit to everyone involved in the renovations of the Shellbrook Arena.

“You see the fruition of what all of this effort has been for…the renovations happening this past year,” he said. “We’re very fortunate here in the community of Shellbrook …very similar to what’s happening in communities right across the province year in year out.”

He’s heard positive feedback about the upgrades.

“It has been ongoing, not just since the renos have been done but around the effort you see on the donor wall here behind us and it continues to grow,” he said. “Many came in here this fall and just made comments about how much brighter the arena is, how much nicer it looks.”

“Improving the facilities for the next generation is really what volunteers do in this province and in this community,.” the Premier said.

Editor’s note: On Jan.21 organizers confirmed they had raised their second best total ever at over $100,000.

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ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12