Outdoor Hockey Game
How Canadian is this? While on vacation on the Lower North Shore, we rode our snowmobile to an outdoor hockey game in La Tabatiere. We also parked it at the side of the rink, so that we could sit on it while watching the game.
It was a beautiful clear evening, and not very cold, which made it perfect for playing and watching the game. As you can see from the photo below, which was taken between periods, we also had great front row seats.
This was just a friendly match between the second team in La Tabatiere, and the USL team in Saint Augustine. USL is a construction company, which I believe is mostly based in Toronto, but has a large number of employees from the Lower North Shore (especially from Saint Augustine). This is why the team is funded by, and named, USL. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the team from La Tabatiere.
The game itself was very enjoyable, and fast paced. You can see this from the break away photo below, which was taken during the second period of the game. It is clear that everyone on the Coast takes their hockey seriously, and that the region has some very good hockey players.
After the game, I went to the local bar, where both teams went for a beer after the game. Since I had to leave the game early, I asked what the final score was, but it turned out that nobody in the bar was sure what it was either. I guess it was a friendly game.
During the conversations after the game, I also found out that they will probably be building a new indoor rink in La Tabatiere soon. Both a new rink, and community hall are needed in the village, so they will combine both buildings into one, to save on the building and maintenance costs. A covered rink will also mean fewer cancelled games, a longer season, more practise time, and warmer fans.
I will personally miss the outdoor games, and watching them from my snowmobile.
