The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
I've watched hockey most of my life and have been in a few arenas. So far, the atmosphere in the Whitney Forum is the best for Junior A. I've watched the Victoria Salsa play in Memorial Arena, also known as the 'Barn on Blanshard', the Trail Smoke Eaters at Cominco Arena, and recently Gordon Lathlin Memorial Arena, home of the OCN Blizzard. That was my first MJHL game, as Lee Deary invited me to watch the game with him and Rob Hart, as the Blizzard hosted the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Tuesday. Aside from watching the game, I paid attention to the crowd. I was disappointed because other than cheering for their team when they scored, the crowd was quiet during an 8-2 victory. While Bombers fans are known for getting behind their team and hassling the three blind mice, the one interesting thing about Blizzard fans is they count their goals. When it was 7-2, the fans did their thing, "One, two, three...", you get the idea. Before leaving Castlegar, B.C. for Flin Flon last summer, I spoke to one person who was familiar with the area and said people here really love their hockey. I thought, hey, that's cool. I can fit in with people who like the sport that much. The more games I attended at the Whitney Forum, the more I realized how the Bombers are loved. The way people support this team is something to be proud of. Very few times is the Whitney Forum not noisy. I remember the Oct. 15 game against the Kindersley Klippers. The first period was nasty as players dished out dirty hits because the refs weren't making calls. The fans were in uproar as this happened and they let the official have it. I was sick to my stomach. During the second, the Bombers exploded for four goals, including an absolute beauty by Richard Dupre, who took a pass off the boards, raced down the left side of the rink then to cut to the net. After doing that, he eluded then-Klipper's goalie, Steve Houghton's pokecheck, and lifted a backhand shot topshelf and the place went nuts. Another crazy celebration was against Nipawin on Jan. 31 when MacKenzie Groenewegen and Myles Masse scored huge goals. Watching a game in the Whitney Forum is something to experience. I recently tried to convince a friend who lives in Kelowna to come visit when the playoffs start so that he could experience it. I was shut down quick-because of the money it would take to come here. (It might have been an easier sell if he was a die-hard hockey fan.) The loudness of the fans is simply incredible and it's amazing more people don't come. It's almost as if people take it for granted that they have Junior A hockey. I guess it comes down to if people here really know what they have. I think watching a game here is something any hockey fan should experienc Ð especially true fans.
