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.
Imagine playing hockey in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany for 12 days. That's what Tyler Ledoux and Jesse Ewing did. Both were part of the 92 Blizzard team formed by Peter Norman Jr. and Derek Fontaine made up of '92 born players. The biggest challenge for Tyler and Jesse was the larger ice surface. "I knew the ice was going to be bigger," Tyler said. "I didn't know it would be as hard though. You got tired faster. I was just wheezing after my first shift. It didn't look that big, but then right when you started skating you knew it was a lot bigger." Jesse's reaction was nearly similar. "Wow. It's big," he said. The 92 Blizzard played five games, with the sixth cancelled midway. "A bunch of us got kicked out so we didn't have enough players to keep going," Tyler explained. Norman Jr. felt the team played good. "They came around," he said, after a slow start. "Austria was a tough game. They played chippy and rough. We needed to stay out of the penalty box." Not only were the games good, but they were decided by one or two goals. Tyler witnessed the passing and positioning skills that the Europeans are known for. "They're used to the ice and we weren't ready for all the stretch passes," he added. "Italy was the toughest team. They played the best positioning and passing. They didn't seem as scared as the other teams and they made tape-to-tape passing every time." Jesse discovered a different challenge against the Italians. "We were so high up in the mountains that it's hard to breathe," said Jesse, who plays center. As for the physical game, the European teams didn't play it like the 92 Blizzard. "They thought they did," Tyler said. "They even brought a stretcher out for the first game for us. They thought we'd get hurt, but we dominated them physically." Jesse felt the competition was good except for Switzerland. "They weren't that good," Jesse said. "It was just a local team and they don't play together that much. We just came at them hard." When the players weren't playing, there was time to be a tourist. "It was awesome- really great," Jesse said, as he liked the sight-seeing more than the hockey. "There weren't as many trees," he said. While he didn't experience culture shock, eating at times was. "It was all good except for Germany. Germany's food sucked," he said. "Breakfast was tough for the kids because they gave cheeses and breads and stuff," said Jim Ewing, Jesse's father. Tyler said he will remember walking around and seeing the cities. "Europe was a lot different then around here. Just the cities were a lot flatter" he explained. "We were always by the Alps usually." Tyler also took a liking to the different lifestyle, especially Switzerland and their environment, which "looked nice and it was clean." When it came to Italy, Tyler liked it a lot, especially the food. The location where they stayed left a lasting impression with him. "We stayed on a big mountain in Ritten so that was cool," he said. Both parents accompanied the boys on their trip. "They're beautiful," said Ewing. "From Fusion, where we went to the noose, to Switzerland, we were in Ritten, Italy. The scenery, we went skiing in the Alps with the kids-it was quite the day for most of them. First time skiing." The trip was made possible for the players with the support of sponsors and parents covering the remaining cost. It was $3,300 per person. Plans for this trip began last summer with lots of calls to be done and information required. "It was great," Norman Jr. said. "It was real good for them. The kids don't get the opportunities that city kids get (for playing good caliber hockey)." Norman Jr and Fontaine, set things up with the help of a travel agency. He said there are thoughts of doing it again in two years. "We're looking at the Czech Republic and Russia," he added.
