Fire wins in High River

Bob Snodgrass

If you take a drive for just under an hour south from Calgary, you get to the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex in High River, one of the outposts of the Rocky Mountain Raiders hockey team. A nice arena with an interesting name. So, who was Bob Snodgrass? Take a detour here if you are interested in local history.

And now, it’s back to the hockey

The game was another one full of penalties (14 split equally), like the last meeting of these two sides on December 16, 2017. And, like that previous encounter, it took a while for skates to get moving on this, the first game after the winter holiday break. No score in the first period, no score in the second period.

Just about a minute into the final period, Fire White used their player advantage carried over from a penalty to the Raiders at the end of the second period to slot the puck in the net. Asha Hanson got that one, assisted by Gracie Gilkyson and Mia Bierd from a shot out on the left boards that beat the goalie, Hali Lawrence blocker side. Three minutes later, Ella Kitchen, parked in her favourite place front of the net, tipped in a shot over the goalie’s sprawling left pad. An even-strength goal, her first of the season assisted by new gloves, stick and skate blades, as well as helpers from Gilkyson and Chyenne Risling. Looks like the Zombie Nation gloves have been retired!

Final score: Rocky Mountain Raiders 0-2 Calgary Fire White

Up next: Road trip! The Fire White travel north-east to the far reaches of the province (544 km) to play Lloydminster Junior Steelers at the Servus Sports Centre on Sunday, Jan 14, 2018 (10:15 am).

Song of the match

My top pick of the match is another folk/country song (what’s happening?) It’s my guess that the Rocky Mountain Raiders sing this one on their team road trips as it is an anthem around mountain and country living, albeit in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, not the Rockies of Canada. Take Me Home, Country Roads was written and first released by John Denver in 1971. After all these years, I’m still trying to work out who he was singing about when he asks to be taken home by the “Mountain Mamma” Was it a person, was it a place? Helper?

This live version (from 1995) has the lyrics embedded so you can sing along to this timeless country tune. Sadly, Denver, a deep lover of nature died aged 53 when he crashed while flying his own plane.  I used to play a reggae version of this great song in Nigeria that went down well with the crowd. Here’s a smashing version by Toots and the Maytals that takes the location of the song to West Jamaica. Stay until the end of the song if you like your music funky!

More action from the game

For more photos from the game please follow this link to J. Ashley Nixon Communications