Hockey for a good cause took over the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre during the Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Alberta Winterland Invitational tournament.
Hockey for a good cause took over the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre during the Ronald McDonald House Charities Northern Alberta Winterland Invitational tournament.
A total of 24 novice and atom aged teams from across the region gathered for the inaugural RMHCNA signature tournament in Bonnyville, Feb. 18 to 19. Proceeds from the event will go towards helping families who utilize the Ronald McDonald House.
"We had 16 atom teams and eight novice teams spread between the Centennial Centre and the arena in Glendon, so it really is a community event. There's a lot of fun happening here," noted O'reen Skiba, stakeholder relations' manager for RMHCNA.
When they weren't battling it out on the ice, players kept busy chasing each other around the Centennial Centre in their signature Ronald McDonald socks, or taking in some of the other action.
Regardless of the result, local youth were ecstatic to be a part of the tournament atmosphere. As an added bonus, coaches selected one standout player from each game to receive a special honour.
"It's been so much fun scoring goals with my teammates, trying my hardest, and I even won a heart and hustle award," expressed Bonnyville atom Pontiacs forward Parker Makarewicz.
Despite their early exit from the playoffs, Makarewicz and teammate Zac Slywka couldn't have been happier with the effort their group put forward.
"I'm so proud of the way my team played. We won all three of our first games and lost our two playoff games, but I thought we played great," detailed Slywka.
Meanwhile, thanks to donations from the community, attendees had more than 50 silent auction items to bid on. Attendees had even more chances to win, with prizes ranging from signed sticks to Oilers tickets available in various raffles.
Before the puck dropped on game one, RMHCNA exceeded their fundraising expectations. As a result, the organization confirmed this wouldn't be the last Winterland Invitational in Bonnyville.
"This will be an annual event because of its success this year," Skiba said. "Going into the tournament, we had already raised $75,000. We sold out in two days and we had interest from 100 other teams."
She added volunteers are still in the process of calculating final numbers.
After a hard fought three games and a down-to-the-wire playoff, the ___ claimed the novice title, while ______ bested the atom division.
In the future, organizers will look to include other municipalities, and have even touched on the idea of adding events to make it a winter festival, instead of a standalone hockey tournament.
Whichever direction they decide to take, residents can rest assured next year's Winterland Invitational will come with all the bells and whistles.
"The kids love it, it's a lot of fun, it's competitive and challenging, but sportsmanship is always there. Next year, we're hoping to expand into Cold Lake and then who knows where it will go from there. When it comes to small town hockey, there's so much potential."
