BY MIKE STROMME
On a cold, wet and rainy Thursday night, Conestoga College’s rec centre played host to a slice of Canadiana as ball hockey enthusiasts gathered for a second week of the school’s intramural ball hockey league. Two nets and a collection of benches turned on their sides served as a make-shift arena for the Thursday night triple-header of ball hockey. The spirited and competitive games were all in the name of fun.
The night started with a tilt between The Givers and The Individuals. The Givers defeated a short-handed Individuals team decisively, 12-3.
Game 2 featured the Tyson Ducks and the Free Agents. The Free Agents are a team of just that, free agents. Anybody who signed up to play, but didn’t have a team, were placed on this team. Despite not entering the league as a cohesive unit, The Free Agents edged out the Tyson Ducks 10-7 in a close game that came down to the final minutes.
Game 3 was a contest between the Ball Slapperz and the Dekes of Hazard. Both teams battled hard, giving it their all, but the Ball Slapperz dominated the Dekes of Hazard 15-4.
Jacob Vettor, a first-year international business management student from The Dekes of Hazard, was proud of the effort his team put forth in the loss.
“We all went out there and gave it our best, just tried to give 110 per cent. We just came out on the short-end of the stick. It happens.”
Each game was lively and energetic, but light-hearted in nature. Any time a player would make a costly turnover, give up a soft goal or make any sort of on-court mistake, both teams would laugh it off. There have only been two penalties called all season, both of which were accidental tripping calls that where nowhere near malicious or intentional. A tripping penalty results in the guilty player either sitting off for roughly three minutes, or a penalty shot is awarded to the opposing team. Each situation is dictated by how much time is remaining in the game.
Torri Pudifin, a second-year woodworking student, is the league’s convener. She said each of the six teams in the league are pretty evenly matched.
“The teams have been pretty even so far,” said Pudifin. “But, I would have to give the edge to the Tyson Ducks. They’ve been pretty good so far.”
The Tyson Ducks’ loss to the Free Agents speaks to the parity of the league. Any team can win any given Thursday night. An even playing field leads to fun and competitive games.
Pudifin also convenes the school’s intramural ice hockey league. She referees in that league on occasion as well. Ice hockey is held at Kitchener’s Activa Sportsplex every Wednesday night. The first puck-drop is at 10 p.m.
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