Former professional hockey players, along with a former NHL official, share stories at the Bella Vista Hot Stove Lounge on Sept. 22 in the curling rink at the West Central Events Centre (WCEC). The Hot Stove Lounge followed the NHL-Klippers Alumni Game at the WCEC on Saturday. Left to right: Dwayne Hay, Russ Romaniuk, Derek Dorsett, Colin Patterson, Mike Cvik, Brent Krahn, Robyn Regehr, Curtis Glencross and Dennis Polonich.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
Eight former professional hockey players, along with Kindersley Klippers alumni and local players, have teamed up to entertain audiences on and off the ice.
The former pros, Klippers alumni and local players took to the ice at the West Central Events Centre (WCEC) on Sept. 22 for a friendly, yet spirited, match of the good old hockey game and later on that night, the pros and a former NHL official shared stories at an event.
After the alumni game, the players, guests and other ticket holders enjoyed a catered supper and other festivities at the Bella Vista Hot Stove Lounge in the curling rink at the WCEC. The after event included stories from the pros, along with live and silent auctions.
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The list of former pros included Curtis Glencross, Brent Krahn, Colin Patterson, Dennis Polonich, Dwayne Hay, Derek Dorsett, Robyn Regehr and Russ Romaniuk. Dorsett was unable to play due to the neck injury that shortened his career, but he still participated in ways such as at the Hot Stove Lounge.
Glencross, who spent time growing up in the Brock area, reached out to Calgary Flames alumni to help with the event. The pros were joined by a familiar face in black and white stripes. Retired NHL official Mike Cvik was the referee for the game.
The pros made an impact in the game with Hay scoring the first two goals of the game for Team White and Glencross chipping in on the score sheet for Team Green, but the former Klippers and local players also got in the action.
Three goalies including Krahn, Troy Ching and Travis Longmire, each played for two periods during the game. Team White led at the end of the first and second periods, but Team Green had something left in the tank for the final frame. Team Green squeaked out a win by a final score of 10-9.
As people were getting settled in the curling rink, several of the participants shared their thoughts on the game and event. Glencross said he enjoyed the game and it was nice to see a strong show of support for the event and the Klippers organization.
“It was good to get out there,” he said, recognizing that junior hockey teams in smaller communities need all the support they can get and he was glad to round up a handful of pros to participate. “If we’re to do this going forward, we’ll work on getting a few more guys out, too, and it’ll make it a full weekend. It was definitely a lot of fun.”
He noted that it was awesome to be able to work with his brother, a Klippers board member, to make the event a reality. He said the discussions started in February, and with help from the Klippers alumni, he believes it went over well and worked out for everyone.
Glencross said it is a lot of work to organize the games and there is always a learning curve, so he believes organizers did a good job for the first edition. The former pro only gets out on the ice for charity and alumni games, so he said he was a bit rusty.
The former Flames sniper said he played in an alumni game in Slave Lake, Alta., a couple of weeks prior. He added that it was nice to play in Kindersley because it gave him a chance to visit with family and friends in the area.
Dorsett, who is both an NHL and Klippers alum, said he even spoke to a group of minor hockey players that morning and he told them it is never too late to succeed in hockey, but it is important to have fun playing the game. He said it was special for him to be home for the event.
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