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| The Northern Sliders Hockey Club
Will Be Playing St. Charles College In Exhibition Sledge Hockey Game
During Renegades Tournament |
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| The sport of Sledge Hockey is going to become much
more popular now that Team Canada won the Gold Medal at the Olympics this
year. Above, is a team photo of the Northern Sliders, the first northern
sledge hockey team to play out of the area. |
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Coach, Jack Raymond, shown on the right, has been with the team since its
inception in the year 2000. He describes the game as being exactly the
same as regular hockey except that the players move around on aluminum
boards that have blades attached to the bottom. It is a game that is
usually played by people who have lost the use of their legs or have some
other physical or mental challenge that prevents them from participating
in a regular hockey program. The rules are the same as ice hockey and at
the older levels there is quite a bit of body contact. The only difference
is that the sticks are much shorter and they have a "pick" at
the end so that they can dig in to the ice to propel the player.
The Northern Sliders consist of 21 players between the ages of 9 and 19
years of age. They practice every Saturday night from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. and play in a number of tournaments around the continent. As a matter
of fact, they will be playing in West Springfield, Massachusetts in March
to round out the 2005-2006 season.
Eleven year old, Sylvain Labelle, shown below, has been with the club
for four seasons and plays defense. He gives you a good idea of what the
sled looks like and how a person is strapped inside. |
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| The Northern Sliders will be putting on an exhibition game
on Saturday, March 25, 2006, at the Centennial Arena in Hanmer as part of
the Annual Renegades Minor Hockey Tournament. The game will begin at 6:50
p.m.
The opponents of the Northern Sliders will be none other than the St.
Charles College Boys Hockey Team, one of the top high school teams in the
district.
"The high school boys have no idea how difficult it is to play
sledge hockey," explained Jack. "It takes a lot of upper body
strength to pull yourself along the ice surface. I think the game will be
very close, but I would place my bets on the Northern Sliders."
The game is expected to draw a large crowd, especially with the Gold
Medal win by Team Canada.
If you would like more information about the Northern Sliders, visit
their web site below
http://northernsliders.tripod.com |
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