Craig Horswell was probably wishing he brought a megaphone with him when he stepped behind the bench to coach the College Heights Cougars hockey team.
He needed it to bark out instructions to his players and be heard over the cheers of thousands of elementary and high school students who packed into the CN Centre stands to watch the Cougars beat the Prince George Polars 5-1 in the 17th annual Spirit of Hockey and Community Cup.
"It was really crowded and the kids were very loud today, it was hard to hear," said Horswell. "I was screaming the whole time just to communicate with my players, a few feet in front of me. It was a really cool atmosphere."
Decker Mujcin gave the Polars a 1-0 lead just past the halfway point of the first period, the only goal to beat Cougars goalie Dawson Wickstrom.
James Kitney tied it late in the period and Zach Fillion put the Cougars ahead 2-1 in the second period. Bryce Blackmann scored twice in the third period and Jacob Ross added an empty-netter late in the game.
Busloads of students from six elementary schools that feed into College Heights and eight in the PGSS catchment area made their presence felt with their voices, claps and stamping feet, feeding off the booming rhythms of the College Heights drum line and the cheers of the PGSS leadership group. The kids were already in an excited mood on the last school day before the Christmas break.
"That was a huge crowd, between 2,000 and 2,500, it was a lot of fun," said Polars coach Renzo Berra
The Spirit Game is an offshoot of the hockey program Berra started as an accredited course at PGSS in 2003. College Heights followed a similar template and teaches hockey as well as baseball to students as elective courses.
Horswell, a phys-ed teacher at College Heights, said students started asking him about playing on the team as soon as school started in September. Each roster includes just 18 skaters and two goalies. PGSS backup goalie Colby Thompson, who just started playing goal a month ago in the school program, was the go-to guy in net for the Cougars in the shootout between the second and third periods. Two teachers and two elementary school skaters from each team took part in the shootout, which the Polars won.
"We had extra pads and Colby wanted to try it, because we only had one goalie for our hockey class, which is not ideal, and I was so impressed with that I told him he was welcome to suit up for the Spirit game," said Horswell.
Twins Tessa and Daniel Sturgeon split the goaltending duties for the Polars.
Tryouts for the teams started in mid-November and they had three practices before the game.
"It's such a good event and they do a really good job of organizing it," said Horswell. "For these guys to play in front of that many people, and just with how much the rivalry is built up, we tell our players they won't probably have a better experience in their hockey careers, so take it all in and really enjoy it."
In the 17-year history of the game the Polars still hold a 10-7 edge, but the Cougars, who have won it the last three years, are creeping up on them.
The event is a fundraiser for the St. Vincent de Paul Society and students collected six bags of socks, mitts, toques and other warm-winter clothing for those in need.
"It's called Spirit of Hockey for a reason, the spirit of giving, spirit of our schools and spirit of community, it's more than just a hockey game," said Berra.
