Colby Cave’s parents, Jennifer and Allan Cave, were on-hand Saturday to drop the puck for the ceremonial opening faceoff, seen here, featuring Kevin Bendall (#29) of the Beaver Blues and Bryce Gatzke (#19) of the Combines. (Submitted photo/AJF Photography)

By Martin Martinson

Special night on ice

Beaver Blues/Combines raise $1,700 for Colby’s Kids in Hockey Day showdown

Jan 31, 2022 | 3:06 PM

It was a Saturday night of hockey encapsulating all the best parts of what the sport means to Canadian communities.

The Battlefords Beavers Blues welcomed the rival, Meota Combines, to town over the weekend for a special all-local senior hockey showdown to celebrate Hockey Day in Canada.

The Combines won the night’s action 4-2 in a back-and-forth contest at Battleford Arena, though at the end of the night it was the sport of hockey in the community that truly won the evening.

Over 150 tickets were sold at the game’s raffle, raising about $660, all of which was donated to the local grassroots hockey program, Colby’s Kids, which helps introduce the next generation of hockey players to the game.

Additionally, the host, Beaver Blues also donated their end of the 50/50, which amounted to $1,068 to the youth development program, leading to just over $1,700 to be donated to the cause.

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Sticking with the community theme, the teams also welcomed representatives from the U9 Sharks to be present on the ice for opening ceremonies, and the U9 Barons to play a game of their own during the intermission. (AJF Photography)

Player/manager with the Beaver Blues, Kody Wolff, said it was something special to see the turnout and support from so many in the community, who packed the local Battleford barn and made the experience all that it was.

“We didn’t really expect the 50/50 to jump as high as it did, but we had a huge crowd which was nice and lots of people came out,” Wolff said. “The crowd’s always big to begin with when we play Meota, but it felt like playoff atmosphere out there. There were a lot more people than we would even usually get so that was great to see.”

On the ice, the fans also got nothing short of the heavy-weight tilt they had anticipated as well, between the league’s first and third-place clubs.

After a scoreless first, thanks to stellar play from goaltenders, Mitch Hawtin (Beaver Blues) and Zach Noble (Combines), it was the Battlefords who opened the scoring in the second.

Colton Adair made it 1-0 Beaver Blues on his 10^th of the campaign, just over three minutes into the middle frame, before Meota answered back with a pair of their own to reverse the lead entirely.

Michael Pylypow’s sixth of the year made it a 1-1 contest, with Bo Gervais’ fourth giving the Combines their first lead of the evening heading into the second intermission.

In the third period, Gavin Nolin added an insurance marker for Meota on his fifth of the year to make it 3-1, before Aaron Cadrin’s seventh sealed the night’s action into the empty net to make it a 4-2 Combines final.

Player/manager with the Combines, Kyle Gregoire said while it was great to get the win, it was a special night to be a part of for both teams.

“It was awesome for the Meota Combines and Beaver Blues to have an event like this one for Hockey Day in Canada,” Gregoire said. “Just the amount of money that was able to be raised and the local businesses that were able to donate prizes too with the proceeds for Colby’s Kids was huge, and then to top it off with the U9 Barons and Sharks playing [a part] was just something too, so overall it was just a great night.”

Both the Beaver Blues and Combines will have one more game each, prior to the start of the playoffs. The Beaver Blues will play the Perdue Pirates at 8:30 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 4 at Battleford Arena, with puck drop at 8:30 p.m.

The Combines will also play their final game of the regular season Friday, as the team will travel to Maymont to play the Maymont Settlers at 8 p.m. The Combines will be looking to cap a perfect regular season with their 14^th straight win.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1