I played in a social outdoor ice hockey tournament in Tuscany, Calgary with some guys I met at the Olympic Oval a while back. The event was great, ice wasn’t the best as a chinook (easterly wind) was blowing through, but it was a heap of fun and I hope to compete in an event like this again some time. We were called the Shabangs.
The Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary is the best ice rink I’ve ever seen! Two full international sized hockey rinks within the confines of a full long track speed skating rink!
I played hockey there at lunch times a lot and I had power skating and hockey lessons there as well. Plus I played in the University of Calgary B-grade Intramural hockey league for Team Group Velocity (I was a ring-in for the Physics department team).
Mike Boyle took me to see a Western Hockey League (WHL) game featuring the Calgary Hitmen at the Saddledome in Calgary. The game was very exciting, lots of big hits, lots of skill and a WAY higher level of hockey than I’d seen before. Unfortunately the NHL lockout was on at the time so I couldn’t see any NHL games so this was the next best thing.
