Day Eight

Thursday, February 19th

Snow Day

Entertainment for all ages

It's snowing today.  The irony is, because it is snowing, it's actually warmer, 7 degrees.  We have been pretty fortunate this year because aside from being very cold, the weather has been cooperating; meaning traveling to the different locations has not been hampered by snow.  I am told, by the locals, this cold front is unusually long.  The snowfall did not really affect traveling about today.  The local law requires all vehicles to have snow tires and it helps when you have drivers who are used to driving in such conditions ( a nod to Coaches Curtis and Robert). 
Our team has a designated meeting place (section 120) at the Colisee Pepsi for players, billet families and team personnel to meet for pick up and drop off.  Each day players meet there in the morning and usually watch the game playing at that time.  This morning's game happened to be Russia vs. Czech Republic.  Besides our guys, there usually are locals and school kids watching the games.  This is definitely not something you would see in California.  It should also be noted that there is an admission fee to watch these games.  Imagine paying to watch PeeWee games or going on a field trip to watch one...wow.  Hockey is definitely a way of life for many of the locals who live here. 
For our boys, pin trading has become a way of life for them.  Whenever there is a free moment, you are sure to find the boys looking to build their collection.  The team had a game this morning vs. SSF-Quebec Cyclones.  This is a school where kids learn and play hockey in the morning and go to classes in the

Game vs. Sackville Flyers

afternoon.  I'm sure our kids would go for that arrangement back in California!  After getting some lunch, they played their second game against the Sackville Flyers, a team from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Some of the players may recognize some of the opponents.  Many of our guys spent almost two weeks in Halifax at a hockey/digital camp and played local teams up there.  It turned out to be a pretty good day for the Jr. Sharks as they won both games.  Upon returning to the Colisee Pepsi, the players waited for their billet families to pick them up; using the opportunity to do some more trading.  There should be a t shirt design for our team, "Sleep, Eat, Play And Trade".  Just watching them makes me wish I was twelve.  There is no denying that life is good for them.

Pin Trading

More Pin Trading

Aspirations to be a goalie?