Students swarm Kal Tire Place for Esso Cup action, parents and fans excited about the games

“[The kids] love it, it’s awesome. The environment is so great and they’re having a great time,” Laura Motruk with Kidston Elementary, said.

“We had [the trip to the game] all sponsored for us, and we thought ‘why not come out and see some amazing young athletes do their thing and hopefully inspire some of our kids to keep working towards their goals?'” Kaitlin Toumi with Lavington Elementary told Vernon Matters, adding the game was entertaining and the kids were enjoying the atmosphere in the arena.

Local elementary students cheered on the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers during their game against the Regina Rebels Wednesday, April 24 (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Along with the hundreds of students, seats were also taken up by parents and fans of the home and away teams.

Heather, mother of Rebels’ forward Stryker Zablocki, travelled all the way from Prince Albert along with some of her family members to watch her daughter play in the Esso Cup.

“It’s good, it’s awesome. Vernon is a great city to be in, great atmosphere, and so far, for the last couple days, it’s been a great experience for the girls. Parents, you go through some emotions, highs and lows, but that’s the name of the game and it’s just awesome to come out here and support the girls,” Heather told Vernon Matters.

Heather Zablocki and other Regina Rebels fans at the game against the Thompson-Okanagan Lakers Wednesday, April 24 (photo by Liam Verster)

Jillian, a volunteer at the Esso Cup and mother of Lakers’ forward Lily Roberts, was very proud to see her daughter take on teams from all across Canada, noting this is an opportunity to showcase the sport and inspire others to play the game.

“A lot of our on-ice helpers, like the puck droppers and our ice-cleaner and our flag-bearers are all from Vernon Minor Hockey and Kelowna Minor Hockey, which has been great. So putting their parents in the facility when their kids are helping out the Lakers makes it even more special, like they recognize ‘this is going to be my daughter someday, this is going to be my girl that has the aspirations to play at a high level,’ and our Laker girls are such good ambassadors for the little ones,” Jillian told Vernon Matters.

“They were signing autographs in between the periods. They’re happy to be that inspiration for the next generation of females, but also boys hockey too, lots of boys asking for autographs, but [they’re] such good role models for the young girls in the community.”

The arena and Vernon also received a lot of praise.

“[Kal Tire Place] is amazing. We absolutely love the facility. We didn’t know what to expect. We came in here and we’re like ‘oh my gosh!’ And the atmosphere, just the way the facility is set up, it’s just awesome,” Heather said, adding this was the first time she and her family had been to Vernon, and loved seeing the mountains and the greenery with plans to take her daughter out and explore the area after the game Wednesday.

“We’ve had so many comments from parents and fans from the other teams that this is the best facility that they’ve played, that they’ve played in other Esso Cups and that Kal Tire has been the most well organized and the facility is great. Everybody’s really happy to be here, and that’s the whole point of this: bring hockey to the community, especially female hockey. It’s been a great experience for everybody,” Jillian said.

The play and the volunteers also received praise from a Hockey Canada official.

“Play here for the tournament has been outstanding. The skill level, the ability for these players their true colours as a hockey team and as an individual has been really fantastic,” Craig Sherbaty, a representative for Hockey Canada’s Board of Directors, told Vernon Matters, adding the community has welcomed the teams, and the volunteers who have helped make sure the tournament runs smoothly were “second to none.”

“The organizational skills, the professionalism has been fantastic.”

He also said that Kal Tire Place “is really geared towards events like [the Esso Cup] and I think with the amount of staff they have that have been providing all the things we need to put the event on at the Hockey Canada level, I think it won’t be too long before we come back.”

The Thompson-Okanagan Lakers facing off against the Regina Rebels in Esso Cup preliminary action Wednesday, April 24 (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Shebaty added attendance to the games has been very good and ticket sales were high, and hoped to see more locals come out and fill the stands for the remaining games.

by Liam Verster

Students swarm Kal Tire Place for Esso Cup action, parents and fans excited about the games

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