AAA Sharks of the past and present, pictured here following Tuesday night's Alumni Game at Battleford Arena. (Submitted photo/Trenna Derdall)

By Martin Martinson

Coming Together

AAA Sharks Alumni Game connects hockey and community

Dec 20, 2023 | 5:08 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks held their annual Alumni Game Tuesday night at Battleford Arena, with 15 alumni joining those on the current team roster, to face off in a friendly game between current and former Sharks’ players.

“It was a great turnout,” head coach Nolan Horbach said. “I know the senior Sharks were without a goalie so both of ours got to play, and they still had enough for three lines, and maybe four or five defencemen, so they were well-represented and it was just an all-around great night.”

Currently having just wrapped the 2023 portion of their schedule over the weekend, the game also gave the Sharks’ current players a chance to get back on the ice before heading home for the three-week holiday break.

“It was a good experience for our group to get to still play, but not at that same level of competition they’ve been in for the last three months or so,” Horbach said. “It was a chance to have some fun, have some smiles, and just kind of connect and be around some of the alumni.”

While the exhibition contest itself may have been an unofficial 5-1 win for the current Sharks, more than a win or a loss, the Alumni Game serves as a way to continue to connect previous generations of Sharks’ players and team supporters with the organization.

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Admission for the Alumni Game was a $5 donation to the Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre, or a non-perishable food item, which raised approximately $150 in cash and $400 worth of food items to go to the local food bank.

Manager of the Sharks, Trenna Derdall said it’s an element of the game they hope to keep going strong for years to come.

“Every alumni game, as far as I know, has always made a donation to the food bank, and that’s just something we want to keep going as a tradition,” she said. “It’s that time of year to give back and everybody has a really good time, and it’s a nice, casual evening.”

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

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