Game on for the Ottawa Valley's outdoor hockey league
For many Canadians, hockey represents a sense of pride and community.
For a handful of families in the Ottawa Valley, their first games are played in a league unlike most.
The Shady Nook outdoor hockey league in Laurentian Valley highlights Canada's game under the lights and in the elements of winter.
"Especially when the snow starts to fall it gives us that, 'we're part of something' feeling," league convenor Heather Samson says.
"Parents get cheering, the kids get yelling and the more the snow falls the happier the kids seem to get."
At the mercy of Mother Nature, the league only runs for six to eight weeks at the start of the New Year.
It also offers the game of hockey - a sport out of the price range of many families - at an affordable cost of $95 for the season.
"Basically because it's outside, it's a shorter season than traditional indoor hockey obviously as well," Samson tells CTV News.
The lack of ice rental fees is an added bonus.
"And a lot of it does rely on Mother Nature so we give that reduced cost just to help offset the fact that Mother Nature may not always be on our side," Samson said.
This season, 70 players between the ages of 4 to 14 registered to play. Samson says that number was up between 300 to 400 players 10-15 years ago.
For the Benoit family, the very first game in a young hockey career is played in the league in Shady Nook.
"It's good for the children to socialize and have fun," says Gerry Benoit, whose 8-year-old is playing their first game.
"It's not all about scoring goals. As you can see, there's no goalies and it's just about getting out there, having some fun, and getting some fresh air."
The non-competitive league is where 31-year-old Pembroke resident Tyler Lapointe began his hockey days. Now his 8-year-old son is doing the same.
"I played in Shady Nook when I was a kid too, and he's really good. He's learning," Lapointe says, watching on from the top of a snow bank.
"He's been wanting to play, so this is a good league to start him off in for sure. If he likes it, we'll go play in Pembroke maybe."
"It takes a village to bring kids together and this is what it's all about," adds Benoit.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.