DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Nothing better than local hockey

There’s a reason the Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League and South East Manitoba Hockey League are my favourite hockey leagues to cover.

When I was growing up in Gimli, I had one option for a hockey team to root for.

With the Jets still years away from returning, and the Gimli Vikings junior B program long-gone, the only competitive hockey I deeply cared about was the local senior intermediate team, the Gimli Wolves.

Even when the Jets finally returned, and I started my journalism career, the Wolves held a special place in my heart, as many of the first events I ever covered were Manitoba Senior Hockey League games featuring the Wolves.

While those Wolves teams slowly devolved and drew fewer fans as more and more import players made up the rosters, I’ll never forget high school weekends at the Rec Centre, volunteering in the sound booth for the team.

Gimli’s final team even featured a pair of local Steinbach legends, as Brock and Trent Genyck, who were key to the Pistons’ first championship run, were born in Winnipeg Beach, just a few minutes away from Gimli.

Watching local players take to the ice for their hometown is so special to watch, and when the Wolves won in the playoffs there was nothing like it.

I’ll never forget a bottom tier Gimli team pushing a top Selkirk team to the brink of playoff elimination thanks to a goal in the last ten seconds to force overtime. That was as loud a rink as I’ve ever heard.

Another “highlight,” was a victory despite the fact the opposing team was leading on the scoreboard. With the hometown bench advantage, a game had so many fights, the opposition ran out of players to put on the ice, giving Gimli a forfiet victory despite the score.

The HTJHL and SEMHL have many of those same features in bunches. With both leagues expanding this season, hopefully we can eventually see the return of a dedicated senior league, to carry on the long legacy of local hockey in the region.