It was a night of two triumphs for the Rockies last Saturday.
The Columbia Valley Rockies won 4-2 against the Nelson Leafs at the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena during the Fill the Eddie for Alan fundraiser on Saturday, November 28th.
“I thought the Leafs came out really strong in the first two periods, really physical and we tried to match their physicality,” said Rockies coach Wade Dubielewicz. “They had a short bench and I think they ran out of gas a little bit in the third.”
While there was no scoring for either team during the first period, there was no shortage of excitement during the second and third.
Rockies player Micheal Cardinal scored the team’s first goal while the team was short-handed early in the second.
Leafs player Tyler Garcia evened the score when he moved down the ice with an assist from Kyle Chernekoff and Levi Hulston. Within minutes, Rockies players Nick Hoobanoff scored the team’s next goal with assists from Cardinal and Smith.
But before the end of the second, the Leafs evened the score when Samuel Weber joined forces with Kyle Chernekoff and scored another goal.
“I kind of liked it, to be honest,” replied Dubielewicz when asked about the referees making minimal calls during the game tonight. “It gave the kids a chance to play some rough hockey and I think they enjoyed it.”
During the third, Rockies fans went wild as the final two goals of the game brought the game to a close — one of the most memorable wins of the season, according to some fans.
But the night was far from over for some, as the Hann family had arranged to put an additional 20 minutes on the clock to wrap up the Fill the Eddie for Alan auction that took place during the Rockies’ game against Nelson — giving the Hann family’s friends, family and community one last opportunity to beat the buzzer and make a bid to help save Alan’s life.
The Hann family is trying to raise $20,000 to cover the costs of living, eating and travelling associated with Alan Hann’s double lung transplant in Edmonton
“Alan helps me out on a daily basis so it’s nice that we can give him back a little bit because we had a great crowd,” concluded Dubielewicz. “This is a benefit for him here, and I really hope it works out for him.”
The fundraiser netted a total of $13,700.
