Wolverines and Central School’s grade five students enjoyed a fun scrimmage on February 14

This past Valentine’s Day was a bit chilly but that didn’t keep the Whitecourt Wolverines and the Central School grade five students from hitting the ice on the outdoor rink. This is the third year for the Annual Central School Outdoor Game and both sides always look forward to playing together.

The fun started at lunchtime as event sponsor Pembina West Co-Op Petroleum cooked up mountains of hot dogs to feed the students and players ahead of the game. They also had lots of delicious cookies to share and hot chocolate to warm everyone up afterwards. Whitecourt Manager Dave Notenboom said taking part in the event was a great experience.

“We thought it was a good way to introduce ourselves into the community, so we decided to supply lunch for the kids and the Wolverines.” Dave said volunteers came up from the Barrhead and Mayerthorpe Co-Op locations to join in on the fun.

The Whitecourt location opened on October 15, roughly four months ago, and Dave said they are here to support the local kids and businesses. “We like to do these kinds of fun events especially if kids are involved. We love to be part of the community, so we figured this was a good event for our kick-off into the community.”

Children encircled the entire rink and had fun cheering on both fellow students and the Wolverines. After goals were scored, fans put their hands out to give rolling high fives to players and share in the excitement. Wolverines defender Spencer Augot grew up playing on the local outdoor rinks and found it especially special to take part. “It’s nice to be back on the outdoor rink where I’ve grown up. I know a lot of kids here.” Spencer acknowledged that the cold was a bit sharp but said that playing with the kids really warmed everyone up. “It’s nice to see all the smiles on their faces. It’s fun to experience that with them.”

Sales and Communication Manager with the Whitecourt Wolverines, Andrew Peard, said the event couldn’t have been any better. “It was another great day in the community for the Whitecourt Wolverines. The youth are our biggest fans so we’re happy to do this once again.  This is the third year for it and the first year that Pembina West Co-Op Petroleum has jumped onboard and they really tied it together quite nicely. Huge thanks go to Dave and the crew.”