CHRIS LOWREY
SHEENBORO Feb. 8, 2020
It was a perfect day for outdoor hockey as the sun shone brightly on Saturday afternoon and residents of . . .
Downey’s Bay, just outside of Sheenboro, made sure to take advantage.
While the cold temperatures may have been a deterrent to some, it definitely wasn’t for Joann McCann and her cohort of winter warriors.
“Cold temperatures make good ice,” McCann said with a laugh.
McCann and her husband, Glenn Magill, have been organizing the event for around a decade now, and despite the frigid temperatures, they have seen worse.
“One year it got down to minus 43,” McCann said, adding it came as quite the shock to her new son-in-law who was from a warmer climate.
Magill began prepping the ice a couple of weeks ago by boring holes in the ice and pumping river water on top for a glass-like finish.
While the weather in the lead up to the event was touch-and-go in terms of ice-quality, the cold night beforehand ensured a clean sheet for the more than a dozen people whipping around the ice.
Along with the hockey rink, there was another sheet of ice for little ones just learning to skate, although the amount of skate marks on the hockey rink made it obvious which ice surface was more popular.
Off to the side, those who weren’t skating could warm up beside the fire or treat themselves to barbecued hot dogs, hot chocolate and the crowd favourite – maple whiskey.
The event gives the community a chance to come together and enjoy the great outdoors at a time when most people are in full hibernation mode.
That sense of community was on display as a group of residents helped push a hapless newspaper reporter’s car out of a snowbank and back onto the road.
After all the winter activities wrapped up for the day, everyone headed over to Roy Perrault’s place for a potluck dinner.
