An impromptu game of street hockey emerged behind The New Well Tavern on Bayview Street Thursday afternoon in Steveston Village, to honour the Humboldt Broncos.
Organized by born-and-raised Richmondites Ian Bruce and Steve Sever, close to 100 people attended the flash game of hockey.
“Steve called me this morning, said, ‘You want to put a street hockey game together on Moncton Street?’ Like a flash mob, take over Moncton, in honour of Humboldt,” said Bruce at the event.
Bruce agreed and initially thought he could twist a few arms at the City of Richmond, where he works, to close Moncton. However because a street closure wasn’t possible, Bruce, Sever, city officials and those at Steveston Harbour Authority cleared a parking lot just off Bayview to host three shinny games for young kids.
Well, almost.
“That’s my truck!” shouted Bruce when a hockey ball smacked his pickup. And then there were a few leftover cars that still needed to leave the lot during gameplay, resulting in the usual ‘Car!’ callout followed predictably by ‘Game on!’
“It’s a great turnout. It’s for the kids and what it does is it shows them we’re trying to inject some fun back into hockey after the tragic week,” said Sever, 43, a graduate of Steveston High.
The mood was positive and everyone was sportsmanlike under Bruce and Sever’s leadership (while displaying hearts of gold this day, it should be noted Bruce and Sever led their beer league team, the Hustlers, in penalty minutes this season. They told the Richmond News it’s all a misunderstanding).
Near the end, the two gathered everyone for photos with sticks raised to honour the Broncos hockey team, following the fatal crash of their bus last week, which resulted in 16 deaths and at least as many injuries, many of them serious.
The crash sent shockwaves through Canada as people rallied with multiple millions of dolalrs in donations and tributes such as wearing jerseys and putting sticks on front porches.
Bruce said it was a special moment, one he hopes can help rejuvenate street hockey in Richmond.
“You don’t see street hockey anymore,” said the father of one.
“There’s not really many places to play; there are cars everywhere and the city’s so populated; there’s more than one car per household. With social media, video games, nobody goes outside anymore!” quipped Bruce, 39, also a graduate of Steveston High.
