Thorold arena is more than just ice

By Stephen Dyell

What's On Thorold

The Niagara Region is filled with arenas.

$38 million was put into a four pad in Niagara Falls while millions were put into Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre. With the Niagara Icedogs making a new $45 million home in downtown St. Catharines, Thorold is also looking to cash in on a hockey hungry region desperately looking to improve aging arenas.

While committee members will discuss the proposed suggestions of finding more money in an economy on the decline, it takes just a trip down to the 38-year-old Frank Doherty Arena Thursday night to see why.

The young and old gather in a frigid box. Words are spoken of previous games amongst faces that have been apart of the local hockey scene since the arena opened their doors.

They have been here for the good times and the bad as a team unites the community. The Thorold Blackhawks are more than just a Jr. B team — they are the city.

With Thorold Secondary’s possible fate being sent to the penalty box, residents share a passion for a team that brings hope of something great in a city being controlled by what many people would call outside sources.

The players come from all over Ontario. This may not be the Ontario Hockey League but even they realize the passion. Practices include the occasional fan and players acknowledge with a nod or the occasional puck toss to a young fan.

These men are just boys but there love for the game is shared through 200 people each home game with cheers and roars as the hope of becoming champions never fades.

The passion doesn’t stop with the red, white and black.

As the parking lots fill up for Blackhawks games, adults also carry bags filled with elbow pads, helmets and other hockey gear. The gear would be tight on a grown man but for the grade school kids, the fit is perfect.

For most children hockey is life. A school week doesn’t end fast enough for Saturday afternoon games followed by watching their heroes gear up and battle on what they hope to finally accomplish once their skating days are over.

Without an adequate arena, hockey dads look elsewhere in a sport that often sees parents travel up to an hour to find the perfect hockey programs for their children. If that doesn’t happen, representation of former Blackhawk players in the NHL will be no more and possibility of losing a Jr. B team could very well happen as the building ages and slowly dismembers from previous glory.

What does a new arena mean to Thorold?

A chance for future generations not only to explore Canada’s game but also what makes Thorold what it is today — a community in love with hockey.