We've been reaching out to some of our League Conveners lately, asking them what they miss about hockey during this pandemic. Andrew Guidolin, the LC from Caledonia Oldtimer's Hockey Association, sent us the following photo.

It got us thinking, what do we miss about hockey?

We’re all under a bit more stress these days with the virus; being stuck inside a small house, seeing your significant other every living second, cupboards lined with more canned food and toilet paper than you could ever need, and worst of all NO HOCKEY! Our recreational hockey family may be going through the most difficult time of our lives; not only can we not play the beautiful game, but not even watch a live game on TV. We can maybe start to sympathize for the NHL players during the lockout now (besides the money they make), so during this quarantine, we thought there’d be no better time than to start the discussion on what we miss most about hockey, here’s a quick list to help you remember!

Without a doubt the camaraderie built through being on a hockey team is the most difficult to be away from. Meeting up with this friend group once a week, to talk about what NHL game was on last night, how Bobby on the team has cement hands, and how that ref last week was the worst ref you’ve ever seen. It all makes for memorable experiences and makes the season more fun!

As much as we probably don’t want to admit it, we do need the exercise as we get older, and we can probably admit it more now that we’re forced to sit around the house and do nothing. Even the recreational game once a week gets the heart pumping and legs less restless. Not only that, but for us that still have hair, the breeze on the ice letting the hair flow is a missed experience!

Now we can’t forget about a nice cold brew after the game with the team, or that half priced pizza or wings in the bar. The bar. Remember that place. Yeaaaah.

Lastly the game itself, hearing the cuts of the blades into the fresh ice as you skate out for warmup. The slapping of sticks on the boards after your goaltender bails you out again, and hopefully the feeling of being a kid again when you lift that recreational league trophy. These are all the reasons we miss this great game, and man can we not wait to get back to playing.