On
Saturday, October 13th, we went out as a team to dinner and to the season opener
of the Markham Thunder - which is our Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) home team in Markham. We had a delicious dinner at the Mandarin buffet, where
my teammates and I enjoyed many plates of food and my favourite sushi.
Everything there was delicious especially the desserts, and we got to eat as
much cotton candy, ice cream and pastries that we wanted.
After dinner, we all went to the game. It was at Thornhill Community Center, and it was going to be the season opener for the Markham Thunder. We were all excited because last year they won the Clarkson Cup and I know that some of the players on the team were from the Women’s 2018 Olympic Hockey Team
At the game (outside the arena), we all went into a fire truck and met firefighters. After getting our popcorn and snacks, we went to the upper level to visit the Clarkson Cup and take pictures. When we returned to our seats and before the game started, we got to meet Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti. He came over to our section to talk to us and pose for pictures. Right after that, we got to meet Hon. Mary Ng, MP for Markham-Thornill who is the Minister of Small Business for Canada.
Next, we all got to see our teammate - Corrado Muscoiona - be one of four flag bearers, in the on-ice ceremony held in honour of our Clarkson Cup 2017 Champions. We all laughed and smiled when we saw him spin in circles with the flag. We were all excited to finally see our practice coach Jamie Lee Rattray play. She is the alternate Captain for the Markham Thunder.
One amusing thing happened that night, one of our teammates - Jack - tried to get a puck shot over the boards but every time he tried two girls from the Stouffville Stars would beat him to the puck. We would encourage him with our cheers, but the girls would always beat him. In the end, the Markham Thunder beat the Worchester Blades, 6-0.
It was a fantastic experience!