A Salute to Minor Hockey Week and our Players This week we celebrate Minor Hockey week with Crowsnest Pass Thunder and Pincher Creek Chinooks, who both have local players on their roster NICK ALLEN Pass Herald Reporter This Minor Hockey Week, we look at the growth and change the Crowsnest Minor Hockey Association (CMHA) has seen over the past few seasons. The Crowsnest Pass Thunder U-11 home tournament on January 21 and 22 will mark the extent of Minor Hockey Week activities according to Kyla Cytko, President of the Crowsnest Pass Minor Hockey Association (CPMHA). “We don’t have special activities planned this week, aside from our usual practices and games,” said Cytko. According to Cytko, they have worked hard over the last few seasons to increase the participants they have within the club, now icing 65 skaters with the help of reduced fees. “This season we offered $50 registration for all of our levels and normally they would pay anywhere from $200 to $300 to play,” explained Cytko. With the travel involved with playing hockey, a big focus for the CPMHA has been making sure that hockey is accessible for families without them having to give up other winter activities. “We’re trying to find a good balance of not having hockey take up every single weekend of your entire winter for your family, so we’re pretty proud of the growth that we’ve seen in the last few seasons. Coming out of the last three seasons which were drastically affected by COVID, Cytko reflected on the changes they have been able to make in a return to normalcy. Cont’d on page 8
Nick Allen photo
The U-13 Crowsnest Pass Thunder goalie Ryder Jorgensen in net against the Pincher Creek Chinooks on November 19 at the Crowsnest Sports Complex in Coleman.