Never-ending Snow Machine

The snow was coming down pretty good on the way to the rink tonight. I could see that the road north was backed up for about a mile with traffic barely moving. The road into the city was almost empty most of the way. I was coming out of the storm and the northbound cars were heading into it. I’ve had a lot of practice driving through the Snow Belt. It was my daily commute for six year until I decided enough was enough and I’d move closer to the office to avoid the 2 hour drive back and forth through the never ending snow storm. Some nights the trip home would take more than two hours. When we would have a game north of the St Lawrence it could take three hours to get to a game. Most of the trips to the rink this season were pretty uneventful, but tonight the snowmaker had drifted south and followed me into the city. When I got to the rink I was surprised to see the whole team had made it in. In fact there were a few teams already practicing at the rink. We have a game tomorrow right in the middle of the snowbelt. There is more snow expected, and I have already called the other coach to discuss the possibility that we might not make it in if the weather conditions are bad. I wouldn’t want to have anyone get hurt trying to make it to the game, but I really am looking forward to the game. The team looked good in practice, and I know they all put a lot of effort into getting ready for the game. It’s been a very good season for us. We’ve done well, the kids are great to coach, and they work hard and listen. I’ve been lucky in that I always seem to get a good bunch of players that really want to play hockey. After practice the snow had stopped, and the plows had already been through and cleared at least some of the snow off the road. I asked the kids tonight if they knew who Tim Horton was. One player asked “ doesn’t he own a sandwich shop?” Tomorrow before the game I’ll ask again. I’ll bet they’ll all know. Hockey has a rich history. It’s good to know where this game came from. It was snowing back then too.