Moment swells as 67’s prepare for School Day Game clash with Frontenacs
The annual School Day Game is something players look forward to every single year, especially with the Ottawa 67’s.
The game brings a change of scenery, with the Canadian Tire Centre – home of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators – becoming the stage, and a massive boost to attendance, with last year’s game packing over 13,000 school kids into the building. The noise is almost unfathomable at times, with the shrill shrieks of kids being enough to leave you temporarily deafened.
Earplugs have become something of a running gag among the 67’s, with Head Coach Dave Cameron suggesting he’d spend good money to get his hands on a pair before the game. Max Donoso has even thought about the pros and cons of putting them in his ears underneath his mask.
“That might be a good investment,” Donoso said through a chuckle. “I remember my ears ringing a little but last year when we came out from the second intermission. It’s going to be very loud again this year, I already know that. It’s always fun when there are thousands of screaming kids.”
For a good number of Barber Poles, this will be their first chance to experience a School Day Game. Only 13 players currently on the team played in last year’s iteration, excluding Donoso, who backed up Collin MacKenzie last time out.
Whether they have been on the bench, in the press box, or have only heard about the thrill the School Day Game provides through word of mouth, anticipation is high.
“I have heard the atmosphere is nuts,” said 67’s rookie forward, Nic Whitehead. “The kids are all screaming and excited to be there and watch some hockey. I’ve been to one of these games watching the Orlando [Solar Bears], but it’s going to be nothing like this one.”
When the 67’s bus leaves from TD Place to make the short trip to Kanata, Whitehead says he’s going to get a taste of what the NHL experience is like. He dreams of playing in front of his home fans in a packed building, and even though he’s wearing an OHL sweater, he may just catch a whiff of what he hopes to accomplish.
It’s not an unusual feeling, according to Henry Mews, who is among those making their School Day Game debut on Wednesday morning. He watched the last one from the press box after returning from the U17 Championship just hours beforehand, but finally, the opportunity to play on the same ice as his heroes growing up presented itself.
“I’m pumped,” Mews said. “As a kid growing up watching the Sens play in that barn, it’s going to be fun. It has been a dream of mine to play there. It’s going to feel like an NHL game with all of the fans there, so it’s going to be cool.”
Obviously, the start time is a topic of conversation among the most die-hard OHL fans. It’s odd, no one will deny that. It comes three-and-a-half hours earlier than the typical afternoon start, and for some teams, it could offer a significant challenge. For Ottawa, it’s nothing new.
“I can draw on the practices we have here, because we practice really early in the day,” Donoso said. “That gives us a little bit of an advantage in this game.”
In his overage season, Donoso is relishing the opportunity in front of him to tick something off his to-do list, and hopefully, keep the momentum rolling after a career-high 44 saves in Oshawa a weekend ago.
“I’m honestly just excited to play in another game, I haven’t gotten that many this year,” Donoso said. “But it’s special to play in an NHL rink, and it’ll be fun to play in that kind of atmosphere. Not many people get to say they have played in front of that many people in a rink like that.”
“Last weekend was a real turning point in what I have done this year, I felt really good and confident. I’ve worked really hard, and I’ve done some new things, as well, including a new routine. I’m happy with it, and hopefully, this continues.”
As a group, it’s the first chance to bite back at a Frontenacs team that handed them a 5-1 loss earlier in the year.
“We’re working on our consistency, just getting things right, including the mindset,” Whitehead said. “We didn’t like our game in Oshawa, and we didn’t like that outcome, but we came back against Sarnia. Kingston already gave us a shot, but we’re ready to give it back to them.”
The key, Donoso says, is going into this one even-keeled, not allowing the moment – no matter how big – to overwhelm you.
“You have to stay focused and treat it as another regular game,” he said. “The routine is the same, warmup is the same, and if you can do that, everything in the game will come [naturally]. I’m not thinking it’s going to cause any issues.”
