Allan Cup assists grassroots hockey

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2016 (2794 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When an Allan Cup team this year was penalized for dressing one import player too many, it caused a ripple effect: a win was forfeited, matchups rejigged and one game postponed as late as 10:30 p.m. that night.

The Steinbach organizing committee would have to refund hundreds of tickets, they knew.

“At the time we thought we’d lose our shirts,” recalled secretary treasurer Luc Lahaie.

The whole matter—the Ile des Chenes North Stars exceeding the maximum number of import players permitted—was blamed on a clerical error by Hockey Manitoba, which prompted the Steinbach organizers, knowing they’d be out thousands of dollars, to ask for some assistance since they figured the financial cost shouldn’t be on them.

They never got that aid, but it turns out their fears weren’t necessary. They turned a profit and they have since returned some of those proceeds to organizations helping grow the game in the Southeast.

This summer, the 2016 Allan Cup Organizing Committee donated $1,500 to Grunthal Minor Hockey and $1,000 each to Steinbach Minor Hockey and Ste. Anne Minor Hockey.

They also returned $5,000 to Grunthal Lumber, the title sponsor for this April’s Allan Cup for “sticking their neck out for us,” said Lahaie. The hardware store was the event’s biggest supporter, donating $25,000 early in the fundraising push.

Lahaie said the host committee aimed to break even and didn’t think too much about possible profits. If they did, their goal was to donate to some kind of hockey organization.

Their hopes of balancing the books became more daunting when they had to hike their overall budget for the Allan Cup from $200,000 to $250,000, and more still when the import player rule was broken, which drove the two scheduled quarter-final games later into the day and changed which team played whom.

Lahaie recalled giving back nearly $3,000 worth of $20 bills to patrons who wanted their tickets refunded. The committee estimates they lost $5,000-$8,000 in earning potential because of the snafu.

But they rebounded from a clerical error they couldn’t control to not only reap a profit but give back to minor hockey groups important to them.

Grunthal, recipient of a $1,500 donation, was where most of the host committee played their youth hockey growing up: president Jared Driedger, vice president Marv Kornelsen and committee members Rob Driedger, Harold Rempel, Sheldon Froese and Lahaie, the latter having skated in St Pierre but also spending his later playing years in Grunthal.

President Jared Driedger’s kids play their minor hockey in Ste Anne, also a beneficiary of Allan Cup proceeds, and money also went to Steinbach Minor Hockey, in recognition of the host committee members whose children play for the Millers and an acknowledgement of the city’s volunteers and fans who helped make the tournament a success.

“We thank the people of southeastern Manitoba for jumping on our bandwagon and helping us out,” said Lahaie.

Thousands took in the week-long national senior hockey tournament this April that concluded with the Bentley Generals beating the host South East Prairie Thunder in the championship.