The White Bear Redhawks thought that losing all 24 games they played last year, in their return to the Big Six Hockey League, was hard enough.

Then life stepped in with a reality check that would make even the heaviest bodycheck blush.

Two women from the White Bear First Nation were killed in a crash on Highway 33 near Lajord on Nov. 10 and the Redhawks’ first two games of the season – Nov. 14 against the Carnduff Red Devils and Nov. 15 against the Midale Mustangs – were postponed while the community grieved.
The Redhawks will instead start their season tonight when they host the Carlyle Cougars. Game time is 8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Arena.

“One thing I don’t think some of the communities in the rural areas understand (is that) from a First Nations perspective we’re all related here,” said Redhawks manager Annette Lonechild. “And it was not just this incident but all the tragedies over the year in our community.

“The issues have been compounding and so from that perspective … it was just too difficult when you’re dealing with so much grief.”

Lonechild is quick to point out the league and White Bear’s scheduled opponents were 100 per cent supportive of the Redhawks’ decision.

But the season must go on and the Redhawks hope to start anew, beginning with tonight’s game against Carlyle. The Redhawks went 0-22 in regular season play last year and then were swept in playoffs by the Arcola-Kisbey Combines.

The buzzword around the Big Six this year is “parity” and White Bear figures on being a part of that.

“Last year we had a lot of work to do in a short period of time. We only got approval to be accepted back into the league in September,” said Lonechild. “It wasn’t a good year for us. (This year) we had a lot of interest shown by new players … and we’re hoping to make a run for the middle of the pack.

“Guys are guys and they tend to suppress their real feelings at times,” added a laughing Lonechild, “but they’re all anxious to get going and looking forward to participating knowing that there’s not really anywhere to go from last year but up.”

Plan B isn’t always such a bad thing.

If Nikki Poissant didn’t know it before, she learned it in 2006 when she served as back-up goalie on the Saskatchewan entry that won bronze at the women’s world broomball championship in Blaine, Minnesota – a city on the north fringe of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area.

The point was driven home earlier this month when the 20-year-old Sedley product was promoted to the Odessa Storm’s starting job for the 2008 worlds. This time Poissant and the Storm made it to the Championship before falling 1-0 in overtime to Eastern Ontario’s McMillan Sand and Gravel entry.

Worlds ran Nov. 4-8 in Vancouver, with teams from Canada, the United States, Japan, Australia, and Italy.

“One of my friends from high school played and she made it seem like it was such a good time,” said Poissant, who played her first broomball game in 2000 with the Odessa Flames midget squad. “I think at the time I was trying to convince my dad to put me back into hockey – I hadn’t played since I was 5 – but my mom wouldn’t have any of it. So broomball was the next best thing.”

In this case the “B” stood for “broomball.” It could also stand for “bonus.”

The Storm’s improved standing was punctuated for Poissant with the presenting of the post-tournament awards. All four of her wins (she played to a 4-2 record) were shutouts and it was enough to earn her tournament MVP honours as well as a selection to the tourney’s first all-star team.

“I definitely did not expect to win those awards … I couldn’t stop smiling for the rest of the night,” she said.

Poissant’s teammates may not have been as shocked considering Poissant had been named the top goaltender, first all-star, and team MVP at junior nationals in March.

And to think none of this almost ever happened.

“My very first game was in Balgonie and I remember being terrified because … I still didn’t know much about how the game was supposed to go,” said a laughing Poissant. “(On) my first shift I got a two-minute penalty for high broom and I would have been 12 or 13 at the time so I was pretty embarrassed.”

Poissant had little to be embarrassed about this time around as even the one shot that beat her in the world final may have been scored illegally – on a debatable high broom that was not called by the officials.

The World Broomball Championships are contested every two years and Poissant expects to be there with Odessa again in 2010. If the Storm continue their seemingly natural progression, a gold medal would not be out of the question.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully taking that next step,” she said.

The Estevan Bruins will make up their Remembrance Day game against the Yorkton Terriers on Nov. 26, according to a team press release.

The Bruins and Terriers are working together to support the Military Families Fund by wearing camouflage jerseys for their November home dates against each other. Those jerseys will then be auctioned off with proceeds going to the MFF which assists “military families faced with unforeseen and often immediate needs that have resulted due to conditions of service.”

Estevan was scheduled to host Yorkton on Nov. 11 at the Civic Auditorium but the game was postponed due to poor road conditions in the Yorkton region.

Blood Sweat and Ears Pro Wrestling is rumoured to be eyeing a return to Saskatchewan in April 2009 but don’t expect to see them in Estevan.

With outside talent such as Rhino, Joe Legend, Traci Brooks, and Trailer Park Boys mainstays Randy and Mr. Lahey in tow, the Toronto-based company made its Saskatchewan debut in August with shows in Yorkton, Estevan, and Swift Current. While the Yorkton and Swift Current shows drew well — over 600 fans were reported in Speedy Creek — the Estevan show drew fewer than 90 spectators.

BSE Pro promoter Arda Ocal says the company is not willing to risk losing money in Estevan for the second year in a row and will likely replace Estevan with Saskatoon on its upcoming Western swing. Yorkton and Swift Current are expected to retain their shows and Regina may also find a place on BSE’s plate.