Victoria Grizzlies Returning Home After Bus Stranded In Storm
Victoria –
The Victoria Grizzlies junior “A” hockey team are back home after the costliest road trip in team history.
Many people in the province remained stranded because of the destruction caused by washouts and mudslides last week.
The lucky ones escaped without injury or loss of property, and the lucky ones managed to find some light in the historic storm.
“None of us were prepared for it, obviously,†Grizzlies forward Michael Hoekstra said on Friday.
Last week, the Grizzlies found themselves stranded along the Coquihalla Freeway in the wake of the historic storm.
After a weekend win in Trail, BC, the Grizzlies returned home to Penticton for a night.
And they would stay once they saw footage of floods and landslides on TV.
Communities that the hockey team know, like Abbotsford and Merritt, have remained unrecognizable.
After the team leadership counted their blessings, they calculated the cost of housing and feeding more than 20 teenagers, who knows how long.
Usually a road trip like this costs between $ 15,000 and $ 17,000. But management says the safety of players and staff always comes first, with costs coming second.
Fortunately, the Grizzlies also got help from rival team, the Penticton Vees, who gave them a locker room and ice to practice.
“When the puck falls we want to beat the other team, but we are partners and we wanted to make sure their stay is as comfortable as possible,†said Vees president, head coach and general manager Fred Harbinson.
The team would end up spending three nights in Penticton, and they didn’t exactly have to rough it up.
The team stayed at a lakeside resort and even threw a poolside party one night.
The biggest surprise, however, came at the airport.
Grizzlies property footed the bill to bring the team home on a chartered jet, when most of the province’s major highways were still closed due to flood damage.
The away games turned out to be an unforgettable $ 45,000 road trip, for all the right reasons. And once the players returned to Victoria, the home ice rink never felt so good.