With Saturday night's game against the Estevan Bruins postponed due to the weather conditions, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings had ice time booked at Crescent Point Place, but no one to play against. The Red Wings would find an opponent, albeit a rather unconventional one - the U11 AA Panther Drilling Wings.
The U11 squad, coached by Tyler McMillan, was up to the challenge. They would play two 30-minute mini-games with the Red Wings Saturday night. The first game would see the U11 Wings play against the Red Wings, and then they mixed the two teams up for the second game. There was also some fun with the line-ups, such as having forward Jakob Kalin donning Dazza Mitchell's equipment and playing goal, while Mitchell and fellow netminder Eric Kahl playing out.
While the score was kept, the games were all in good fun, with the players on both teams smiling and laughing for the full hour of ice time. The younger Wings took every chance they could get to rough up the junior Wings, including the entire U11 team mobbing Simon Pollock at the end of the first game. But the smiles on the face of everyone involved - players, parents, coaches and fans - told more about the love of the game of hockey for everyone there than anything else.
Here are some of the photos captured from what was quickly dubbed the 2023 Winter Storm Classic by many who were at Crescent Point Place: