Another Tiger Hills Hockey League season is quickly approaching, and Mark Agnew of the Hartney Blues can't wait to get back onto the ice.
Excitement level high
"Always very excited this time of year," Agnew says with a smile. "The weather is turning, lots of combines out in the field. We're primarily build around a whole bunch of farmers, so we're trying to get through harvest first, so the weather has been cooperating, we're getting some acres into the bin. We're getting excited as we get closer to the fall, and the ice getting put back into the rink, and all that good suff. We're ready to rock."
Strong all-year bonds
It's not just when the weather turns that Agnew and the Blues start conversing, as he says they are always connected. "It's actually, it's a very enjoyable part. We have a team group chat that gets a couple messages through the summer months from the golf course, but typically, it starts to ramp up in September. The kids are going back to school, the farmers are in the combines and have some extra hours, so the group chat is starting to pick up. Great to hear from guys you maybe haven't heard from in a few months, and everyone's getting excited to get back onto the ice."
Representing Hartney
Since the team was brought back to life in 2011, Agnew says the community has embrace them, and in turn, the team has represented the area proudly. "That's what it's really all about, our community, our families. As we get older, a lot more kiddos come to games, and the community has supported us from day one. It's a great thing for Hartney that we can put on a show for a couple of hours every other week, get the community out. It's a small town, so there are limited options to do on the weekend, so the Blues are something that everyone looks forward to. We want to put out a good product for them, compete every night, and hopefully have a cocktail and a conversation with friends and family after."
Lots of positives
Building on the positives from last year, Agnew believes that with the core returning, the team will be in good shape. "The beauty of our team is so far in our time since coming back in 2011, we've had consistency in the roster. A lot of the same guys, and sure they're a year older, but the core group of the Hartney Blues has been together since year one, and we anticipate that to be the exact same this season. We really have a good group that continues to show up year in, and year out. Obviously, a few pieces added or deleted, but we're excited to build off last season. We had one of our better years in the standings, and a lot of great times in the dressing room and one the ice together, so I really anticipate us being a similar identity from how we've been now for years, and year. We have some younger guys coming up that are local, they'll bring fresh legs, new legs, and we're hoping to build off last year. We'll be a very similar team as we have been in the past."
Farmers to the rescue
Every year, the Blues know they have to manage life around hockey, so when it's time to farm, hockey has to wait, but Agnew says they've learned to manage all of that. "We're unique in the sense that we're a small community, there's four or five hundred people in and from Hartney, so we really rely on the core group of guys that have grown up from young kids playing minor hockey, now playing senior hockey. We're not getting younger, but we have some good young pieces. We know with the size of our town, we have to add through friendships or hockey connections made along the way. But, we're fortunate. As far as the start, we'll get a few of the boys out of the combines and hopefully go for a jog. Typically before the start of the season, the harvest season is over and we can get back out onto the ice."
Getting onto the ice
Agnew says the team has plans for when they'll get together. "Usually the start of October. We're lucky that the Westman Wildcats U18 female team plays out of Hartney, that usually speeds up getting ice in. Hopefully, that goes in quick. We do wait till October, just based off the amount of farmers we have on our team. They're focused on harvest, so we'll get through that, and then we'll get the boys together for a group skate. We typically use the first few games to get back into shape, and get the rust off the old legs."