SJHL ACTION RESUMES
First responders stand on the ice for the national anthem among Nipawin Hawks and estevan bruins players prior to the game as the SJHL resumes following the collision involving the Humboldt Broncos hockey team bus that killed 16 people.
NIPAWIN Chris Lewgood applauded the first responders and emergency services personnel before and after Game 1 of the SJHL’s championship series.
The Estevan Bruins’ head coach and general manager, like everyone else at Centennial Arena on Saturday night, participated in a loud ovation as part of a pre-game ceremony that also honoured the tragedy-stricken Humboldt Broncos.
After Estevan defeated the Nipawin Hawks 5-2, Lewgood offered more kudos, noting that many of the 15 people who were lauded on Saturday had been on hand the previous afternoon when the Bruins visited the site of the Broncos’ bus crash.
“Those people are heroes, and they were there on site and part of (responding to) the tragedy,” said Lewgood. “There they were, looking out for us and trying to accommodate our group.”
The Broncos’ bus collided with a semi-trailer truck on April 6 while the team was en route to a playoff game in Nipawin. All 29 people on the bus were either killed or injured.
On Friday, the Bruins stopped at the site for 30 minutes to pay their respects to the Broncos.
“I actually think (Friday) was the first step for a lot of the guys toward closure,” Lewgood said.
The collision occurred at the junction of Highways 35 and 335, between Nipawin and Tisdale.
“We stopped in Tisdale for a brief moment to get some flowers to lay at the site,” Lewgood said. “(The players) could tell that things changed between Tisdale and the accident site.
“The guys were really nervous. It was a combination of being nervous about ‘how do you act out there?’ and ‘what are we going to see?’ and those types of things.”
Lewgood called the experience “a really good day for our team.”
Bruins captain Jake Fletcher was quick to agree.
“It was fine until we got to the crash site,” he said. “That was when people really started to get more emotional. It was pretty tough, but we got through it as a team.”
At the crash site, assistant coach Carter Duff in led the team in prayer. The Bruins then spent some quiet time at what has become a Broncos memorial, remembering friends, former teammates, and others who were affected by the accident.
Media interviews were also conducted before the Bruins completed the final 28 kilometres of the trek to Nipawin.
“Two of our captains and thirdyear guys, Kaelan Holt and Jake Fletcher ... offered to stand in front of the cameras and take questions from the media,” Lewgood said. “I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever heard those two guys speak more eloquently.
“It was a tremendous thing. We were shaking and shivering and cold and the guys were emotional. And then, when those two guys jumped in front of the camera, it was like that’s what they do for a living. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“I must have watched a couple of interviews on social media over and over again, trying to figure out how they found that strength.