It was the first half of the 49th annual Eric Jessome Memorial Bedford, Que.-Kensington, P.E.I., Peewee Friendship Hockey Exchange. Kensington will make the return trip to Quebec in late February.
“It’s an awesome weekend,” said Kensington coach Leif Taylor, who participated in the exchange as a player in 1981. “It’s great to meet new people, and see some of the old faces.
“I haven’t been to Bedford in 36 years. All the volunteers are doing a great job, and the kids are having an awesome time.”
One of the unique features of this exchange is that the players are billeted with members of the other team in both communities, which often leads to lifelong friendships. There was a full schedule of events, on and off the ice, for both teams all weekend.
“The kids are great,” emphasized Taylor. “They all like one another, they participate in all the activities and it’s wonderful.”
Memories
Players on both teams admitted there were many highlights from the three-day event, which began Friday and concluded on Sunday evening.
“The ride (to P.E.I.) was really long, and we watched a lot of movies,” said Bedford goaltender Mino Liani Carpentier. “My weekend has been really good because I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s pretty cool.”
Carpentier had a perfect night in goal as Bedford blanked Kensington 4-0 in Saturday evening’s head-to-head clash before a good-sized crowd at Community Gardens.
“When the game started I was a little bit nervous because it is my first year playing hockey and being a goalie,” said Carpentier.
Ethan Somers, a member of the Kensington team, said it was “by far” the biggest crowd he has ever played in front of.
“It was awesome,” said Somers, a Grade 7 student at Amherst Cove Consolidated School in Borden-Carleton. “It was great playing against them.”
It was the first half of the 49th annual Eric Jessome Memorial Bedford, Que.-Kensington, P.E.I., Peewee Friendship Hockey Exchange. Kensington will make the return trip to Quebec in late February.
“It’s an awesome weekend,” said Kensington coach Leif Taylor, who participated in the exchange as a player in 1981. “It’s great to meet new people, and see some of the old faces.
“I haven’t been to Bedford in 36 years. All the volunteers are doing a great job, and the kids are having an awesome time.”
One of the unique features of this exchange is that the players are billeted with members of the other team in both communities, which often leads to lifelong friendships. There was a full schedule of events, on and off the ice, for both teams all weekend.
“The kids are great,” emphasized Taylor. “They all like one another, they participate in all the activities and it’s wonderful.”
Memories
Players on both teams admitted there were many highlights from the three-day event, which began Friday and concluded on Sunday evening.
“The ride (to P.E.I.) was really long, and we watched a lot of movies,” said Bedford goaltender Mino Liani Carpentier. “My weekend has been really good because I’ve made a lot of friends. It’s pretty cool.”
Carpentier had a perfect night in goal as Bedford blanked Kensington 4-0 in Saturday evening’s head-to-head clash before a good-sized crowd at Community Gardens.
“When the game started I was a little bit nervous because it is my first year playing hockey and being a goalie,” said Carpentier.
Ethan Somers, a member of the Kensington team, said it was “by far” the biggest crowd he has ever played in front of.
“It was awesome,” said Somers, a Grade 7 student at Amherst Cove Consolidated School in Borden-Carleton. “It was great playing against them.”
While players on both teams admitted they wanted to win when the puck was dropped, this exchange is much more than hockey.
“We are having fun,” said Bedford player Léo Santerre. “It’s nice to see the Island, the (Confederation) Bridge and all that.”
The exchange participants really enjoy the billeting experience.
“We like playing video games, we like playing mini hockey sticks,” said Bedford’s Adrian Garcia, who was billeted with Nikolas Wigmore. “I made a lot of friends.”
When asked if they like the same NHL team, Garcia quickly pointed out “no”. Garcia likes the Montreal Canadiens while Wigmore cheers for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“We talk a lot about hockey,” said Wigmore, a Grade 7 student at Kensington Intermediate-Senior High School. “We both enjoy hockey and play video games together like NHL 16.”
Somers said he enjoyed getting to know Carpentier.
“I had a lot of fun with my billet,” said Somers. “We just chilled out a lot, and played Xbox.”
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