Jeff Eckensviller learned at the same time as others across Canada that Trout Creek would not advance any further in the annual Kraft Hockeyville competition.
“Watching on national TV that we didn’t make the Hockeyville final four was a gut punch," said Eckensviller.
The annual Kraft Hockeyville competition is a chance to win $250,000, which would have been applied to needed repairs to the Trout Creek Community Centre.
Eckensviller was with several Trout Creek residents at a watch party the evening of March 15, to see first-hand if the community would make it to the final four. Joining Eckensviller at the watch party were Travis Tennant and Trevor Madge. All three were instrumental in getting Trout Creek into the Hockeyville contest.
“I was upset on hearing the news,” Madge lamented.
“Everyone Saturday night I think was stunned that we didn’t make the final four,” said Tennant.
However, the three organizers don’t view the decision as a loss.
“Going into the night, we felt we had already won as a community,” Eckensviller said.
“Hockeyville gave us a platform to be heard and we were heard loud and clear. It galvanized our community.” Many believe the community centre should be replaced.
The town council has been resisting that recommendation because of the tens of millions of dollars it will take to put up a new arena.
Rather, council wants to determine if it’s possible to rehabilitate the arena in stages and is looking for a second engineering opinion to help with that process.
The arena portion is set to close for the season at the end of this month and repairs are estimated at $2.5 million.
If the facility is going to be rehabilitated, that work would have to begin sooner than later if the arena is expected to reopen in the fall.
Eckensviller said involving Trout Creek in Hockeyville sent a clear message to town council that the arena, which was built by community volunteers in the early 1970s, is worth saving.
Tennant said participating in Hockeyville “has made us more determined to keep pushing to keep the (arena) doors open.”
Madge said that had the community not supported the Hockeyville bid from the outset, “The arena would have quietly died over the summer and we’d be reacting in the fall when learning the arena might not open.
“I think we’re in a better position,” Madge said. “I don’t feel it was a waste of time.”
All three agree they learned a great deal from the past experience and believe they are better equipped when they take part in Hockeyville again in 2026.
The trio developed an extensive network on how to involve the local and surrounding communities in advocating for the arena, and learned at the same time there is massive regional support for the continued existence of the rink, they said.
Eckensviller said about 1,300 stories from Trout Creek, Powassan, and neighbouring communities were submitted to Hockeyville.
Assuming town council opts to repair the arena and pays for that work, Eckensviller is hopeful the community can work on fundraising initiatives for future work on the arena.
In the meantime, Powassan town council will hold a public meeting at the community centre on March 27 to show it is committed to keeping the arena open.
The four Hockeyville finalists are Crossfield, Alberta, Honeywood, Ontario, Saint-Boniface, Quebec and Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.