Student-athletes on the Â鶹´«Ã½ men's hockey team are used to staring down opponents who are missing a few teeth. Last week four players got to experience the wide, toothless smiles of young elementary school students enjoying a surprise visit from the team.
Last week Pascal Amyot, Kendall MacInnis, Rob McEwan, and Brad Yetman spent close to two hours of their morning visiting students at Burton Ettinger, a P-6 French immersion school in Halifax. McEwan and MacInnis visited younger students and read an English book titled Over at the Rink while Amyot and rookie defensemen Brad Yetman (dressed as the Tigers mascot) visited the French classes to read Brady Brady et la patinoire de Freddie.
After recess there was a small assembly in the gym for the school's grade four, five and six students. During the assembly McEwan told the students about majoring in earth sciences while MacInnis spoke about his first-year business courses and his hopes to own his own business one day. Afterwards, Yetman, who was the centre of attention all morning as the Tiger, played goalie and a few students were selected from the crowd to take part in a mini shootout.Â
The visit is part of an initiative to get Â鶹´«Ã½ athletes more involved in the community. "Lots of young kids will grow up to attend university and some may even come to Â鶹´«Ã½ and play a varsity sport while attending," said men's hockey head coach Chris Donnelly. "We want to make sure we have a positive role in the community."
Donnelly and a small group of volunteers started planning potential school visits earlier this summer. Burton Ettinger was the first school to receive a visit from the players and there are more in the lineup for next semester. Â鶹´«Ã½ Athletics also donated 50 free tickets to the school for this Saturday's game against UPEI Panthers. Burton Ettinger students will also receive a tour of the locker room and a chance to meet the team after the game.      Â