By Dorian Geiger
The comparison is almost used too often – a rural community’s hockey rink is often akin to the local church. It may be exaggeratory – but it’s for that reason that small town fans religiously fill the stands at hockey games like booths fill up at church on Sundays.
A rural arena serves as a catalyst for the divine connection between the people and something much larger – hockey.
So when Kindersley’s arena was suddenly engulfed in flames on Jan. 9, an entire community of approximately 5,000 people stopped in their tracks to comprehend the magnitude of what just happened. Though the arena took only twenty-eight minutes to be destroyed, it desecrated the birthplace of a lifetime worth of memories for the Southwest community.
Faulty water lines in the arena’s furnace room were reported to be to blame. A contractor had been working on the lines and a fire broke out, igniting the dry wood in the room and sending the building into flames like a match stick. Though the freak incident could have potentially been avoided, it would have been practically impossible to stop the inferno in the short time it turned the arena to ash.
The Kindersley Fire Department was assisted by Eatonia, Eston and Kerrobert Fire Departments, totalling an excess of 60 firefighters reported to be on the scene. Surrounding houses and schools were also evacuated in a state of precaution.

Luckily, no one was hurt and only the old section of the arena was completely destroyed. This leaves the new rink portion and curling venue in salvageable condition despite some water, smoke and electrical damage. The lobby and food booth area of the arena were the hardest hit, including team storage areas for minor and senior hockey. The total cost of the devastation is presently unclear and can’t be fully determined until fire inspectors are able to comb through the building and assess the extent of the damage.
For president of Kindersley’s Red Lions senior hockey team, Brian Reid, the annihilation of the local arena was nearly unfathomable.
“We lost our old rink so the impact is there – especially for our senior hockey club. We lost everything we don’t even have a hockey puck to pull out of the corner so our hockey team lost 100 per cent,” said Reid who also officiates hockey games throughout Saskatchewan. “We’re scrambling right now to help our guys out,” added Reid.
Reid also added that the Red Lions have likely incurred $80,000 – $100,000 in losses due to the blaze and noted that many of the players will have to spend an average of $3,000 to replace equipment – a whopping $6000 for goaltenders.

Along with the damages suffered by the Red Lions, minor hockey and Kindersley’s figure skating factions also took a major hit with everything from jerseys to skates being incinerated in the fire.
As for the numerous hockey age groups that play out of Kindersley’s arena, area towns such as Dodsland, Brock, Eston and Kerrobert have vowed to step up and help Kindersley out in the time of need. The Kindersley Junior Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League will head to Eston to play out the remainder of their home games while the Senior Red Lions will converge upon Kerrobert for temporary home ice.

Although the old part of the arena is physically gone, the community of Kindersley can take away the memories over the decades that they have gathered and be thankful that the damage undergone by the facility was not worse.
Reid fondly recalled going to the rink as a boy during the golden age of Saskatchewan senior hockey and the innumerable memories the building bred in the late 1960s and early 1970s for him.
Hockey was so big in Kindersley then that Reid and his childhood friends would spy on the spectacle that was Reid’s uncle, the goaltender for the senior team.
Why did Reid and his friends spy, you ask? Well in anticipation, of course – anticipation of watching the athlete hop into his car and drive three blocks to the rink just so warm-ups could begin.
That’s just scratching the surface of how deep a disaster likes this cuts into the fabric of the community.
In it are thousands of memories like Reid’s that will help unite Kindersley to move forward and turn these seemingly negative circumstances into something positive and beneficial.
Though the situation appears dismal it can be viewed as a positive situation for three main reasons – first off, the Kindersley arena will likely be rebuilt far better than it once was, despite the downside of costs that will go along with it. Again – not that big a deal for a community the size of Kindersley. As recent hotel fires in Prelate and Eatonia have shown, the disintegration of aging buildings in rural settings often means the permanent end for such facilities due to a lack of financial resources and dwindling populations. Kindersley will rebound from this.
Kindersley’s hockey teams will have to play out the second stretch of the season in smaller, neighbouring towns, which will economically benefit these smaller rural centres.
Some feel it is extremely fitting to bring Kindersley’s senior team to Kerrobert, a town that has sadly failed to have a senior hockey team for the first time in decades. After the devastating recent loss of Kerrobert player Deon Volk, adopting Kindersley’s team may reignite the town’s passion to have its own again.
The core of Kindersley’s hockey community is already beginning to move forward and had a town council meeting on Jan. 10 to initiate discussions in what the next steps to rebuilding will be.