The AJHL season is officially underway and the Grande Prairie Storm are coming off a strong showing at their home opener when they shut out last season’s first-ranked team- the Whitecourt Wolverines over the weekend.
Storm Executive Director Nicole Menzies says she’s never seen a stronger performance on opening night from both her team and the fans. Nearly 2,000 fans were in attendance at Bonnetts Energy Centre, which was the largest crowd across the AJHL for opening night, and Menzies credits the support of the community for her guys taking home the victory.
“It’s amazing, the energy in Bonnetts on Friday night was absolutely unmatched from anything I’ve ever seen,” she says. “It was awesome to have the team back out there, we had the fan fest, the after party, and obviously some incredible production, and I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.”
The Storm went on to face off against the Wolverines in Whitecourt later that weekend and managed to push the game into a shootout, before losing 3-2, but Menzies says the weekend was a strong start for her team, and now the guys are looking to continue their momentum throughout the remainder of the season.
“I think that was just an incredible way to start off the season, last year Whitecourt was first in the league so to come away at your home opener with a 3-0, shutout win against a team that won the league last year, I think has a really positive impact on the guys,” she says. “To come out of this weekend with three out of four points feels really good for the team.”
Now, the Storm is gearing up for their next one, a double night of home team action against the Olds Grizzlies, and Menzies says she and her coaches will be looking to their senior skaters to set the tone for the rest of the team.
“We have a really great group of young men, not just hockey players but as people, our leadership group, our captains, are really focused on creating a positive energy and great culture for the team, and what I’ve seen over the past month, they’re absolutely doing that,” she says. “A lot of our new players said they’ve never played in front of a crowd that big or that electric, so that has really fired them up for the season.”
Ultimately, Menzies maintains that her team’s success truly comes down to the fans, saying the electricity in Bonnett’s last Friday was a critical part of her skaters pulling off the shut out victory.
