While certainly not a hockey "shrine" on the order of the Montreal Forum or Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens, the Colisee nevertheless occupies a special place in the history of hockey. Hockey in Quebec is, bien sur, sacred, and the high temple of that pursuit is Le Colisee. The Quebec International Pee Wee Tournament, which began in 1960, is closely associated with Le Colisee. The former home of the beloved Quebec Nordiques and current home of the Quebec Ramparts, the building is the focal point of Quebec's deep passion for the sport and the repository of the province's collective memory of its long and proud history of hockey. Indeed, when you walk into arena and look up and see banners hanging in honor of two of hockey's greatest players who both came from Quebec - Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur - you can't help but feel a little reverent. Before he moved up to the Canadiens, Jean Beliveau played here for the Quebec Aces in the early 50's and the Le Colisee was known as "The House that Beliveau Built." Later, Guy Lafleur played here in the late 1960's for a while as a member of the Quebec Ramparts.
From the point of view of a 12-year old skating out onto the same ice that Beliveau and Lafleur skated on in front of 4,000 cheering people and then looking upon those banners and all those seats, it must be the embodiment of the phrase: "Living the Dream." Here is the link to the YouTube video of the Little Caps skating onto the ice for the first time (the song playing in the background is the Tournament's beloved theme song: "Vive les Pee Wee du Carnaval!"):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKCh1wYB9gQ
In the battle of the capital cities, the Gatineau Olympiques defeated our Washington Little Caps by a score of 2-0. The Little Caps came out strong for the first three minutes, but then the all too-familiar patterns emerged: too many penalties, too little puck control and movement, and too little offensive pressure on the other team. At the midway mark in the first period, the Little Caps were already down two men for 1:30 of 3-on-5 hockey. They fought through that Penalty Kill and 15 seconds later they committed another penalty to go down a man once again. While they also killed off that penalty, those of us in the crowd who are regular followers (and supporters) of the club could feel what was coming... and sure enough, after another penalty committed by the Caps several minutes later, les Olympiques scored on a power play goal. They added another even-handed goal before the end of the first when our crew couldn't move the puck away from our net to make it 2-0, and that's how the score stayed until the final horn.
No matter, it was a marvelous afternoon of hockey, and all of us parents commented that "It doesn't get better than this." Indeed, all of us have logged more miles traveling to hockey rinks at God-awful hours than we would ever care to remember, yet in watching our kids play out on ice of Le Colisee in this special, unique tournament this afternoon, all you can see and feel is the fun and joy of it all.
Watching Henry skate in the Colisee today is a memory that I will cherish forever. He played well today, and during one the Caps' rare power plays, he got off a terrific shot at close range that was clearly heading into the goal, but for a fabulous sliding glove save by Gatineau's goalie. Despite the pressures of playing under such intense circumstances, Henry -- as always -- rose to the occasion and played his smart game. In watching him, I saw clearly, as probably only a Dad can see, that he was enjoying and cherishing being on the ice for each shift. He looked up more than once (which he rarely ever does) to take it all in, and he was the last one off the ice after the game, savoring the feeling of playing on the big stage. To play in this tournament is an honor and the roster of current and former NHL players who have played in it is impressive. But more than anything, to play in this tournament for anyone who cares deeply about the game of hockey is to experience a rite of passage. Watching my boy skate off the ice and knowing that tomorrow he will be a teenager, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic and proud of how far he has come to arrive at this point from his days as a little mite, which weren't that long ago...
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