Blind hockey team faces off in Stayner

Blind hockey team faces off in Stayner The Toronto Ice Owls faced off in Stayner on Saturday, making it known that people with visual impairments can still play Canada’s game.

Stayner Community Centre hosted an exhibition game of blind hockey Saturday afternoon, featuring a matchup between players and goaltenders who are fully blind.

The game featured more than 20 male and female players ranging from 16 to 85 years old from the Toronto Ice Owls, a hockey program for the visually impaired. Their mission was to make it known to the hundreds in attendance that people with visual impairments can still play Canada’s game.

“People are going to be blown away by how well some [of the players] can play this game,” said Randy Banks, a player for the Toronto Ice Owls. “There’s still a lot of people out there who don’t know about it so were trying to promote it to get children and youth that are visually impaired or blind into Canada’s game and get back onto the ice.”

The main adaptations are a larger puck with metal ball bearings rattling inside it and nets that are three feet tall instead of four feet tall.

Each team also had one sighted player who could only pass and was not allowed to score. They would have to make at least one pass after crossing the blueline and entering the opposing zone. Once that pass was completed, the referee on the ice would blow a high-pitched whistle, permitting the offensive team to attempt a shot on goal.

“We’re here because we love the game of hockey. Some of us grew up playing hockey and lost our eyesight due accidents or medical conditions, quite often had a big, long break and thought that we’d never play hockey again,” said David Brown, a goaltender for the Toronto Ice Owls. “With those adaptations, a lot of us have been able to play the game again that we love.”

The exhibition game was also a fundraiser with the goal of raising $10,000 to support Clearview Minor Hockey. Various memoriabilia got auctioned off in a silent auction.

The Ice Owls play every Sunday in Scarborough and are hoping to grow enough to be able support multiple teams.

The blind hockey season runs from the beginning of October until the end of March, ending with an international tournament that sees around 200 blind hockey players from various countries competing for a world title.