An incredible Canadian experience awaits you in the Yukon. There is something wholesome about friends playing hockey together. Throw in the aurora borealis making an appearance and it becomes surreal. It’s an enjoyable and sometimes rough game between mates. England has football; Canada has hockey. So, to be invited to play a hockey game on a Friday night was a fantastic invitation. When I realised the pitch was self-made on the frozen lake before us, complete with flood lights, hockey sticks, and a pair of skates for everyone – even better!
This was something to tick off my bucket list. Want to create a bucket list? Visit my post here to do so.
Experience hockey & the aurora borealis in Canada
I had just finished work and gleefully picked a pair of skates, optimistic with my mind full of the image of me skating onto the pitch and doing an activity like a local. It had been years since I’d attempted skating… I pushed that uncomfortable memory to the back of my consciousness as I walked down through the snow to the frozen lake. Skates swinging in one hand, the other hand wrapped around my fiancé, I thought “This is so Canadian!” And this was even after spending my first winter in the Yukon, which I write about here.
The group before me was in various stages of preparation. Some were standing around with a beer in their gloved hands; others were lacing up their skates; and some had already made it onto the pitch and were goofing around, trying to warm up. Everyone was invited, from the locals from the town over to the guests staying with us, and there was a good mix. I laced up my skates as tight as I could, the nervousness starting to seep into my bones like the cold night surrounding us. I remember thinking that I used to rollerblade pretty well when I was young, so this would be just like that, right?
By the time I managed to stand up, full-blown doubt had set in! I grabbed Dane’s arm and begged him to walk me to the rink. He was at ease, and ready to go. His mindset was that he was going to fall over plenty tonight, so he might as well give it his best!
I shakily step sideways onto the ice and freeze. Since when was ice so slippery?! The daunting realization hit me – I’d forgotten how to skate. And I chose the first time to practice during a hockey game. I must be mad. I gripped Dane’s hand, unyielding, as I slowly shuffled my way around the outside of the rink. There were no handrails on this one for me to grab as I slipped and slid my way around. The ice was rough and littered with cracks. At the end of Winter, the lake slowly starts to fill in. It makes the ice move and swell. I could feel my skates grate over the cracks and threaten to upset my balance even further.
Everyone was skating onto the pitch now, raring to go, laughing and joking in pre-game banter. Oh, my teammates! I get halfway around the rink when the game starts, and everyone is off, skating like naturals. Then there was me, a fresh-faced Brit who realized this evening wasn’t going to be as romantically fun as I had thought. I shuffled some more, but I couldn’t leave the side and venture into the middle, into the game. Into what looked like chaos incarnate.
So I bailed! I jumped out onto the side, almost knee-deep in snow, and hobbled my way back around to the bench. Back round to the front of the rink entrance. I was out of there, completely unmatched and bashful that I had had such high expectations of myself! My teammates didn’t mind, probably because I wasn’t adding anything to the game anyway! But they were so understanding the shame quickly left me as I wobbly walked to the bench and collapsed onto it. I was grateful to get the skates off and feel my comfortable warm boots again. Accepting a beer handed to me, I figured I looked like I needed it, and sat back.
I had much more fun watching the game than participating in it. They flew across the pitch, skidding and sending arcs of snow into the air. The floodlights lit the pitch, and darkness surrounded the edges and beyond. Animals might’ve chosen that time to cross the lake and we wouldn’t have noticed. I could feel the presence of the mountains looming in front of me with their white peaks. Pine trees littered the landscape around me, dusted white from the recent snowfall.
The player’s breaths misted out in front of them as they shouted, encouraged, and dived for the puck. Players collided, and fell, only to be helped up, and then off they shot. The blades of their skates screeched across the ice. It’s a beautiful sound.
It's like I was frozen in the moment
So I sat there, drinking a cold beer, watching the entertainment. Thinking just how unique this experience is to me, and how crazy it seems when I think about it. A homemade ice rink to play hockey. And yet it seemed so normal. Like playing football in the park and using your jumpers to mark where the goalposts are. Anyone is allowed to join in and become part of a team. The point is to enjoy the game for what it is, with the people you’re with.
Time moved to 11pm and the cold was starting to seep through my coat. This was a world away from my experience in places like Athens. It was time for me to leave and warm up again. Then just next to me, I heard “Oh, the northern lights are out tonight.” I walked past the floodlights, the darkness and sheer space of the lake engulfing me, and looked up. There, floating above us, was the aurora borealis. It started as a green haze at first, then slowly spread towards us over the lake. It morphed into the swirling thick ribbon that is ethereal and other-worldly.
What a sight. What a scene, if you were looking at it from a distance. A group of friends playing hockey and drinking on a Friday night, with the aurora borealis emerging as our companion. A twisting, graceful entity watches over us as skates screech, hockey sticks clash, and laughter twirls up into the night sky.
I learned that I couldn’t skate to save my life that day, but I had a unique experience just the same. I felt like I was in the right place at the right time, and it’s a memory that truly will be powerful to remember for a long time. But I will be learning some ice skating tips for next time.
