About a dozen sets of eyes lit up Tuesday night when a team of Squirt A hockey players were told they could check their opponents.
“You can drop a shoulder into them,” head coach Travis Blais said. “I mean, don’t trip anybody or anything.”
The verbal fuel seemed to work and the team started the second period strong with a boost of energy.
Unlike other games this season, however, Tuesday’s opponents weren’t the 10-11-year-olds’ peers.
Instead, it was a group of local law enforcement officers representing the International Falls Police Department, Koochiching County Sheriffs office, Minnesota State Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Like the kids, the group of officers also seemed to be enjoying themselves as they took to the ice for the game that ended in a 5-5 tie.
Squirt A player Kane Thompson was hopeful he could get in on some of the cop-roughing action, but his coach quickly reminded him, “No, you’re the goalie.”
According to organizers, the goal of the game is to build a positive relationship between officers, the kids, and community members.
