The Humboldt Broncos will be hitting the ice again this week for their first regular season game since the tragic crash, which left 16 people dead and many others injured.
Ross Gilchrist played for the junior hockey franchise from 1971 to 1973, and was very affected by the crash. He decided to get ahold of a couple former teammates and start an alumni association.
He purchased nearly 30 tickets for the Broncos first game on Wednesday night and offered them to the 220 people on the team’s alumni mailing list.
Gilchrist said they were inundated with requests from all over the world who wanted to come show their support.
The Humboldt Broncos will be facing off against the Nipawin Hawks for their first game, the same team that they were on their way to play on April 6 when their bus collided with a tractor-trailer.
Jamie Brockman took over the team as president last month, and he says it’s another step towards getting back to normal.
“I know we’re going to have a hockey team that is going to want to play for that logo on the chest,” Brockman says. “And a lot of people that want to see that be successful.”
“Time does help some, but we’ll never forget. We’re experiencing a new normal and we’ll never want to forget the players and families that have been involved in that moving forward."
The game, which takes place in Humboldt, will be broadcasted live on TSN and CTV Saskatchewan at 5:30 p.m. Before the game starts, TSN says they will have an hour-long pre-game show where they will honour those lost in the crash.
- With files from The Canadian Press.
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