History Lesson On Ice Continues
The 42nd Annual Historic Hockey Series will be played on Sunday, February 7, 2010 at Kingston's Market Square. Game time is 1:00 pm.
Historic Hockey is a celebration of the first game played in Kingston in 1886. The series involves the traditional teams, Queen's University and Royal Military College who continue the oldest rivalry in hockey that dates back to 1886 when they first met on the Kingston Harbour. The third team in the round-robin series is the 2nd Regiment from Royal Canadian Horse Artillery from CFB Petawawa, Ontario.
The gunners represent the Kingston garrison soldiers who played 'shinny' on the Kingston harbour as early as 1843. The teams compete in three 20-minute games for the RCHA Brigade Association Trophy.
The historical reenactment began in 1969 as part of the Kingston Winter Carnival and is now a fixture at Feb Fest - Kingston's celebration of winter.
The game is played with the same rules as in the 1880's. Seven players per side including one 'rover', two 10-minute periods, no forward passing and its played with a 'square' puck and shorter field hockey type sticks. The square puck is similar to the cut down rubber lacrossed ball that was first used in hockey games 120-years ago.
The referees wear a white smock and ring a bell to singal one-minute penalties. The goal judges raise a white-flag to signal a goal while the RCHA gun regiment actually fires a real cannon at Market Square each time a goal is scored.
The detailed story of this unique series is available in 'Hockey Hub - Three Centuries of Hockey in Kingston' - authored by Bill Fitsell and Mark Potter in 2003.
Visit the Feb-Fest web site for all the details
