Singing for the Fronts
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Continued from page 22
But it wasn’t meant to be. A few days before the Spitfires took on the Frontenacs, Gabe Vilardi had an emergency appendectomy. He was in the printed lineup for the game, but hadn’t been able to travel with the team to watch the game. “I was very disappointed to find out he was not well and wasn’t able to come and play today,” said June Spooner, a teacher from St. John XXIII Catholic School, and director of the school choir. “Gabe was a wonderful student, and a very polite young man who was very intelligent. His peers liked him and he was a hard working individual. Even in elementary school, he played hockey. I know his parents are lovely, hard-working people themselves. They’ve instilled a lot of that in their sons, so it’s nice to see that their sons are doing so well. As parents, they must be so proud.” Gabriel Vilardi is a plus-seven player, tied for the team-leading points, with a lowly four penalty minutes this season. But with Gabe out of the Windsor lineup, there were no torn loyalties for the John XXIII teachers. The school’s cheering section was Frontenacs all the way. During moments when the Spitfires outplayed the Frontenacs, stellar goaltending by Kingston’s Jeremy Helvig kept the game close, allowing the Fronts to put the pressure back on the Spitfires. Earlier in the year, when the school’s trip was planned, June Spooner was invited to bring the school choir to the game to sing the opening O Canada. “When I approached the kids, they were very excited,” she said. Viktoria Barnes, assistant to the director of the choir, said the children have been getting ready for their big public performance at the K-Rock Centre since the school year started. “We made the mistake of telling them early, way back in September, that they’d be singing at a Frontenacs game,” said Barnes. “That’s all they’ve been talking about. They’ve been so excited. We even had two Frontenacs at the school last Wednesday. Jake O’Donnell and Ted Nichol came in and every class got to play hockey using ministicks with them.” If the Frontenacs are hoping to win young fans in the community, they’re doing things right. On Sunday afternoon inside the K-Rock Centre,
the children, all 41 of them, along with teachers Spooner and Barnes, lined up rinkside. Their excitement boiled over. Some giggled, A few hopped from foot to foot. Some twisted their jackets in their small fingers. They filed politely onto the red carpet, forming a group behind two microphones. Then the Windsor Spitfires and Kingston Frontenacs players skated onto the ice, dwarfing the Grade 3 to 6 students as they skated past them at the edge of the rink. Next, some young hockey players skated out carrying the Canadian colours, the giant maple leaf flag. “I didn’t know there was going to be such a big Canadian flag right in front of us,” said Barnes. “It felt extra special to have the flag right there. As we sang, I could hear the crowd singing too. Their joining in meant a lot to me.” Nine-year-old Olivia Brown, a Grade 4 student, said she’d never done anything like performing for such a large crowd. At the end of the second period, she still had a big smile on her face as she sat with her mom, her classmates and their families. When Kingston scored the winning goal, Olivia jumped from her seat straight up in the air. “I wasn’t nervous coming to the game,” she said. “But when we walked out on the ice and saw all the people I was pretty worried. I’d practised a lot, and I like to sing. I felt really happy when I saw the big Canadian flag.” The only downside to the afternoon for Kingston fans was that they’ll now have to wait another year to see the Spitfires’ star Gabriel Vilardi play. The thriller of a game made everything that much more exciting for the children and their families. At the end of 60 minutes and with the scored tied at 2, all eyes were on the rink. A collective moan filled the arena when Kingston took a penalty in overtime, which meant they would be playing three men against Windsor’s four for two full minutes. Thanks to Jeremy Helvig’s goaltending, the Frontenacs survived the penalty and then promptly scored a goal, giving them a win. From the opening singing of O Canada to Kingston’s winning goal, the children of St. John XXIII Catholic School had a day they’ll remember for a long time in a win-win situation. The Fronts won the game. The Frontenacs organization has some new die-hard fans. And the school had a successful fundraising event, while also providing a moment of patriotic pride. Mark Bergin on Twitter @markaidanbergin
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