‘Just chills throughout my body’: Medicine Hat welcomes home lacrosse club alumni in exhibition game

Moutaineers defenseman Jayden Richards said that the sport is starting to gain more mainstream appeal.

“It’s awesome,” Richards said.

“I know, like playing for Medicine Hat, it was a struggle that we would have like maybe one team per division coming up and now, like you can see there’s kids out here, just throwing the ball around for fun,” he said.

“That’s the big thing, lacrosse is supposed to be fun and now that we’ve gotten so many kids interested in the game, it’s just gonna rise from there.”

Richards wasn’t the only Medicine Hat alumni.

Goaltender Daine Mattson said that the building was electric.

“The feeling, I can’t even explain it,” Mattson said.

“It was so awesome,” he said.

“Just seeing fans come cheer for us, just makes you feel so good about the sport, the game, everything.”

Club president Sarah MacKenzie of the Medicine Hat Lacrosse Club said that the intensity and speed of the game as well as a low barrier of entry is why the game is experiencing a boom.

“Lacrosse is exploding in our community,” MacKenzie said.

“This is a major lacrosse game. We brought this down here so that our minor players can see that this is something they can aspire to do,” she said.

“It’s similar to hockey kids who want to become a Tiger, lacrosse kids want to become a Raider and they really want to become a Mountie.”

While the Mountaineers lost to the Raiders 15-13, for Richards, playing in his first hometown game in four years is a memory he won’t soon forget.

“The fans were amazing,” Richards said.

“I stepped out on to the floor, look over, and just chills throughout my body,” he said.

“It was amazing having the hometown bring some energy for me.”

by Adrian St.Onge

‘Just chills throughout my body’: Medicine Hat welcomes home lacrosse club alumni in exhibition game

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