It’s Hockey Night Tonight – Putting the Skates on in Metis
Photograph
The Little Metis Hockey Club (playing against Matane), 1910
Heritage Lower St. Lawrence Collection
Winter offered a very different climate in Metis. Until the 1950s, local roads were not ploughed, meaning that residents travelled by horse and sleigh or used the services of the local train to get to Mont-Joli, Rimouski or Matane.
Even though Metis was shut in for much of the winter, the community still thrived. Church services were held in local churches and community members assembled regularly for meetings and special events.
Winter sports meant hockey. Community members pooled their resources to create a rink and lay the ice for games. A team was assembled to compete with clubs from nearby communities. The language of play was English, as were the cheers, setting them apart from all of the region’s other teams.
The Little Metis Hockey Club competed in the region’s hockey league in the 1920s through the 1940s. The team travelled by sleigh to Price for games and by train for matches in Rimouski and Matane. The club was twice local champions, besting their competitors to win the cup for the Lower St. Lawrence region, a hotly contested crown where the sport of hockey was king.