There were lots of smiles, tons of cuteness and a bunch of tiny sticks at Saturday morning’s Try Hockey for Free event.
As part of its efforts to bring more diversity to the game, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation invites children ages 4 to 9 from around the region to these one-hour clinics to try the sport with no cost, commitment or experience.
This was the first in a series at the Penguins’ seasonal ice rink inside Shadyside’s former Hunt Armory, the first rink in the city in 25 years and in its second season.
About 30 participants signed up for Saturday, along with about a dozen volunteer helpers from programs such as Central Catholic Vikings Hockey, the Penguins’ Willie O’Ree Academy and the Pittsburgh Warriors.
“I love this,” said the Warriors’ Walter Paciorkowski of the city’s Bon Air neighborhood as he helped kids pass the puck, starting with the true basics.
“What hand are you?” he asked one boy. “Do you know?”
But almost immediately, Paciorkowski had the boy putting the puck on another boy’s stick and was telling him, “Great pass!”
Like most of the kids, Sierra Herring’s two had never before been on the ice. But her son Eloehe Jones, 5, and daughter Musiq Jones, 7, were naturals, beaming even if they took a fall and a slide.
Their McKees Rocks mom was beaming, too, as she captured it all on her phone and gave them both high fives. “I’m so proud of you!”
For more information on the program and the rink, visit https://www.nhl.com/penguins/community/hunt-armory-rink.
Bob, a feature writer and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and serving as interim editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Contact him at bbatz@unionprogress.com.
