Bob Lowe has been playing hockey most of his life so he wasn’t about to let the loss of his sight rob him of his passion.
Lowe played 12 years of minor hockey in Stayner followed by three years with the Siskins before moving on to a 22-year career coaching and officiating. He lost his left eye to cancer in 2007. Then a few years later a piece of metal pierced his right eye in a workplace accident leaving him completely blind.
Five years ago, he joined the Ice Owls, a blind hockey organization based in Agincourt. To be eligible, players must have 10 per cent vision or less. The group has about 40 members, and Lowe says on any given Sunday from October through March, about 20 people turn out to play from as far away as Windsor, Peterborough, Ottawa and Sudbury.
“You sign up by Tuesday to play on the weekend, and then you are assigned to a team. You might be Team Yellow this week and Team Black next week,” said Lowe.
There are only four or five players who are completely blind. Most have four to eight per cent. There are three levels – the Low Level includes players who had played little or no hockey before losing their sight. He says the Low Level game is comparable to Pee Wee House League, and involves lots of learning.
Lowe compares the Open division to Bantam league play. Then there is the Select Division which includes men who played Major Junior A hockey before losing their sight, and in some cases had been drafted into the National Hockey League.
Long before Lowe lost his sight, his sister Monica worked with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. She helped organize an Ice Owls game in Stayner back in 1992. At that time, Lowe was one of the Stayner minor hockey coaches who formed the opposing team.
The Ice Owls started in 1972, becoming the first blind hockey team in the world. Since then, the sport has been gaining popularity throughout Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden. The hope is that it will eventually become an Olympic sport, which requires the participation of at least six countries.
The game is played with a tin puck, five inches across and two inches thick, which contains eight ball bearings. Some rules such as those regarding icing and offsides are the same as in conventional hockey, but there are some enhancements. For example, a player carrying the puck across the blue line must make a successful pass, which the referee signals with a special whistle to alert the goalie. This is to prevent an offensive player from sneaking up on the goalie with a quiet puck.
This weekend, blind hockey players will gather in Mississauga for the Eastern Regional tournament. Unlike conventional hockey tournaments, players enter as individuals rather than teams. In last year’s tournament, Lowe wound up on a team with players from Newfoundland, Pittsburgh and Calgary, and competed against other members of the Ice Owls.
Local hockey fans will get a chance to see the Stayner resident and other blind players in action on Nov. 9. Admission will be by donation with funds raised going to Clearview minor hockey. There will be a silent auction including prizes like a barbecue and a pair of tickets to an upcoming Leafs/Bruins game.