For Rob Allenback, that 20-month wait for him to get back to cheering on the Prince George Spruce Kings live at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena was way too long.
Known as Super Fan for his booming voice and drum-beating rhythms that get the crowd going at the rink, Allenback was back Friday night in his usual spot near centre ice across from the players’ benches decked out in his Kings’ jersey, doing what he’s done for the better part of four decades.
Allenback has been a Kings fan since 1977, Year 7 of their 50-season history, when they were part of the Peace-Cariboo Hockey League, when the senior B Mohawks were the biggest game in town.
“When I first got to town and came to watch the Mohawks this rink was full every game and somebody said I should come and watch the Spruce Kings, so I started coming to watch them,” said the 72-year-old Allenback.
The Kings gave him and partisan crowd of 714 plenty to cheer about Friday in a 6-3 win over the Merritt Centennials and Allenback expects there will be many more wins to celebrate this season watching the team climb the B.C. Hockey League ladder.
“They’re fast, and I like that,” he said.
“I missed the fans and of course I missed the games but what I missed most is most of these players, when they come here they’re boys, and when they leave here, they’re men. I like watching them grow up. My kids were raised in this rink.”
Allenback says his drum, which took a hard bashing during the Kings’ run to their first BCHL championship in 2019, is in need of repairs but he plans to get it fixed.
“I beat the heck out of it every game so it’s kind of worn out,” he said. “I’ll bring it to the next game if I go to Long & McQuade and get a new skin for it.”
Dan MacIntyre jumped on the Kings’ bandwagon in 1998 and volunteered with the club until a couple years ago. He worked as an usher and was the Kings’ volunteer co-ordinator until he stepped away from his game-night activities. He says there’s nothing that can replace the entertainment value of watching two junior teams giving all they’ve got to claim a victory, and it wasn’t a hard decision to shell out $239 for a 27-game season ticket.
“It’s very fast hockey,” said MacIntyre. “I watched the exhibition games and a few players stood out and I think the team has got potential. I don’t know if we’re going to go all the way, but maybe next year.”
Provincial health orders limit the Spruce Kings and WHL Cougars to half-capacity crowds. For the Kings, that means no more than 1,000 people are allowed to watch any game, and each fan must provide proof of vaccination and wear a mask whenever they move from to and from their seat, as long as the order remains in effect.
Gail and Morry Wilson drive in from Beaverly and while they don’t attend every game they’re usually there to watch their Kings play on Friday nights.
“I really missed it,” said Gail. “Just to get out and see everybody, I mean, it’s huge.
“It’s all about seeing the kids play, it must have been so hard for them not to play last year and for not to be there for them. I like hearing the players play on the ice and that whole sense of being there with them.”
Hockey Night in Prince George, after 20 months of social distancing and avoiding crowds, is a sign for Morry and his wife that there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.
“It’s one step closer to getting back to normal,” Morry said.
The Spruce Kings and Cents met again in the rematch at RMCA at 7 p.m.
