For Jane McIntyre, winter means Flin Flon Bombers hockey.
This January Jane will turn 95. She has spent countless winter nights of her life at the Whitney Forum, cheering on the Bombers.
“She looks forward to it, I tell you,” said her son Hugh McIntyre.
For Jane – like many Flin Flonners – Bombers games are a highlight of a long, cold winter. They are also a family affair.
Hugh often takes his mother to the games. He dons a Bombers jersey, while she does not. If Hugh is unable to take Jane, his sister, Kathy Crone, will take her hockey-loving mother to the Whitney Forum.
In the past, Jane could usually be found perched up high, in the second row from the top on the north end of the Whitney Forum. Over the years she has migrated to seats closer to the ice with fewer stairs to climb.
Hugh said his mother’s passion for the Bombers was ignited in part by two sons-in-law who played for the team: Philadelphia Flyers great Bobby Clarke and Ken Cunningham.
When Clarke suited up for Flin Flon in the mid-to-late 1960s, Jane washed the squad’s jerseys. Hugh recalls her washing them after Saturday games so that they were ready for Sunday’s contests.
Over the decades, Jane has watched many players wear the maroon and white. Countless Bombers have gone on to professional, academic and personal success.
Jane’s favourite players are a couple of Bomber legends who were NHL linemates with the Flyers.
“She is still a Clarke fan and a Reggie Leach fan,” said Hugh, who served on the Bombers board for about a decade. “She still remembers watching them play hockey.”
However, he said that he and his mother certainly enjoyed the Bombers’ successful 2015-16 campaign. The team made it all the way to the Canalta Cup final before falling to the Melfort Mustangs.
From Dec. 1 to the end of the regular season the Bombers posted the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s best record. Hugh said his mom didn’t miss many games after the squad got rolling last winter.
While circumstances might keep Jane from as many games as she’d like to attend this winter, Hugh said the family is looking forward to another season – especially after last year’s success.
“She has been a Bombers fan for a lot of years,” Hugh said.
