The Leaside Hockey Association (LHA) made history with its first-ever Leaside House League Festival, an exciting three-day celebration of hockey that ran from Friday, Feb. 27 through Sun., March 1 at Leaside Memorial Community Gardens. The event brought together house league players, families, and fans for a packed weekend of fun hockey and community spirit.
Designed to foster camaraderie and friendly competition, the festival featured 50 house league teams from Leaside and other nearby hockey organizations with players ranging from U10 to U18. Half of the teams represented Leaside, while the other half were from associations based at North Toronto, Ted Reeve, and Scarborough. The arena buzzed from morning to night as parents, supporters, and local vendors filled the concourse, and teams battled it out in 45 games over the weekend. For some fans, the festival offered a first, exciting glimpse of the recently renovated and reopened Bert F. Grant Rink.
The action kicked off Friday evening with the U16/18 Leaside White team facing off against the North Toronto Green team, setting the tone with fast-paced play. Three other games rounded out the Friday night slate, and Saturday and Sunday delivered wall-to-wall hockey from early morning until late evening both days. One standout moment came during a U14/U15 matchup between the LHA’s Team White and Team Yellow on Saturday. A tight 4-4 game had fans on the edge of their seats until it moved into a dramatic, sudden-death shootout, where both goalies rose to the challenge. Team White ultimately clinched the victory, capping off one of the festival’s more exhilarating games.
With packed stands, the inaugural Leaside House League Festival proved to be an unforgettable weekend and a great event the LHA hopes to build on in future years.
This article was guest contributed by Lisa Villeneuve.