From the Vancouver Sun in Canada. In the picture is sledge hockey player Greg Westlake of Oakville, Ont.Just two weeks before heading to the Czech Republic for the sledge hockey world championships, Team Canada is scrambling to replace equipment destroyed in the fiery crash of two semi-trailer trucks outside Winnipeg.
The truck -- carrying Canada's game jerseys, tool kits, hand bikes for pre-game exercises, massage tables and replacement blades and picks to Calgary following a training camp on the weekend in Newmarket, Ont., -- was rear-ended about 1 a.m. April 17 by another truck carrying hazardous goods.
Both trucks caught fire after an explosion, but all four passengers survived.
"That's the most important part," said Adam Crockatt, who manages the team for Hockey Canada.
He said it was also extremely fortunate that players had taken home their own specially-designed and manufactured lightweight sleds.
"It's not as bad as it could have been," said Crockatt. "But it is going to be pretty tough to get everything replaced given the time frame. It was all the stuff the team needs in the dressing room, including the posters that made it feel like home and the Hockey Canada carpet that goes in the middle of the room."
Crockatt said most, if not all, of the equipment was insured. Team staff was working April 17 to put together a detailed list of what was needed for worlds and what could wait until afterwards.He did not want to put a value on the equipment lost until Hockey Canada had delivered a figure to the insurance company, but noted the hand cycles alone were worth more than $1,000.
Canada is the reigning world champion, having captured the 2008 title in Massachusetts. Canada has won all three tournaments it's entered this season, including the Hockey Canada Cup at UBC in March when it beat the U.S. 2-1 in the
final in a shootout.
