Approximately 300 people attended the annual St. Malo Warriors social on Sunday night at the St. Malo Arena.

Ralph Collette is the head coach and general manager of the Warriors. He says attendance was down from last year which is a little dissapointing. He says bad weather on previous May long weekends and the thunderstorm on Sunday night may have been factors.

The St. Malo Arena

Collette says even though St. Malo is a small town, it is a very big hockey community that is very supportive. He says the Warriors are a community funded team and the social is a part of that.

“It is basically a community social to support the local hockey team. Our team is community funded. The players don't pay to play, so we actually fund everything. We actually billet some players, we might do two or three, not like the pistons do but we like to do a little bit.”

Collette says because the Warriors is a junior B hockey team all of the players are between 16 and 21 years of age.

“I compare our league and our players to the third and fourth line of the Pistons. Most of my players have been to junior A camps. Most of the kids have played junior A, it is just they are maybe not quite that level or are third and fourth line guys and would rather keep a job and go to school.”

Collette says the social usually draws a very young crowd, but absolutely everyone was welcome.