Granted, the smell of popcorn or fried onions from concessions might be just the trick to get your mind off the unpleasant outside elements. Hey, if it works...

But, much more important is the atmosphere and culture of arenas home to minor hockey games.

As the Edmonton Quikcard Minor Hockey Week zooms into semifinals Thursday and Friday. before championship games on the Saturday and Sunday starting at 8 a.m. at Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre, hockey fans know what I’m talking about. It’s a pretty special place where hope and friendship come together.

Players walk into arenas before games lugging equipment bags and straddling hockey sticks in their hands. Some even come well before their scheduled game so they can watch an earlier contest.

Maybe it’s to get in their own personal zone. Certainly, they learn from watching other teams before they get up and leave the bleachers.

Look at the great anticipation in their eyes. They quickly scan the whiteboard in the lobby looking for their dressing room, so they can quickly change into their gear and share priceless time with their friends.

In the lobby, parents and friends enter from the cold — some stomping snow off their feet, while others do a happy dance to warm up their feet. They grab a coffee or a hot chocolate, and then the questions begin.

Has anybody seen the other team? Who is starting in goal? Are particular players back from injuries? And then the common minor sports creed: “I hope the players are ready tonight.”

The sound of the Zamboni starting its motor can often be heard in the lobby. That’s the signal to go find their favorite vantage point in the bleachers. Others know they have just enough time to order a hot beverage and a snack before the game’s opening faceoff.

After periods, fans congregate back in the lobby for many reasons. In some arenas, it’s a case of warming up. But there’s a common denominator: conversation about the game and the great anticipation of the outcome. Hope and promise are perhaps the greatest foundations of those discussions.

Win or lose, the arena lobby is where players are met after the game — several with dripping wet hair. Some are given high fives and warm handshakes, even hugs, for winning the game.

Players on the losing side are greeted in the same fashion, although perhaps not with such joy. But they are given encouragement and reassurance there is another opportunity to showcase their skills.

Together, players and families bundle up and step out of the arena into the cold winter’s night. They are often met at the door by players arriving to get ready for the next game.

And so the compassion of the hockey arena lobby community cycle starts all over again.

camtait@telus.net