Brett Lauther pulled out the stick before it was time to kick.
With some quiet time before Saturday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts, the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ placement specialist spent a few reflective minutes on the ice at the Saint Mary’s Huskies’ hockey arena — the Dauphinee Centre.
For Touchdown Atlantic, the Roughriders’ dressing room was situated inside the rink, which was just a few first downs away from the playing field.
The 1,200-seat arena was an unfamiliar venue for a vast majority of the players. A notable exception was Lauther, who played U Sports football for Saint Mary’s from 2009 to 2012.
“I was having some flashbacks,” said Lauther, who shot a few pucks while wearing street clothes before donning his Roughriders uniform for the CFL contest.
“I love hockey just as much as football. I played a lot of hockey in that rink when I was in school here. It was just fun to get out and snap the puck around a little bit in warmup.”
Lauther actually played junior B hockey while attending Saint Mary’s. After football season, he skated for the Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League’s Brookfield Elks during the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns.
The return to the ice wasn’t strictly a nostalgic exercise for Lauther. There were also practical benefits to being inside the arena on a humid Saturday in Halifax.
“It was the best, because it was so hot today,” Lauther said after the Argonauts’ 31-13 victory. “It was so cold in there and the boys were loving it. The facilities here are unreal.”
So was the Touchdown Atlantic experience from the perspective of a home-grown participant.
“It was awesome personally, obviously, but we want to go out there and win at the end of the day,” said Lauther, who is to return to action Sunday against the Ottawa REDBLACKS (5 p.m., Mosaic Stadium).
“It’s a team game and it’s on to next week now. On a personal note, it’s just awesome to have friends and family come to a game.”
The game was played before a sellout crowd of 11,555 at a sold-out Huskies Stadium.
“The turnout of the fans was awesome,” Lauther said. “I owe so much to the coaches and the people here in Halifax and Saint Mary’s. That’s the real reason why I’m still playing today.”
Lauther, who hails from Truro, N.S., was a central figure at Touchdown Atlantic for the second straight season. Last year’s game, which also featured the Roughriders and Argonauts, was played in Wolfville, N.S., on the campus of Acadia University.
At both Nova Scotia-based CFL games, Lauther has been an unofficial host and tour guide in addition to being frequently sought-after for interviews and public appearances.
“I feel like it’s a responsibility,” he said after his 74th career CFL regular-season game. “As players in the league, we’re entertainers. I want to grow the game and leave it better than it was when I came in.
“I’d love to see a team out here one day and I’m just trying to do what I can to help.”
