Rocky Mountain House town council has defeated a motion to prioritize ice times for the Rocky Rams Junior B hockey team.

A delegation from the team including coach Wendall Mason and GM Ryan Stambaugh appeared before council in July saying late practices often mean long, late-night drives on icy roads for young players in the middle of winter.

“For recruitment, we don’t have a strong enough pool in Rocky Mountain House, so we have to go to the Blackfalds, Eckvilles, and the Sylvan Lakes to maintain competitiveness,” said Mason, adding that late practice times can be a deterrent for players considering the Rams.

Mason adds, when the team got up and running several years ago, they took whatever ice time was available. But now, he says the late-night practices are starting to be a stumbling block for an organization dedicated to success.

The delegation requested the town bump team practices to the same ice time priority (level 3) as game nights. Only town of Rocky Mountain House events and tournaments supersede level 3. According to the town’s policy statement on ice time, Adult Sanctioned League practices is priority 7- generally meaning later ice times.

Tentative ice schedule for early in the 2025/2026 season. Rocky Rams practice in pink showing a late ice time. (Rocky Mountain House council package)

While acknowledging the team is important, Deputy Mayor Tina Hutchinson said fairness is paramount.

“It’s tough to find that balance on what’s considered a priority,” she said, pointing to other groups such as figure skating who also require ice time.

CAO Dean Krause said some early discussions have been happening at service level about possibly offering discounts on early morning ice times to take pressure off evening ice times.

Acting Mayor Len Phillips was in support of the motion.

“If you have a 17-year-old playing on the Rams or the U18 team who lives in Calgary — that’s a two-and-a-half hour drive,” said Phillips. “[The Rams] are great ambassadors to our community, so I would hate to see something happen that would make them not as viable.”

The motion to change the ice time priority for Rams practices was defeated in a 3-3 vote.