Leo Bourassa and Daphne Arnason first met on campus. Both were students and their social circle was built primarily around the U of S-- hockey games at Rutherford, meeting friends at the campus pub, and enjoying various organized activities.

Building community, one game at a time

When Daphne Arnason and Leo Bourassa heard about the Home Ice Campaign, they knew they couldn't watch from the bench.

By Lindsay Royale

Having raised four children who all played the sport, Daphne and Leo were no strangers to the sport and spent many late nights and early mornings traveling to practices, and cheering on their sons at Rutherford Rink. With much of their spare time dedicated to the game, they were thankful to be in the company of a supportive and growing social circle of likeminded families. The couple not only got to know their children's friends and parents, but siblings, cousins, grandparents and friends of the families.

Even when the kids got older, the relationships they had built through hockey stayed strong.  "We missed the activities when they came to an end, but the connections are quickly rekindled when we run into one another at various events," says Daphne. "Now we can talk about enjoying the comforts of a new facility, as we follow the next generation - our grandchildren - at play."

For Daphne and Leo, Merlis Belcher Place will not only be a state-of-the-art, multi-sport facility, but a space where relationships within our community can expand and flourish for years to come.