Petrolia will join the outpouring of support for members of the Saskatchewan hockey team who are devastated after a crash which left 15 people dead.

Petrolia Minor Hockey, the Lambton Attack, the Petrolia Flyers and the Petrolia Squires are planning a short service at the Greenwood Recreation Centre Thursday.

The flag at the arena will be lowered at 4:45pm and then there will be a short service at 5 pm.

Initially, residents calling Town Hall to ask the flags be lowered – as many other southern Ontario communities are doing – were told it didn’t meet the town’s guidelines for lowering the flag.

That angered some. “I’m quite shocked. As a small hockey community similar to Humboldt, I figured it would be the appropriate sign of respect,” wrote Jenn Nesbitt in a social media post. “Clearly I was wrong.”

“You would think (a) small hockey town like ours would want to show support,” added Lindsay Mailloux. “What happened to #petroliaproud.”

The town released a statement late Tuesday saying the flag would be lowered at Greenwood. “Hockey is at the heart of Petrolia, and we send our sincere condolences to the families and communities affected by this tragedy,” said Mayor John McCharles in a news release.

Plympton-Wyoming councillors had a moment of silence to recognize the accident at the Wednesday morning meeting. The town is also lowering flags in memory of the team.

Students across Canada – including in Petrolia and Central Lambton – will be sporting hockey jersey’s on Thursday as a show of support for the community of Humboldt and its Junior A Hockey team.