Hockey Day in Canada reveals schedule for Moncton event

Moncton is preparing to celebrate Canada’s national sport with an exciting lineup of activities and events for Hockey Day in Canada.

Tickets went on sale Friday for a variety of events around the city beginning Jan. 14.

“It’s going to be just an amazing three or four days,” said Marty Kingston, a city councillor and play-by-play voice of the Moncton Wildcats who emceed the announcement of the schedule.

“We’re going to be brought up to speed on just how extensive our hockey tradition is in the great city of Moncton,” he said. “It will unfold here for the entire country. It’s going to be a celebration, really, of hockey.”

The main event will be the Sportsnet broadcast on Saturday, Jan. 17, as all seven Canadian NHL teams hit the ice. The Hockey Night in Canada panel of Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Jennifer Botterill, Elliotte Friedman and Kevin Bieksa will be at the Avenir Centre.

But there will be plenty of other things around the city, as the U de M Aigles Bleues take on Dalhousie and the Wildcats face Chicoutimi at the Avenir Centre.

The Timbits U7 Jamboree will be at the Byron Dobson Memorial Arena in Riverview, the Eastern Regional Blind Hockey Tournament will take place at the Coliseum, and a ball hockey tournament for kids age eight to 10 will be on Main Street near the Avenir Centre.

Jan. 16 will feature an exhibition game with NHL alumni, including Wendel Clark, Adam Graves, Jon Sim and Andrew Ference joining Sportsnet broadcasters and local celebrities like Wildcats GM Taylor MacDougall, Simon Richard of the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team and Kelsey Tessier of the Wildcats player development staff.

“It’s going to be great for the city,” Kingston said. “Good for everybody and just a celebration of our national sport.”

Full details of the schedule can be found here.