Habs to play Sens in pre-season game as part of Hockeyville grand prize
MONTREAL (CP) – The Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators will face off in a pre-season game on Sept. 25 near a Nova Scotia town recently dubbed Hockeyville.
The NHL teams were announced Tuesday, several weeks after Salmon River, N.S., was awarded the grand prize of hosting an exhibition game and given the honourary title of being Canada’s most passionate hockey community.
Salmon River was voted Kraft Hockeyville by viewers of the CBC reality TV show’s season finale. The town also received prize money for rink repairs and hockey equipment.
“The entire Montreal Canadiens organization is excited to be part of the Kraft Hockeyville experience,” GM Bob Gainey said in a release. “Many of our players grew up playing hockey in local community arenas and have fond childhood memories of places just like this.”
Due to the limited number of seats in the local community rink, the game will be played in nearby Truro, N.S., allowing the maximum number of Salmon River residents to attend the game.
“It is a thrill to play in front of Canada’s most passionate hockey community,” said Senators president and CEO Roy Mlakar. “Salmon River demonstrated the spirit of what teamwork and the game of hockey is all about.”
The seven-episode series debuted in March, looking at Canada’s most hockey-mad regions. A panel of judges narrowed the field down to 25 communities, and then viewers voted on which towns or cities advanced.
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