The biggest day in history
UPDATE ; DAY
Patrick Dom doesn't even pause to think when asked if he expects Saturday to be the biggest day in the history of the International Pee Hockey Tournament. wee from Quebec. “Yes, absolutely,” he says.
As of yesterday, nearly 10,000 tickets had already been sold for this day which will notably be the scene of the Ukrainian team's first game, which will face the Boston Bruins Junior at 11:45 am. It therefore seems more and more more evident that, for the first time since the official opening game of the Videotron center on September 12, 2015, a hockey game will be presented in front of a packed house of 18,259 spectators in the Limoilou amphitheater.
Especially since, immediately after the Ukraine game, the little Remparts, the little Nordiques and the Quebec women's team, three favorite teams of fans of the event will follow one another on the ice.
The Drummondville Voltigeurs celebrate one of their goals of the day.
At the event secretariat yesterday, tournament volunteers and employees wondered when was the last time a day of the Pee-wee Tournament had generated so much excitement, and the most popular answer was: the presence of Sylvain Côté and his dominance on the Coliseum ice rink with the DSNCO team, in 1978 and 1979. So 44 years ago.
“Normally, in presale, I'm happy when I have 2000 tickets sold, and there we are at almost 10,000. It is certain that there will be 18,000 [people] in the arena”, mentioned the general manager of the event.
< p>“As I tell people, I hope they will enjoy this day. It's going to be crazy and I think we're going to experience something that we'll never experience again. I do not think we can relive this kind of event in our lifetime. »
MADE FOR LITTLE BRUINS
Obviously, Team Ukraine Select's opponents, the Boston Bruins Junior, are also 12-year-olds who come to live the experience of a lifetime.
“I did not expect this kind of enthusiasm when we confirmed the participation of the Ukrainian team. I never would have thought that all the media would talk about it and that it would create a unifying event like that.
“The Bruins know what is coming. We called them. People, for that I am not worried. This is not a problem. People are going to take for Ukraine, but if Boston scores a goal, they are not going to boo them. I think back to the reaction of the crowd when Eric Lindros came here and I'm not worried at all. »
Moreover, Dom supports the FM 93 initiative and hopes that people will dress in white for the first match of Team Ukraine Select, this Saturday.
PUZZLE< /strong>
The Peewee Tournament officially got under way yesterday, but in the offices a significant amount of energy was already devoted to managing the day on Saturday.
“Right now, I would say the workload is 20% to 25% greater than normal, just to answer the phone. People want to know how to get tickets or if the ones they received as a gift are good. »
Not to mention the elephant in the room: parking.
Beyond the great story, logistical problems are looming on the horizon since in addition to the 18 000 spectators who should be there at the Videotron center, the ExpoMoto show will take place from Friday to Sunday on the grounds of ExpoCité.
Dom said he was in constant contact with ExpoCité and the City of Quebec in the hope that a shuttle system would be set up to facilitate travel around the Videotron centre.
But, in the end, the recipe will be simple: “buy your tickets in advance on our website and arrive early”, recommends Patrick Dom.
TVA Sports will send a team to capture the Ukraine match, which will be presented in rebroadcast at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, in order to reserve the exclusivity of the moment to people on site.
DAILY CALENDAR
- 8 am | Halifax Mooseheads Jr. | Edmonton Oilers | AA
- 9:15 a.m. | Shawinigan Cataracts Moncton Wildcats | AA-Élites
- 10:30 a.m. | Béliers de la Suisse Romande Bedford Blues | AA-Élites
- 11:45 a.m. | Fury SEFHA Stars 55 de Mauricie | Feminine
- 1 p.m. | National de Montréal Ouest Zenith Ice of Korea | AA
- 2:15 p.m. | Washington Little Capitals | Outaouais Intrepid | AA-Élites
- 3:30 p.m. | Barons of Mauricie-Nord Stars of Austria | AA
- 4:45 p.m. | South Shore Express 2 Laval East Rangers | BB
- 6 p.m. |Blizzard Seminar Saint-François Select of Japan | AA-Élites
- 7:15 p.m. | Czech Republic Knights Lac St-Louis Lions | AAA
- 8:30 p.m. | Pioneers of the North-West Rams of French-speaking Switzerland | AA
Wednesday
- Governors of Quebec West 0
- Shawinigan Dynamos 1
BB
- Noroits de CRSA-DPR 0
- Voltigeurs de Drummondville 5
AA
- Quebec North East Frontenac 4
- Musketeers of St-Hyacinthe 2
AA
- Grail of Claretian College 5
- Colorado Avalanche 2
AA-Elite
- Northern Selects 5
- Intrépide by Nicolas-Gatineau 2
AA-Élites
- Patriotes de Laval 1
- Burnaby Winter Club 0
AAA
- Beauce-Nord-Bellechasse Grouping 6
- North Stars EHL 1
AA
- Express of Mont-Joli 2
- Lords of Northeast Quebec 5
< strong>BB
- Dynamics of Charles-Lemoyne
- Commandeurs du Collège de Lévis
- Two Mountain Panthers
- Express 2 de Rive-Sud
< /ul>
AA-Elite
AA
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About The Author
Wilson
Rob Wilson has been a reporter on the news desk since 2013. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Gal Times, Rob wilson worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my rob@bobrtimes.com 1-800-268-7128