NHL alumni facing off for Special Olympics
Hockey Night in Peterborough returns to the Memorial Centre on Dec. 8. The event is one of the 30 games played during the annual NHL Alumni tour.
The tour lineup features NHL players from the Original Six classic teams, Stanley Cup winners, Team Canada players and hometown heroes.
Throughout the years, the tour has hosted a wide roster of famed hockey players including Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark, Owen Nolan, Curtis Joseph, Reggie Leach, Scott Thornton, Marty McSorley, Rick Vaive, Troy Crowder, Stan Jonathan and Theo Fleury. Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky, and broadcaster/referee Ron MacLean have also taken part.
This year’s lineup will face off against the local Law Enforcement Torch Run team, made up of community police officers and supporters.
The event is hosted to benefit the Special Olympics and the
Law Enforcement Torch Run.
The game is engineered to be a unique, family fun experience, according to a press release from city police. In addition to worldclass hockey skills and hockey nostalgia, the game will feature on-ice gags and tricks to keep things light and fun.
This year is especially important, as it also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Special Olympics, the release states. The Special Olympics aims “through sport to improve the well-being of individuals with an intellectual disability.”
The event is sponsored by Scotiabank, which supports the Law Enforcement Torch Run’s mission “to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities.”
To support the Special Olympics, and to attend family-friendly hockey event, you can buy tickets to the event for $22 at https://www.benefithockey.com/tickets/, or by calling in to 1-844-363-0500. The doors of the Memorial Centre open at 5 p.m. and the game itself begins at 6 p.m.
NOTE: The Original Six (Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks) are the NHL teams that made up the league between 1942 and the major expansion of 1967, which doubled the size of the league to 12 teams by adding the Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars (now in Dallas), the Los Angeles Kings, the St. Louis Blues and the California Seals, which became the Cleveland Barons before merging with the North Stars in 1978.