The Squamish Bald Eagles will have to beat the Vancouver Canucks before they go to the World Cup.
Fortunately for them, the Canucks in question are years out of the NHL.
The Vancouver Canuck Alumni will visit Squamish on Sunday (Mar. 14) and the general manager of the Alumni team is certain there won't be any Todd Bertuzzi-style hockey displayed.
You can however expect to laugh. Norm Jewison says his team just wants have some fun and make sure that everybody walks away with a smile after the game."We just love playing these games," Jewison told The Chief on Wednesday. "We had a pretty good game there last year. As I recall the Squamish team is a pretty good team. By and large they are quite a bit younger than we are."
Those who pay to see the game are supporting minor hockey through their ticket purchase. The purchase of 50/50 tickets sold at the game also puts money into worthy charities. According to Jewison, the only thing his team gets is a $1,000 appearance fee and that goes into a fund to pay for some scholarships.
Hockey fans are guaranteed to see some of their favourite retired Vancouver Canucks.
Jewison said that the line up for the Sunday game includes Richard Brodeur, the goaltender who backstopped the Canucks to a Stanley Cup final appearance in 1982
Former Edmonton Oiler goaltender Bill Ranford is on the roster as a defenceman with Jyrki Lumme and Gary Nylund.
Former goalie Kirk McLean is expected to make the trip to Squamish and will play as a forward with the likes of BJ MacDonald and actor Jackson Davies.
Brodeur will be in goal and Jewison noted that Brodeur is one of the only goalies who still likes to play in goal.
"All the goalies, for whatever reason, with the exception of Brodeur, don't want to play in goal," Jewison said.
The Canuck Alumni squad will take on the Squamish Bald Eagles. The local team is preparing for a trip to Ottawa to take part in the Canadian Amateur Recreational Hockey Association World Cup.
The Bald Eagles are coming off a successful tournament in Delta.
The local team placed second in the regional game. The Bald Eagles played in the final against a team from Victoria.
Team spokesperson Rhe Lacoursiere said his squad came back from a 2-1 deficit to tie the game but the Victoria team scored with 20 seconds left to take the tournament victory.
The match-up between the Eagles and the Canuck Alumni is set for the Brennan Park Recreation Centre on Sunday (Mar. 14) at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets for the game are available at Stylezone and at the door.
