Senators, Panthers set for NHL game in Sydney, N.S., this October

It was more than one year ago that Sydney, N.S., was crowned the winner of Kraft Hockeyville.

The win meant $250,000 in arena upgrades and a preseason NHL game for the community.

We now know the teams that will faceoff at Centre 200 on Oct. 1.

“We’ve been waiting for quite a while for the exact time, place, who, and when, so it’s good to have that timeline in place now and there’s a lot of work between now and then,” said Christina Lamey, Cape Breton Blizzard president.

The Ottawa Senators and runners-up to this year’s Stanley Cup Champions -- the Florida Panthers -- will be the teams that will play in Sydney.

The club from the Nationals Capital include several former players from the Q-League’s Cape Breton Eagles.

“That’s super exciting for local fans I’m sure. Just having an NHL game here in Sydney is exciting, because some people haven’t been able to see an NHL game before,” said Lamey.

The Cape Breton Blizzard Female Hockey organization entered the contest because they needed a new home.

Ice time was hard to find in the CBRM, and their only option, the Canada Games Complex needed work.

With the money and government funding, work is well underway.

“I started off playing male hockey and I would have to get dressed in my own dressing room apart from the team, so that wasn’t a great experience,” said Alyssa Burke.

Burke plays for the CBU Capers women's team and says women’s hockey in the area has grown recently.

The rink will be home to no fewer than 20 teams.

Winning the contest will shine a national light on the women’s game in the area.

“I think it will get more girls involved because it gives them something to look up to and shines a huge spotlight on female hockey in Cape Breton and what we’re doing by making a rink dedicated just to female hockey,” said Burke.

For those looking for tickets to the NHL game at Centre 200, they won’t be available for purchase. Instead, they will be handed out to Blizzard players, family members, and organizations that have helped along the way.

“The ticket plan is still being worked on between the local organizing committee and the NHL. It’s not something you can buy tickets for through Ticketmaster or Centre 200 or anything like that, so the plan will come out in the next weeks. I hope it doesn’t take very long,” said Lamey.