Ice hockey in September?

[MalGee64]

Hi all. There are four of us travelling from Western Australia in September to pick up our cruise in Vancouver, and we have organised things to have two or three days in town before departure. Just on the offchance, is there anything resembling an ice hockey match in that time? My brother and I would really like to mark that off the "to do" list. Big league, minor leagues, practice sessions - anything would be good.

 

Cheers!

 

Mal

[eritouma]

Hi there...

 

Yes, there will be some hockey going on... The Vancovuer Canucks (professional team) usually start their exhibition season in Mid September, while the Vancouver Giants (Junior Team - Kids 16-20) start their season in early September. There should be something for you to see...

[Karen H]

The 2006/2007 schedule is not yet available for either team mentioned by eritouma, but the websites are http://www.canucks.com and http://www.vancouvergiants.com. The Canucks play at GM Place which is within walking distance of downtown Vancouver and the Giants play at Pacific Coliseum, which is about a 15 - 20 minute taxi ride away.

[MalGee64]

Sensational! Thanks for the replies, guys. That's a definite "been there, done that" that we want to cross off the list.

 

Cheers!

 

Mal

[Keishaw]

Hi Mal,

 

Just in case your schedule does not coordinate with the "big teams", September is still "try-out" time for our minor hockey players. So if you were to head to a rink (say for example Burnaby 8 rinks - with 8 rinks under one roof) ... you'd be bound to see a game or 5 going on simultaneously, all from the same viewing area, with players potentially ranging from 5 to 55. Male & female too. It's not the big leagues, but I have to say it's just as enjoyable to watch... possibly because it's truly hockey for the love of the game, and not cuz they're getting paid to play it. ;)

And if you can hook up with a "PeeWee, Bantam or Midget" level game (ages 12-19), you'll see the game closest to the big leagues, because hitting is allowed at that level... and they'll be motivated because they are likely still trying out and trying hard to make it onto the best teams...

 

www.icesports.com/Burnaby_HomePage.ashx

 

Karen

(Ice Hockey Mom/Ice Hockey Player):cool:

[MalGee64]

Thanks, Karen. Burnaby 8 rinks sounds just the ticket. Big leaguers would be great, but as is the same for sports down here the most fun is had at the "nearly there" or "going to be there" level - it's more competitive. Had a big laugh at the "hitting is allowed" comment - sounds like organised sport when I was at high school.

 

Cheers!

 

Mal

[Keishaw]

Mal,

Glad you finally checked back in to this thread...

As far as the hitting, they've cleaned it up a lot recently with tougher penalties (and even $$$ fines in the pro leagues).

Which is a big relief to those of us whose kids play!

Have a great trip,

Karen