Hockey for health as Canadiens visit Friday

Twelve Stanley Cup rings and one NHL hall of famer — that's a pretty good set of credential for a team coming to play in Lac La Biche.

On March 15 — this Friday — the Montreal Canadiens alumni team will be helping the Lac La Biche Regional Health Foundation raise funds and awareness for local healthcare programming and equipment. The Canadiens team, coached by NHL Hall of Fame member Steve Shutt, will play a squad of local skaters in front of fans at the Bold Center's Performance Arena.

Several of the Montreal skaters were part of the 1993 Stanley Cup Canadiens, including Patrice Brisebois, Chris Nilan, Jesse Belanger and Oleg Petrov. Other players, like Keith Acton, who won his Stanley Cup ring with the Edmonton Oilers, will join five-time Stanley Cup winning coach Shutt on the ice and at an after-game meet and greet for photos and signatures.

"It's an event," says Lac La Biche Regional Health Foundation chairperson Kal Polturak. "It will be some great hockey and an opportunity to get up an close with some of hockey's greatest names."

The area is known for its fair share of Habs fans, said Polturak — but even supporters of other teams will enjoy the game and the night of entertainment and prizes.

"Our mayor Omer Moghrabi is a Toronto fan — and he's looking forward to it," said Polturak, with a grin, adding that county councillors had 'traded' the Mayor to the Canadiens team for two snowmen, with the provision that Moghrabi supplies his own Habs jersey. The mayor will be Montreal's assistance coach.

"It's a fun night for a great cause," Polturak said," ... and good-natured rivalry is fun."

The local team will be made up of invited players who have been sponsored to wear the home-town jerseys. Two local players, Caleb Ryan and the mayor's nephew Chaffic Moghrabi will suit up for the Canadiens. All the funds raised from the sponsored players, plus proceeds from the ticket sales will go toward the continuing operations of the regional health foundation.

Since its creation just three and a half years ago,  the foundation has raised more than $2.5 million from fundraising events like the hockey game. The funds have helped to bring a new CT scanner to the local hospital, portable heart monitors, a new recruitment and retention program for doctors, and two technicians for the hospital's ultra-sound department.

"Since staffing the ultra-sound program, there have been more than 2,500 procedures in the first 20 months. That means 2500 people that didn't have to go out of the area for their procedures," said Polturak, thanking the community and supporting sponsors of events like the hockey game for boosting local healthcare programming. "We've got great people in this community, and we hope to see many of them at the game."

Get it signed

Throughout the game, there will be chances to win Montreal keepsakes, and organizers will also have a booth selling Canadiens memorabilia for anyone wanting to get items signed at the meet and greet following the game.

Tickets for the game and the meet and greet — which includes refreshments — are $50 for adults, $35 for those ages 8-17 and $25 for kids seven and under.  Tickets for the game only are $25 for adults, $10 for those aged 8-17 and free for kids under seven years of age.

Advance tickets for the meet and greet and the game are available in Lac La Biche at ACE Hardware on Main Street. Tickets for the game can be grabbed at the door, or by calling the foundation at 780-404-4070.

Game time is 7 p.m. but organizers encourage fans to get a seat early as both teams will have a pre-skate at 6:30 and there will be souveneirs available for sale.

"Who's going to win? The Canadiens or the home team?  I guess we all win when it comes to regional healthcare," said Polturak.

The Canadiens lineup.

# 33 RICHARD SÉVIGNY