Story written with files from www.ottawa67s.com
Monday morning November 2nd was a very special day at the Urbandale Center, home of the Ottawa 67's. Over 9,000 kids from schools across the city packed the arena to watch a great game between the Ottawa 67's and the visiting Peterborough Petes.
The pre-game had a fantastic atmosphere surrounding it. The team decided to try something new and let the fans sing the national anthem. This worked out great as old and young alike belted out Oh Canada along to the music. It was a great moment watching the kids show such national pride before the game got under way.
The intermissions were also a lot of fun as there was a rink wide rendition of the Macarena led by the 67's SixO Power Dancers, along with a giant game of rock, paper, scissors that included the whole crowd! All in all it was a fantastic day to be up in the stands.
In the end, the Petes got the best of the 67's winning by a score of 5-4 in a shootout, but not before 67's forward Ryan Martindale sent the crowd of 9,862 into a frenzy with his game-tying goal with just seconds remaining in regulation.
But it was Petes forward and Ottawa native Ryan Spooner, a 17-year-old just a few years removed from elementary school in Kanata, who stole the show scoring the lone shootout goal to win the game for the Petes.
Spooner said he hoped it could be an annual game involving the Petes. “It was awesome. It was really loud. What a great idea,” he said. “I hope they do it again and we can be a part of it.”
Despite the loss the 67's were satisfied with the event and will be sure to host an arena jam packed with students again next season.
“It’s a slam dunk,” said 67’s owner Jeff Hunt, when asked if he’ll do it again next year. “The kids (players) are already asking me to do it again next year.”
The School Day Game is just part of the way the Ottawa 67's reach out to students. Veteran forward Corey Cowick is still very active in community schools and reading programs with the club despite his injury this season.
In addition to footage of Cowick, the second part of the video feature focuses on the on-ice performances of the club featuring forwards Tyler Toffoli and Ryan Martindale who are both eligible for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Martindale currently leads the club with 25 points through 17 games, whicl Toffoli has 11 points in 14 games and was recently named to the Team OHL roster for the 2009 Subway Super Series.
