Roughly 40 people gathered at the Westlock Curling Club last week to take in an Oilers game and have a beer at a pub night fundraiser for the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre.
Tickets and roster spots were also being sold for the March 15 game against the Montreal Canadiens alumni team.
“We’re a little disappointed with the numbers that showed up, but we’re happy with the results we got as far as the initial sales of tickets for the event,” said Todd Ducharme, one of the organizers.
At the event, 12 of the 20 spots on the Westlock roster were snatched up, as well as the single referee position. The total amount raised at the fundraiser was not available at press time.
“It wasn’t so much to raise money as it was to create awareness about the event,” he said, adding the event has been well received by residents so far.
“We’ve had people of all ages interested in the game itself and to have 12 people commit to playing this early is very good,” he said. “I suspect that we will probably have all the spots sold by the mid-part in January.”
The biggest attraction at the event, however, was the opportunity to win a spot on the Westlock roster to face off against the Montreal Canadiens alumni team at the spring game.
Terry Brown was the lucky winner of the grand prize, but opted for two VIP tickets instead, which means she will get a meet-and-greet with the alumni players.
Spectator tickets are $20 for those over 14 years of age and $10 for those under 14 years of age. There are also VIP tickets up for grabs, which include a meet-and-greet with the alumni team, for $100.
“It’s just a wrap-up with probably the biggest event at Jubilee Arena in the last few years and it’ll just be nice to see the place full and have people from all over the area come and be excited about a sporting event like this with the Montreal Canadiens,” Ducharme said. “There were one of the original six and hockey’s a big part of our life here in Westlock.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, call Ducharme at 780-349-3336, Glenn Baron at 780-349-5700 or Brown at 780-349-5709.
