Kids raced around in jerseys, jostled in front of nets, strapped on helmets, clattered sticks, cheered and waved to fans across Canada from the parking lot of CN Centre.
Vancouver Canucks netminding legend Kirk McLean smiled and posed for pictures in the mild chill of Saturday afternoon at the front of a rink-long line as Stompin' Tom's Hockey Song warbled from a nearby stage. Cougars, Canadiens, Kings, Bruins, Blackhawks, peewees, midgets and bantams mingled in a predominantly Canuck crowd.
For Saturday and Sunday, Prince George seemed to be centre ice for small-town Canada as the Rogers Hometown Hockey roadshow made the city the latest destination on its cross-country tour.
"The kids reactions and expressions and having a good time, celebrating community hockey, that's what it's all about," said Trevor Lutes, Prince George's main branch manager for Scotiabank, which helped present Hometown Hockey with Dodge.
It also brought to mind one of Lutes' favourite hockey memories: sitting in a packed Coliseum on April 28, 1994 watching the broadcast of the Vancouver Canucks beating the Calgary Flames 3-2 in overtime to tie the series and force a Game 7.
But he was also thinking on a smaller scale: his daughter Miranda plays for the Scotiabank peewee female Cougars and his son Justin is an Atomic Bruin. Both would feature in the festivities: Justin's team was among the finalists for the Rogers Cheer Like Never Before Contest and Miranda was on stage with her fellow peewees for a jersey unveiling as Scotiabank presented a $15,000 donation to the Prince George Minor Hockey Association.
"The joy of (kids) being with teammates, out on the ice, being active and just being a part of something bigger," said Lutes on the benefits of minor hockey. "It's about the team, working together, meeting great people, new people, and challenging themselves to be better."
While organized hockey was a big part of the festivities, there were plenty of less-formal channels for all kids: face-painting; box, air, ball, and bubble hockey; skills competitions; an obstacle course; a chance to be a broadcaster, courtesy of Sportsnet, and a chance to sample the latest technology courtesy of Xbox One, Rogers, and Samsung.
And, a few steps away from Lutes, there was one of the main attractions of the weekend and a man who figured prominently on that fateful April day he remembered so vividly. McLean stopped 30 shots during that marathon affair and backstopped the Canucks to a 4-3 win in Game 7 to complete the comeback from a 3-1 series deficit.
Taking a break from signing sticks, toques, and jerseys, many held by children too young to remember that 1994 run, the Vancouver icon thought of his own childhood and minor hockey past in Toronto, including one of his first triumphs in the Timmy Tyke Tournament.
"It was always around this time of year," said McLean. "That's where I got my first taste of any kind of NHL vibe... I was lucky enough to win goalie of the tournament and I was presented with the Ian Young award."
In 1967, Young was a star along with Bobby Orr on the Oshawa Generals when a shot from Mickey Redmond struck the then young goalie in the face and, according to Oshawa This Week, all but blinded him in the left eye. Years later, McLean would play junior for the Generals under the tutelage of Young as a goaltending coach.
"It was kind of a full circle thing, working with him and becoming good friends," said McLean.
McLean's memory wasn't the only instance of goaltending and coincidence. Nine-year-old Carson Levesque got her mother Mandy to take a photo of her perched atop a life-sized Canucks mannequin but neither of their loyalties lay with Vancouver: Carson, Mandy and father Dustin were all Montreal Canadiens fans.
"Our last name is Levesque, I grew up listening games in French with my dad on radio," said Dustin. "He's a Montreal fan, my wife's father is a Montreal fan so... we have no choice."
They'd also followed Hometown Hockey: the family had lived in Thompson, Manitoba and attended the event there on March 7-8 but had recently moved to Prince George in time for the weekend festivities.
And Dustin was a goalie, too, backstopping Thompson's Norman North Stars to the 1995-1996 triple A midget championships. He would later coach the team as an adult.
The Levesques weren't the only hockey family enjoying the day. Drew Anderson, a former Prince George Spruce King who played in the franchise's first two seasons in the early 1970s, took a moment in the Scotiabank Community Locker Room to introduce his two-year-old grandson Cayson to air hockey.
While one of Lutes' favourite hockey memories was a jubilant crowd nearly blowing off the top off the Coliseum, Anderson's minor hockey reminiscence derived from when the Prince George rink's roof was condemned in the late 1960s.
"We had minor hockey games and practices (at an outdoor rink) - it was kind of fun," said Anderson. "I was on the bantam rep team that year and we were hosting some of the playdowns for provincials but we had to play (games in Williams Lake and Quesnel). That was the same year the midgets won provincials... Darcy Rota played (on that team.)"
It's too early to tell if Cayson will follow his grandfather or Rota onto the ice but he was decked out in Canucks gear to the tip of his blue and green toque.
The Canucks would need Cayson support and more - they face a crucial game tonight against the Los Angeles Kings, a team they've lost three times to by a combined score of 12-3.
Regardless, there will be plenty to cheer for Sunday at CN Centre. Festivities start at noon and at 1:30 p.m. the Scotiabank Hotstove features Hometown Hockey host Tara Slone interviewing McLean and fellow former Canuck Geoff Courtnall. At 4:30 p.m., broadcaster Ron MacLean kicks off a pre-game show before fans are invited to an outdoor viewing party to watch the Canucks take on the Arizona Coyotes.
