Majors Give Community A Boost Through School Day Game

Published on November 13, 2008 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Mississauga St. Michael's Majors News Release


Mississauga, ON - The energy at the home of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors was certainly running at an all-time high, as the hockey club hosted the inaugural Majors School Day Game this past Wednesday afternoon. While the plan behind creating a daytime game had been in the works for about a year, it was that afternoon that the idea had turned into a reality for the Majors organization.

This was the very first time that a junior hockey franchise in the Ontario Hockey League (in contrast to larger-scale, major league franchises) had held a special game geared towards local school children - and, along with good timing and the perfect opportunity, there is no question that this project was well worth the wait.

A crowd of 2,400 teachers, parents and children of all ages from a total of 12 local elementary schools was packed into the Hershey Centre, and a total of 3,200 fans screaming "Go Majors Go!" had attended the noon game to support their hometown OHL team take on Peel Region rivals, the Brampton Battalion. Despite the fact the Majors had come extremely close to a victory and was edged by the visitors in the dying seconds of the contest in a 4-3 shootout, it did not overshadow what the Majors organization, as a whole, was able to accomplish.

To say that the Majors School Day Game was beneficial to the community of Mississauga is an understatement.

For some students, it may have been the perfect chance to return to the arena for another fun round of Majors hockey; but for many, it was a brand new, first-hand experience of major junior hockey entertainment at its best. Rows upon rows of seats were filled along the Main Bowl, and what a remarkable sight it was to have felt the intensity of the game exceed beyond the ice.

It's clear that the Majors School Day Game not only opened the doors for many local students that normally don't get the chance to see a live hockey game with their families and peers, but the building resonated with the true essence of the City of Mississauga itself - an extraordinary cultural mosaic of the younger generation unified through the spectacle of one of our most recognized and treasured national sports.

The Majors had offered all schools a special discounted ticket price to attend the Majors School Day Game. The day would not have been possible without the generous support of the game's title sponsor, Maple Leaf Foods, and Majors corporate sponsors including Tim Hortons, Applebee's Restaurant (Mavis Road and Matheson Blvd.), Peel Regional Police, Lucy's Seafood Kitchen, Carmine Nigro and Victor Deschenes that assisted with the cost of tickets. A number of Majors Season Ticket Holders also stepped up and contributed to the cause by donating their tickets to schools in the community.

"AWESOME. FABULOUS. THE BEST. These were some of the exclamations that I heard as students returned to Shelter Bay from the Hershey Centre following the game yesterday," noted Rob Lobovsky, Principal of Shelter Bay Public School. "They had the best time, and so did staff. We were also quite excited that it was our student, Jeff, who won the student competition that happened during one of the intermissions. We were pleased to be apart of it!"

"Our first-ever whole-school excursion was a huge success in many ways," stated Daphne Howard, Principal of Trelawny Public School. "The staff and students felt a real sense of community in preparing for, and then cheering on, the home team hockey club. For several of our students it was their first time ever being in a hockey arena and watching a game. Your organizers and announcers made the game even more exciting by adding up-beat music, giving out helmet-type hats to the students upon their arrival. The faces of the children throughout the day as well as their comments were evidence of their excitement and pleasure at having been involved in such an event."

The Majors School Day Game was a positive glimpse into the future of our junior hockey fan base right here in town, and it can only be the beginning of what we can all expect to see in the years to come.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from November 13, 2008


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