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After a long wait in Kraft Hockeyville’s judging period, Ste. Anne has received good news.
Ste. Anne made it in Kraft Hockeyville’s top four nationwide and will receive a guaranteed prize of $25,000 for arena upgrades.
Sarah Normandeau, the recreational services manager of Ste. Anne encourages the community to unite for the next stage, a 36-hour voting stage, which opens on March 31 at 8 AM and closes on April 1 at 4 PM.
“You can vote for that 36 hours as many times as you want. We are just encouraging as many people to do that and come up with some great ideas on how to get more people involved and kind of branch out and see how many branches we can create and how many rallies we can put together for that 36-hour period,” Normandeau explains.
She adds that they are the only arena left in Manitoba running in the top four, and it will be a “tough competition.”
While the arena is the home of the Aces, it has created an impact beyond the borders of Ste. Anne. Normandeau appreciates how the community has come together.
"Isn't that exciting? You talk to people even in the eastern region here that play there. They were even submitting this ‘like man, I grew up playing games against Ste. Anne. I'll submit to you because I can't imagine that arena being shut down. It's one of the staples in eastern Manitoba here.' It's hit a lot of people hard.” she says.
The grand prize for Kraft Hockeyville 2023 is an NHL pre-season game and $250,000 towards arena upgrades. Voting will be on the Kraft Hockeyville website, and the winner will be announced on April 1.
With files from Dave Anthony.