'Awesome': Packed crowd cheers for NHL teams in Sudbury

Reflecting on the warm reception he received in Sudbury earlier in the day, Sidney Crosby told journalists that it meant a lot.

“To be still playing and to get that kind of support means a lot,” the Pittsburgh Penguins player said at the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday, following his team’s pre-season NHL game against the Ottawa Senators.

Earlier in the day, groups of kids were heard chanting his name outside the arena, both while he signed autographs during a red carpet event and prior to his bus arriving.

“That’s something that sticks with you and was a great welcome, and I appreciate the hospitality,” Crosby said.

The name of the venue to host an NHL game isn’t a typo.

The NHL game was held at Downtown Sudbury’s arena for a special pre-season game as part of the annual Kraft Hockeyville competition to host games in non-NHL-hosting locations..

An old barn of an arena hosting an NHL game made for a unique environment, he said, which called to mind his pre-NHL days.

“You could feel that when you got here,” he said, reflecting on his earlier days playing the sport. “It’s fun to be in those environments.”

Ottawa Senators player Tim Stutzle said the game made for an “awesome’ atmosphere.

“We get together as a team ... to see all those kids here, and how they support hockey and how much they love it,” he said, adding that they all enjoyed seeing the smiles on kids’ faces.

Although the Penguins secured the game’s win with a final score of 5-2, it’s more likely those in attendance will remember Sept. 29, 2024, as the day the NHL came to Sudbury.

Jackson Gunner brought his six-year-old son, Dean-Jackson, to the morning’s red carpet event to watch the Penguins and Senators arrive at the Sudbury Community Arena.

They got there after the players had already entered the arena, so Jackson asked a staff member for tickets to the mid-day player practices, during which players warmed up on the ice.

Instead, they were handed game tickets.

“The stars aligned today,” Jackson told Sudbury.com while looking for their seats.

“This is his first time watching NHL,” he said. “Honestly, I never thought this opportunity would come here. ... I honestly just came down here just to see if we can get a picture and autograph from Sid(ney) Crosby, and now we get to watch them live.”

This is the Sudbury pair’s first NHL game together.

Another father-son duo, Ryan and Nixon Clement, landed tickets after Ryan’s parents in Elliot Lake found themselves unable to go.

Elliot Lake won the Kraft Hockeyville competition and the weekend of NHL action that came with it, but were unable to host it in their home community due to building issues with their arena. As such, much of the free tickets were earmarked for Elliot Lake-area residents, with others distributed through area hockey associations.

“It sucks that it didn’t work out for Elliot Lake with the arena situation, but it’s good for the community of Sudbury as a whole,” Ryan said. “It brings some attention to the city.”

(Alternatively, Elliot Lake resident Tracey-Lynn McAleese said the Sudbury Community Arena was preferable. With the Sudbury arena boasting a greater capacity, more people who wanted tickets, many of whom being young, were able to attend.)

The pair have gone to two NHL games in Toronto and one in Tampa, Florida, before, but never thought they’d ever go to one so close to home.

Mother Teri-Lynn Riddell attended Sunday night’s game in tow with her children and a group of extended family members totalling 20 people from the Elliot Lake area.

They made a day of it, beginning with the early morning red carpet event outside the arena.

“As a family group, I feel like it's brought us together,” Riddell said. “We're able to come together and support our children and our nephews who all play hockey and just came together.”

There were several special Elliot Lake touches to Sunday’s game, with Elliot Lake Secondary School students helping clear the ice and Elliot Lake’s own Ponto Paparo singing the national anthems.

Elliot Lake organizing committee members Lara Hukezalie and Amanda McKay were presented with a trophy at the start of the game for winning Kraft Hockeyville. Various other Elliot Lake community members were recognized throughout the evening.

A moment of recognition was held after the first period to pay tribute to Connor Pelletier-Commanda, a young hockey player who died at age 17 in 2016 following a motor vehicle incident.

The Stompin’ Tom Connors song “Muckin’ Slushers,” which is about Elliot Lake miners, was played on the arena sound system during the third period.

It was a tight game, with the Penguins landing one goal (Sidney Crosby) to the Senators’ two (Nick Cousins and Tim Stutzle) in the first period.

Near the end of the second period, the Penguins answered their opponents with two goals in rapid succession, by Evgeni Malkin (the first on a power play), bringing the score to 3-2 in their favour.

Amid fights between the two teams in the third period which kept the audience excited, Crosby scored his second goal of the game 7:53 into the third period, bringing the game to 4-2. Malkin scored a hat trick in the game’s closing minutes, bringing it to its final score of 5-2.

This may have been the last time the Sudbury Community will host an NHL game, with Greater Sudbury city council planning on replacing the more-than 70-year-old facility it with a new arena/events centre slated to open by May 2028.

The aging facility has a history of hosting NHL teams. Shortly after the building opened in late 1951, it hosted a  game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Sudbury Wolves on Jan. 9, 1952 

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.