North Bay is Hockeyville! (Updated)

Chris Dawson reacts as North Bay is announced Kraft Hockeyville 2007

Nerves ran high at Don Cherry’s Saturday night as the North Bay Hockeyville bid committee gathered to watch the ultimate rivalry game between Toronto and Montreal, but more importantly to find out which community would win the Kraft Hockeyville 2007 title and trophy.

With just six minutes left in regular play and Toronto tied with Montreal 2 – 2, committee member Devon Marson pipes up “I can’t sit still!”

He wasn't alone; the tension radiated off committee members as they watched the clock run down in nervous anticipation. As the buzzer sounded the teams remained tied and the game went into overtime. No one scored in overtime so the game was forced into a shoot out, which increased the tension in the room and the stress for committee members.

Eventually Montreal won the game 3- 2, then the excitement started. The hosts of Hockey Night in Canada started to list the placement of the communities in order starting with North Bay’s biggest rival Noelville in 5th place overall, which triggered applause from the crowd.

To the fans' delight, the hosts named the next two communities leaving Cornwall and North Bay battling for top spot.

The room erupted in cheers and applause as Chris Dawson gave a huge wave exclaiming ‘YES’ and then North Bay’s name flashed across the screen announcing the city Hockeyville 2007.

To enter the competition North Bay joined with communities from across Canada and developed a 3-minute video showcasing their love of the game and community spirit.

Over the past three weeks officials narrowed down the bids as communities cast their ballots in support of the bids. And over the last week 935,000 plus votes were cast for the top five final communities.

In a news release following the announcement Hockeyville officials note "North Bay's commitment to community and hockey underlies everything they do."

The release also highlighted the efforts the community made by hosting the Hurricane Katrina at the annual pond hockey tournament.

“North Bay embraced the unique initiative as sponsors paid for their flights, accommodations and meals during the three-day trip.”

Dawson, who had been hooked up with an earpiece waiting to do an interview with Ron MacLean, heard the NHL commissioner Gary Bettman make the announcement.

“I can’t believe Gary Bettman announced it,” states Dawson.

Dawson then finished the interview with MacLean by thanking everyone involved in getting the bid to top spot. He told McLean that North Bay was behind the bid all the way, and that it helps to have programs that give back to the community such as the Pond Hockey outreach program and Tom Hedican’s ‘Coach for Food’ program.

"What an awesome and unbelievable night. Thank you North Bay for getting behind this and by voting for North Bay you made a difference. "

"This certainly shows the true community spirit that is what North Bay is all about. I think this is the biggest thing for North Bay since the Centennials won the OHL title in 1994 and this is another great title we in the community can share," he states.

Not only does the city win bragging rights as Hockeyville, $50,000 for arena upgrades, the pre-season NHL exhibition game between the New York Islanders and the Atlanta Thrashers on September 17; but the city will also be featured in a national one-hour CBC Television special to air in the fall.

Committee member Randy Edmonds answered Dawson back with “You just made my day and then some.”

The committee now has to meet with city officials to determine just how the $50,000 will be used to upgrade Memorial Gardens. North Bay won 10 thousand dollars for the merit award earlier.

The local Hockeyville bid team is also in the process for organising a Trophy for Food campaign that will offer residents an opportunity to have a photo taken with the trophy at Memorial Gardens in return for a non-perishable food item for the North Bay Food Bank. The date of the event yet to be determined.