Quebec City inaugurates hockey arena with record-breaking crowd

QUEBEC CITY – After three years of construction, Quebec City celebrated the official opening of the Centre Videotron on Saturday night.

Politicians, Quebec celebrities and retired hockey favourites were on hand for the opening gala, featuring a game between the Quebec City Remparts and the Rimouski Oceanic.

Pierre Karl Peladeau, media mogul and leader of the Parti Quebecois, tweeted photos from the yellow carpet adding the crowd’s welcome was unforgettable.

More than 18, 000 spectators attended the game, making it the largest crowd  in attendance in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

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In the end, the Oceanic won the inaugural match 4-2 with Antoine Dufort-Plante scoring twice and Louis-Philip Guindon making  23 saves as Rimouski doubled up the Remparts.  Evan Scott and Tyler Boland also scored for the Oceanic (1-1-0).

Ross MacDougall and Mikael Robidoux supplied the offence for Quebec (0-1-0). Julian Galloway stopped 16-of-20 shots in defeat.