After a hiatus of almost 27 years, the Face Off Game between the Alberta Golden Bears and the NAIT Ooks is returning to Northlands Coliseum.
Face Off 2017 will be played on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m.
“I remember how well-attended they were, the fans, the energy. I remember scoring a goal in the first game I played in,” said current Golden Bears head coach Serge Lajoie, who played in three Face Off Games.
“The first two years in particular were very spirited, real hard competition. The fans were into it big time, like only student fans could,” recalled former Golden Bears assistant and head coach Bill Moores. “Two schools with very good hockey teams that also had high expectations for their student athletes. Both programs are about excellence, both academically and athletically.”
The game was held seven times at Northlands (six at the Coliseum, one at the Agricom) between March of 1985 and January of 1991. The Bears won five times.
“We got a lot of players started in post-secondary and sent them on to U of A,” said former NAIT coach Perry Pearn. “Syd Cranston would be the biggest name from the standpoint. He was a leading scorer at U of A after being a leading scorer at NAIT. He’s one of the guys who played on both sides of that rivalry in the Face Off Games.”
This year’s game will come at the halfway point of the season for both teams. NAIT head coach Tim Fragle feels his Ooks will go in as the underdog.
“We play in a college league. They play in the U Sports league. I think there are some differences there,” Fragle said.
“If they were in our league, they’d be a very good team,” Lajoie said.
This year’s matchup will be in support of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Twenty per cent of the ticket revenue will be donated to the Stollery.
Tickets for Face Off 2017 are currently available through Ticketmaster.
History of the Face-Off Game:
March 19, 1985: Alberta 5, NAIT 4
Feb. 2, 1986: NAIT 7, Alberta 5
Jan. 27, 1987: Alberta 7, NAIT 2
Feb. 2, 1988: Alberta 8, NAIT 2
Feb. 16, 1989: Alberta 11, NAIT 4
Jan. 22, 1990: NAIT 6, Alberta 5
Jan. 15, 1991: Alberta 6, NAIT 0
Watch below: After a 27-year hiatus, the Face Off Game between the Alberta Golden Bears and the NAIT Ooks is returning to Northlands Coliseum next weekend. The coaches of the two teams dropped by Global News Morning Weekend Edmonton on Dec. 3, 2017 to talk about it.
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