The wait is over — hockey is back in Belleville.
After playing their first nine games on the road, the Belleville Senators hosted the Syracuse Crunch in a historic first game at the newly renovated and expanded Yardmen Arena.
“A year ago, I came to this community, and take a look at this — take a look at this,” Roger Lajoie, Senators vice-president of communications, said of the arena’s transformation.
More than 4,500 fans packed the Yardmen to welcome the new “Baby Sens” team, brought in from Binghamton, N.Y., as they defeated Syracuse Crunch 4-3 in a shootout.
Tickets for a two-game weekend series against the Charlotte Checkers are close to selling out, which is a good sign for the city and the franchise after more than $20 million was put into renovating the aging facility.
“This was a beautiful place that needed hockey. And like many cities across Ontario — actually, all across Canada — Belleville deserved hockey,” said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk.
“We always thought that it would be a success here,” he added.