Whitehorse Daily Star

Hockey legends game coming to Whitehorse

The Legendary Hockey Heroes are once again coming to Whitehorse for the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge taking place 7 p.m., on March 23 at Takhini Arena.

By Whitehorse Star on March 12, 2009

The Legendary Hockey Heroes are once again coming to Whitehorse for the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge taking place 7 p.m., on March 23 at Takhini Arena.

The Legendary Hockey Heroes will take on the Yukon Select Celebrity Hockey Team.

The roster includes Hall of Famers Glenn Anderson and Billy Smith who will join Dave "Tiger" Williams, Cliff Ronning, Igor Kravchuk, Bob Bourne, Gary Leeman, Gaston Gingras, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Flockhart, Craig Muni plus referee Ron Hoggarth will add to the competitive spirit, fun and antics of the game.

The Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge is designed to give fans and players alike an opportunity to celebrate a common joy of the game while at the same time giving much needed funds to worthy organizations.

A portion of the proceeds from each ticket will go to Sports Yukon's Kids Development Fund and Minor Hockey.

Add the Laser show, musician with #1 hits Matt Minglewood, the Call to Recycle Tykes, the local Whitehorse Figure Skaters and Crazy Claude the trumpeter, the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge is sure to be very exciting and entertaining for the entire family.

The Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge goes to more than 60 cities from coast to coast in Canada. It is the most successful tour of its kind in North America and has raised over 8.5 million dollars for hundreds of charities over the last 20 years across the country.

As an added feature all fans with an Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge ticket are invited to bring their skates and participate in the Legends Pre-Game Public Skate with some of the Legends on March 23, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

The Roster, subject to change includes:

7 Cliff Ronning, a playmaking centreman who scored more than 300 goals during a very productive 19-year NHL career. Ronning was a product of the Canadian National Team program.

9 Bernie Nicholls, who had an amazing 18 year NHL hockey career playing 1,100 games, and scoring 1,200 points. Nicholls was one of seven hockey players in the history of the NHL to score 70 goals in a single season.

11 Gary Leeman, who played 700 NHL games between 1983 and 1997 with Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver and St. Louis. He became the second player in Leafs history to score 50 goals. He won one Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1993.

11 Ron Flockhart, a native of Smithers, played 10 years in the NHL with Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Montreal, St. Louis and Boston. He scored more than 25 goals four times. Flockhart is an excellent goal scorer and scored 54 goals with the Regina Pats.

14 Bobby Bourne, who won the Bill Masterton Award for dedication and can proudly claim to be part of four Stanley Cup championships with the New York Islanders.

22 Dave "Tiger" Williams was a fan favorite wherever he played during his 14-season NHL career, whether it was Toronto, Vancouver, Detroit, Los Angeles or Hartford. He finished his career with a record 3,966 penalty minutes.

24 Larry Melnyk played in the NHL from 1980 till 1990 with Boston, Edmonton, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. Melnyk won two Stanley Cups in 1984 and 1985 with the Edmonton Oilers.

28 Craig Muni played 16 seasons in the NHL where he enjoyed his finest seasons during the Edmonton Oilers dynasty winning three Stanley Cup Championships.

29 Gaston Gingras played 10 NHL seasons, split between Montreal, Toronto and St. Louis. Gingras established himself as one of the fastest players in the league.

The smooth-skating defenseman was part of the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens in 1986.

29 Igor Kravchuk was an Olympic champion with the Soviet team in 1988 and 1992 and collected silver during the 1990 Winter Games. This defenseman scored 53 goals and 150 assists in 498 NHL games, dressing for Chicago, Edmonton, St. Louis and Ottawa.

37 Glenn Anderson was a key component of the Edmonton Oilers' dynasty in the 80's, helping bring five Stanley Cup championships to that franchise. After three seasons in Toronto, Anderson earned another Cup win with the Rangers. He is an Olympian and multiple Canada Cup winner. Anderson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this year.

31 Billy Smith had 17 NHL seasons where he backstopped the Islanders to four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in the 80's. Smith was the recipient of the Vezina, co-winner of the Jennings award and the Conn Smythe Trophies. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.

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