It was an unforgettable experience for Yukoners Matthew and Naomi Blindheim at the 2009 NHL All-Star game.

Matthew, who was the winner of the McDonald's In the Line-Up contest, not only attended his first NHL game, but he also met hockey hero and Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo.

"I was kind of scared at first because I'm not used to meeting hockey players," he said.

In addition to meeting Luongo, Matthew also stood next to Scott Niedermayer during the pre-game ceremonies, received a Western Conference jersey signed by numerous players and skated with NHL stars at the Bell Centre.

The In the Line up contest selects one winner from each province and two for the three territories. Prizes included a round trip ticket, three nights accommodation for two people, upper level tickets to the 2009 NHL All-Star open practice and two tickets to the game.

This year's All-Star game was in Montreal and fitting enough Canadiens player Alex Kovalev scored the shootout winner to give the East a 12-11 victory over the Western Conference.

Matthew said the best part was meeting Luongo, who also signed his jersey.

Naomi's favourite part was seeing her son on the ice during the game's opening ceremonies.

"I had tears in my eyes when he came out onto the ice and was standing next to Scott Niedermayer," she said. "It was very cool and he got to meet his hero Roberto Luongo so it was just perfect."

Naomi also didn't come back empty-handed, taking lots of pictures over the course of the three days.

"It was better than I expected," she said. "It was definitely well worth entering him online every day."