Photo Courtesy: NHLPA.com
The National Hockey League has played in many locations across the country, but this location was one for the books.
On October third, the Dallas Stars defeated the Arizona Coyotes 6-3 in the Kraft "Hockeyville" USA preseason game in El Paso, Texas. This was the league's first ever time playing in El Paso, making it an historic event.
El Paso was fittingly awarded this season's "Hockeyville" game for their love and dedication to the game of hockey. Last year, the city was dubbed 2020's most-spirited hockey community in America and dominated the voting polls for the Hockeyville contest.
In addition to the game, the city of El Paso also won $150,000 in upgrades to their rink from Kraft Heinz and $10,000 worth of equipment from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams Fund.
The game was originally supposed to be played in 2020. However, due to COVID-19, the NHL decided to have no fans inside arenas. This also led to the postponement of the Hockeyville game to 2021.
Leading up to the game, the morale on both sides with sky-high. Both the Coyotes and the Stars were excited to get into the El Paso area and provide the fans with the best hockey possible.
“We are thrilled to participate in the Kraft Hockeyville game in El Paso,” said Arizona Coyotes President and CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez beforehand in a media release. “We are grateful to the NHL, NHLPA, Kraft Heinz and the Dallas Stars for this incredible opportunity and we look forward to interacting with the El Paso community to grow the great game hockey in Texas.”
Of course, the Stars were coming from just down the road in Dallas, Texas. The home state advantage appeared to be in the Stars’ favor.
The Coyotes opened the scoring in the first period with a goal by Shayne Gostisbehere. However, the Stars rallied back and scored two unanswered goals by Thomas Harley and Jamie Benn.
After losing the lead in the second, the Stars offense came back and put on a show in the third. They scored three unanswered goals produced by Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, and Radek Faksa.
“It was a great showing by the offense. The guys came out to play in the third and gave these fans in El Paso a game to remember,” said Stars’ forward Jamie Benn.
The El Paso County Events Center, which opened its doors in 1942, was buzzing throughout the entirety of the game. The tight-knit community came together to watch something that will only come once-in-a-lifetime.
Kraft Hockeyville originally launched in Canada in 2006. Since then, the organization has positively benefitted over 80 communities and has given over $4 million in rink upgrades across Canada and the United States.
Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick was awarded the 2021 Kraft Hockeyville game in Canada. Their arena, Chief Young Eagle Recreation Centre, received $250,000 in upgrades and now has the opportunity to host an NHL game.
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