For almost 20 years minor hockey players in Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce have spent the bulk of
their holiday breaks on the ice competing in the NDG Hockey Tournament.
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Many young players are doing it again this year as the NDG Minor Hockey Association hosts the nineteenth edition of the tournament.
The tournament started on Dec. 15 at the Bill Durnan Arena in Côte-des-Neiges, and will run until Dec. 30 with a three-day break surrounding Christmas.
The competition attracts nearly 80 teams from across the province at the novice, atom and junior levels.
The tournament is a tradition of sorts that started when a handful of volunteers would all schedule their holidays around the same time to be able to host it. More and more volunteers got involved so the tournament grew bigger each year.
“At first the tournament was only for novice teams,” said NDG Hockey’s Margaret Lambton.
“But three years ago juniors were added because there weren’t very many tournaments for juniors in the area. It gave them a place to compete during the holidays,” she said.
This time around the tournament hosts a slightly smaller number of teams. “It’s a little bit smaller this year because we’ll only have one arena to use,” said Lambton.
The Doug Harvey Arena is closed for the season due to major renovations, so all the games will be held at the Bill Durnan arena.
The $5.4 million renovations to the Doug Harvey Arena, which was originally built in 1970, are part of the City of Montreal’s initiative to replace refrigeration systems at older arenas across the city. The plan is to replace older Freon-based refrigeration systems
with greener systems that will be both better for the environment and more energy efficient going forward.
Many games are also taking place on weeknights, starting at 6:30 p.m.
“That way no one has to miss school to play in the tournament,” said Lambton.
Thirteen teams from the local hockey association are participating in this year’s edition, including eight at the novice level and five playing in the atom division.
The NDG Minor Hockey Association runs seasonally each year from early September to March. It counts 29 teams in its ranks and involves more than 700 kids from the borough yearly.
Outdoor rinks opening in the borough
Those looking for skating or hockey opportunities outdoors should be able to get their fix in Côte-des-Neiges–NDG as of this week.
Weather permitting, both the rinks at NDG Park (also known as Girouard Park) and Jean-Brillant Park are expected to be open for the season starting this week.
When they are open, the rinks’ operating hours are from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. during the week, and from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends.
The borough’s refrigerated Bleu Blanc Bouge rink at Confederation Park is now open and expected be open for the rest of the season.
The Canadiens rink will be available from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, and closed for the holidays on Dec. 24, 25 and 26 as well as well as the first two days of January.
