This weekend will be a home coming with all the bells and whistles for native son Andy Moog.
Moog, who won three Stanley Cups with the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers of the early 80’s will be part of the traveling Scotiabank Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour which rolled into town Wednesday.
“I’m really looking forward to it, it’s really going to be a lot of fun,” said Moog Thursday in a telephone interview from Dallas, Tex. “My concern is the recreational player, the player who loves the game but doesn’t have the time or the energy to commit to that level of hockey but still wants to play. This program that Scotiabank offers is really directed at them, those players who love it.”
Moog was born and raised in Penticton, playing his minor hockey here before leaving for the big leagues.
At 56 he still remembers the fun he and his friends had playing road hockey in the Peach City.
“We tore apart that parking lot at McLaren Park for several summers in a row,” he recalled. “We had some wild pickup games in that place. That parking lot in the south end of McLaren Park Arena was our little haven for street hockey in the summer, oh boy we played some games there. There were a lot of hurt feelings and few hurt shins when we left that parking lot.”
Moog will be among the NHL alumni who will be on hand for the two days of fun and (hockey) games.
Inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall of Fame, fittingly located in the South Okanagan Events Centre, in 2000, Moog played 18 seasons in the NHL.
Activities will begin Saturday at the South Okanagan Events Centre starting at noon and going to 6 p.m.
During that time in the Scotiabank community locker room the local pro alumni, Moog, Mark Rycroft, Ross Fitzpatrick and Dave McLelland will be available. There will be a commemorative youth hockey jersey giveaway, bubble hockey and custom signage for local community leagues.
A special community legacy presentation will take place at 1 p.m. at Rogers Main Stage when Scotiabank will give $10,000 to Penticton Minor Hockey, $2,500 to Summerland Minor Hockey and $2,500 to South Okanagan Minor Hockey.
On Sunday, the show will run from noon to 10 p.m. starting in the locker room, which includes the Scotiabank Hot Stove interview with Moog and Kirk McLean from 12:30 to 1 p.m.
The Hometown Hockey viewing party hosted by popular sportscaster, author and television personality Ron MacLean featuring the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings is at 4:30 p.m.
Joining MacLean in the Sportsnet mobile studio for the live broadcast of the game will be two Penticton Minor Hockey players, Aiden Hutcheson and Zoe Konanz.
Also taking place on the two days will be live music, autograph signing with Moog and McLean, hockey circus show and Dr. Oetker puck stack.
Fans can also visit the Sportsnet Be a Broadcaster booth where they can make a video and tweet it for a chance to win VIP tickets to a 2016 Stanley Cup playoff game.