Day 2 - Let the tournament begin...

After breakfast at their billette's houses, the players were dropped off at the Colisee by 8am. Many of them looked a little tired and glassy eyed. The first thing they needed to do was get credentialed and receive their VIP passes, which grants them entrance into the Colisee. Immediately following, they departed in the tournament vans for Arena Rejean Lemelin for the exhibition game against the NY Islanders PW99AAA.

The boys gather near the player entrance and wait for the tournament vans to pick them up

Once they arrive at the rink, they depart the vans gather their equipment which was brought over from the Colisee on the cargo truck and go outside for pre-game warmups.

Warmed up, it was time to go to the locker room and get ready to play some hockey!

Well...keep in mind that our players had just travelled 1000+ miles, were still a little jet-lagged, were not used to the 3 hour difference and the NY Islanders were in the Elite AAA division...for we lost 0-11.

After the game...the players headed back to the Colisee, where they did a little souvenir shopping as well as enjoying some of the food the Colisee had to offer. They also watched a couple of the tournament games going on inside. Around noon, Coach Sean and Coach Robert rounded them up and they headed over to the Tournament Cafeteria where the players and coaches can enjoy nutritious meals. Afterwards they headed to one of the best hockey equipment shops in Quebec and then back to the Colisee, where they hung out (watching games, trading pins, etc) until they were picked up by their billete families.

While the game today didn't have the kind of outcome we would hope for, the players have experienced playing hockey in Quebec and hopefully worked out some of the tournament nerves they might have. They also have a better feel for what their days may be like and have gotten to know their new families. So, it was a good day!

Jusqu'à demain. Au revoir.

(Until tomorrow...good-bye)