REGINA - If you couldn’t be at the 2023 World Juniors Hockey Championship gold medal game in Halifax, the Brandt Centre in Regina was the next best place.
The home arena of the Regina Pats played host a gold medal watch party for fans on Thursday night. Admission was free for fans watching the live feed of Team Canada taking on Team Czechia in the gold medal game from Halifax.
The game itself featured major Pats storylines. Leading the way for Team Canada was Pats phenom Connor Bedard, whose scoring heroics have dazzled Canadian fans at the World Juniors. Already Bedard had set a record for Canada for most career points scored by any player at the World Juniors, surpassing Eric Lindros. Bedard also scored the overtime game winner Monday night against Slovakia.
But Team Czechia also had a Pats connection, as defenceman Stanislav Svozil leads the team as their captain. Either way, one Pat player will be coming home to Regina with a gold medal.
The game was set to begin shortly after 5:30 p.m. Regina time. Doors opened at 5 p.m. with the Brandt Centre offering a five-dollar happy hour deal on food and beverages all night. The Regina Pats were giving away 100 free silver ticket vouchers to the first 100 people in attendance at the game.