Under the bright lights of the Meridian Centre, the Brock Badgers will lay it all on the line next week for their hometown crowd. While they\u2019ll be vying for a win, the team\u2019s biggest goal at the Steel Blade Classic will be giving fans an unforgettable night of hockey.<\/p>\n
Known for its electric atmosphere, the annual Steel Blade showdown will see the Badgers face off against the Guelph Gryphons Friday, Sept. 18 with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Part of Brock\u2019s Homecoming celebrations<\/u><\/a>, the event brings together the University and Niagara communities for what is considered one of the most highly anticipated games of the year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a moment Alex Blanchard has been waiting for.<\/p>\n Although this is the first season the Modern Languages student is suiting up for the Badgers, he\u2019s long heard about the unmatched energy the game brings to downtown St. Catharines.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to finally being a part of it, especially getting to experience the atmosphere, compete against Guelph and represent Brock in front of my hometown crowd,\u201d says the defenceman.<\/p>\n The Pelham native says playing in front of his community at the biggest arena in the region holds special meaning \u2014 and he\u2019s not alone. This year\u2019s men\u2019s Badgers hockey team includes eight local players who grew up skating in Niagara\u2019s rinks.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up playing hockey in Niagara, the Brock University men\u2019s hockey program was something that many young players looked up to and hoped to play for one day,\u201d Blanchard says. \u201cTo now have the opportunity to wear the Badgers jersey and represent my hometown in front of friends, family and the local hockey community makes this game especially meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s that connection to community that has made the Steel Blade a \u201ccan\u2019t miss\u201d event since the inaugural faceoff in 1999, says Melissa Krist, Executive Director of Brock Sports and Recreation.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s more than a Brock tradition; it\u2019s a proud Niagara tradition \u2014 one that showcases the passion, excitement and energy of university sport,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you haven\u2019t experienced it for yourself, this is your year.\u201d<\/p>\n Tickets for the Steel Blade Classic are available on Ticketmaster<\/u><\/a>\u00a0for $35.\u00a0Brock graduates are invited to purchase an Alumni Ticket<\/u><\/a>, which includes exclusive VIP access to the Alumni Club Level fourth-floor lounge featuring premium bird’s-eye view seating, access to a private bar and complimentary club-level food offerings. For those looking to enhance their game-day experience, an Alumni Package is also available that includes all Alumni Ticket benefits, plus four Alumni Club Level tickets and one commemorative Brock Badgers hockey jersey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Under the bright lights of the Meridian Centre, the Brock Badgers will lay it all on the line next week for their hometown crowd. While they\u2019ll be vying for a win, the team\u2019s biggest goal at the Steel Blade Classic will be giving fans an unforgettable night of hockey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,9794,7484,3319,4052,4767,1,58],"tags":[283,4437,11845,4359,4326],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111513"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111515,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111513\/revisions\/111515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}