Seven buses from Big White Ski Resort carrying 378 fans from all over the world helped cheer the Kelowna Rockets to a 4-3 overtime victory against the Lethbridge Hurricanes yesterday evening.
The majority of the fans are originally from Australia and New Zealand who don’t get a chance to experience hockey in their home countries.
And when Cal Foote scored the overtime winner for the Rockets assisted by fellow Team Canada World Junior teammate, Dillon Dube, the crowd went nuts, led by the loud cheering of the hundreds of guest from Big White.
“They’re great fans and bring life to our game,” said Bruce Hamilton, president of the Kelowna Rockets Hockey Club.
International guests at Big White sign up to attend Rocket’s games in droves to have the authentic Canadian experience of watching hockey.
“With a large portion of the guests in January travelling from Australia and New Zealand, this is an experience they won’t find close to home and even though they might not follow the game as closely as Canadians, they will undoubtedly be cheering the loudest,” said Rob Crichton, sales manager at Big White Ski Resort.
So far this year 1,320 Big White guests have attended Rockets games with buses booked for four more games throughout February and March.
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