Hockey, Montreal

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Canadiens love winter sports, and in particular... HOCKEY! They are very serious about it! If you're here, and you have the chance, you should try to catch a match. You might run into several games on all of the ice rinks around town, but you can see the Montreal Canadiens play right here at the Bell Centre. Their nickname is "Habs," and their colors are red, white and blue. Go Habs!

Equipment: Layered clothing is always best in Canada. Buy a Montreal Canadiens jersey or T-shirt, and you'll really fit in!

Junior Hockey at it's best! Come encourage tomorrows stars! Junior hockey is VERY exiting because this is the last step before professional hockey so the young guys REALLY go at it! :)

And the best thing..no matter where you sit, the tickets are 10$ CANADIAN! How cheap can it get?? A great show, a great venue, a great sport for a really GREAT price
:)

P.S: They we're named after hockey legend and local hero : "Maurice "Rocket" Richard which wore the #9

Equipment: Beer?

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Montreal is the home of the NHL team, 100 year old this year (2009), the Montreal Canadiens. For years their home was the Montreal Forum but the new Bell Centre has been built and they have moved there. the old Forum now contains retail and exhibit space though you can see momentos of the old Forum there. The Bell Centre is a large modern arena that houses the Canadiens as well as other events such as concerts. It's actually not that easy to get tickets for a Canadiens game. You have to go to their site the day the tickets get released and get into a virtual queue. It sells out pretty quickly. This seems to be because many people buy tickets and season tickets and then resell them on eBay! Much as i hate putting money into the pockets of people that do that, it was the only way i was able to get two tickets. I set my limit to about what i would have paid anyway and though i suspect the auction got bumped up on purpose, i didn't pay more than i intended to.

There did seem to be tickets available on the night of the game, according to the sign outside the Bell Centre so you could take your chances but They could have been the most expensive seats. Anyway....

If you get tickets, it will be a great experience. There was a video and music show before the game to introduce you to the team's history and current players and they make a big deal of the team when they come out on the ice. Montreal fans are passionate about their hockey and are very engaged in the game. It was a real buzz for me! I no longer follow hockey but i used to and Montreal was "my" team so I really enjoyed this experience.

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Bell Center is where the Montreal Canadiens play......inside is a small shop to purchase Canadiens merchandise as well. store was hard to find though, best to enter through side entrance and not front entrance of bell center, at least that worked better for me.

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With 24 Stanley cups won, The Montreal Canadiens is the best hockey team in the world, period (the second best team in any sports after the New-York Yankees who won two more championships). Like many european cities where football (or what we call soccer here) is a religion, here it is hockey.

The Canadiens are hot this year and at the top of the NHL. Season 2006-2007 is still young but for the first time in recent memory, the unique team spirit is back (maybe in part because of Guy Carbonneau has the new head coach).

If you want to live something unique, treat yourself and reserve your tickets or go to La Cage aux sports...

Go habs go !

Equipment: A good tv set or a pair of good tickets or a place in any La Cage aux sports, a restaurant with many screens.

Name :
Le Canadien de Montréal (the franchise)
Les Canadiens de Montréal (the actual roster)
The Habs
Les Glorieux

Montreal takes a lot of space in the NHL's history, especially from the fifties to the early eighties. Twenty-four championships, number one in the history follwed by the Toronto Maple Leafs (both extremely patriotic names by the way, which created a very ironic situation in Quebec) with a far out thirteen Stanley Cups. Yet the Canadiens only won twice in the past twenty five years, both with Patrick Roy, as goalie in 1986 and 1993. He was introduced to the Hockey Hall of Fame on saturday november 11th 2006. It was a sad joke that the Leafs dominated the Habs and won 5-1 on the same night and city.

For these reasons, and a whole bunch more not mentionned, the Canadiens has became through the years the most important sport franchise in all Québec province. The franchise had many rivalries, rising the level of emotion to on an unprecedent level with the battle between the Canadiens and the Nordiques from Québec City, the province historical/political capital. The Boston Bruins and the Toronto Leafs are also two "natural ennemies". Now if the Colorado Avalanches (ex-Nordiques, popular destination for ex-quebecois hockey player scared away from Montréal) could play in our division... Because I am as you might have noticed a fan of this sport.

For the 2006-2007 season, Montreal is off with a good start (8 wins, 4 losses, 3 overtime/shootout losses). It's currently in 6th/15 position and third in it's division. The current hot teams are the Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Trashers, Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, Nasville Predators. Watch out for Pittsburgh and Washington, both building around some of the best rookies in the league, Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Semin.

http://www.nhl.com

Equipment: The Montreal Canadiens play at the Bell Center. It's a vast arena of 21,273 places and the games are often sold out.

Despite playing in Montreal's freezing winter, the Canadiens are the hottest sports ticket in town. This is not only because Montrealers are die-hard hockey fans, but because they have the most storied hockey team in North America: the Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup a record 24 times during their near 100-year history (nearly twice as often as the closest team, the hated Toronto Maple Leafs, who have won it 13 times).

However, ever since the franchise moved from the Montreal Forum (now the AMC Forum, a mishmash of entertainment and shopping venues) to its current home, the Bell Centre, in 1996, it has failed to win a championship. It is the longest drought in team history.

Despite the Canadiens' recent lack of success on the ice, tickets can be hard to find at the last minute. Fortunately, there are plenty of scalpers hanging around the Bell Centre on gameday. Just walk to the corner of De La Gauchetière and De La Montagne streets. With a little luck and sharp bargaining skills, you may even get a reasonable deal.

Tickets can also be purchased the traditional (and legit) way by phone through the Admission Network at 514-790-1245 or toll-free 1-800-361-4595.

The Bell Centre has been the home of the Montreal Canadiens since March 16, 1996, when the team departed from the historic Montreal Forum. It has the largest seating capacity of any arena in the NHL with a seating capacity of 21,273 persons.

Ok. Enough about the arena. The important thing is one of the most storied franchises in any sport plays out of this arena. The Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups and included such great players as Guy Lafleur, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Beliveau, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and the list goes on and on. The "Habs" have legions of fans around the country and we demand a great deal of them. Some cities think that their team is successful if they make the playoffs. Montreal demands championships. Take in a game and you will understand why Canadians across the country love hockey.

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I have already recommended the Montreal Canadiens hockey as a must see if you are in Montreal during those times. The Habs hockey experience is great because they love their hockey.

As a result the games are often sold out especially for big games. Like in one of my experiences the Habs where playing the Philadelphia Flyers. A very strong and competitive team. The game was sold out and I couldn't get a pair of tickets.

So two hours before the game I head toward the Bell Center and like most sporting events I guess you hear a lot of people yelling, "tickets! tickets! tickets!".

I didn't think they were aggressive but they do want to sell them that is for sure. I bargainned an managed to get a pair of tickets for $80 each. Down from $120. Try to get on the sides of the arena for a good view of the two way action. On the ends hockey arenas now place a safety net.

I have a couple of numbers of scalpers you could probably call if the weather is bad. 978-3949 for Kelly and Franco at 996-2785. I got a couple off of Franco who was there working with a partner. They would always confer with each other when I was negotiating.

They say if you wait until the game is started you will get the best prices but I would only do that if you were going alone. I don't know if you would get a pair at that point and not neccessarily much of a view either. They were scarce and going quickly when I was negotiating a couple of hours in advance.

So you sort of have to take your chances. They will usually tell you all they have available and they carry a map of the arena to show you where they are located so they were helpful that way.

Hockey's the # 1 sport here and the city's own hockey team Montreal Canadiens have done pretty well in NHL. Unfortunately, the poor players making only 5 billion a year are on strike because of the plans to reduce their salaries so that's why no hockey games can be seen this season. But when the league starts again, be sure to go and see a match! The feeling among the spectators is amazing, especially on the cheapest sections high up. Go habs go!

Equipment: Just bring your voice and make sure to use it! And cheer for Saku Koivu ;) (he's Finnish!)