Places like Ituna, Humboldt, Wilcox and Lafleche have tried to win the Kraft Hockeyville contest since it was introduced in 2006, but none have been able to secure the designation.  On Saturday, the town of Pense, about 35 kilometres west of Regina, is hoping to become the first Saskatchewan community to win the promotion.

Pense is one of four finalists for the contest which sees the winning community get $250,000 for rink upgrades along with the right to host an NHL exhibition game.

Graeme Crosbie is the one who organized the town’s bid and says they have already received $25,000 for being one of the final four, but they want more.

“To me and the board, I know that some would think getting into the top four as saying hey, you’ve already won, but I don’t think the mission has been accomplished quite yet.” Crosbie said. “Getting this title would mean a couple of things for the town,  one would be to get the necessary repairs to the rink while the second thing would be to put our minds to rest knowing the fundraising we have done has been great and that we could now fundraise for what we want to do instead of what we need to do to keep the kids playing hockey here for the next 30 years.  2020 has been a weird year, but we could be proud by saying we were the first town in Saskatchewan to be named Hockeyville.”

Crosbie says win or lose, it has been something that has had the whole town talking and has united the town behind one common cause.

“The town is super-excited.” Crosbie said. “When we started this endeavour, we didn’t know what would happen, but now the town has rallied around us and it has led to some initiatives planned for Friday morning.  It has exploded not just here, but across the province.  It’s incredible.”

Voting gets underway at 7:00 AM Saskatchewan Friday and runs until 4:00 PM Saturday afternoon.  The winner will be announced Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada.