Lucan turns green in pursuit of Kraft Hockeyville title

LucanMayorCathy Burghardt-Jessonall anyone can talk about in her town this week is hockey.

But it's not the fate of the local LucanIrish that has people talking.

It's the town's run to the final four of the Kraft Hockeyville contest.

Lucan, with a population of just under 5,000 people, is going up against the following communities:

• High River, Alta.
• Lafleche, Sask.
• Huntingdon, Que.

The prize? A total of $250,000 to upgrade the town's arena.

Everyone's talking

"It is the talk of Lucan," saidBurghardt-Jesson. "You can't go into any store, gas station Tim Hortons without someone speaking about it from one end of the town to another, it is the topic of conversation."

People can place their votes starting Friday and by Saturday night, the winner will be named.

Burghardt-Jessonsays the town has painted itself green in honour of the colours of Lucan's local teams, named The Lucan Irish.

"People are putting bows on their mailboxes and hanging jerseys on their mailboxes, they're getting right into it. It's great to see people coming together about this."

What's at stake

Being a Kraft Hockeyville finalist guarantees Lucan $25,000 for arena improvements, plus $10,000 worth of hockey equipment from the National Hockey League Player's Association.

But Burghardt-Jesson says the people of Lucan have their eye on the big prize: $250,000 for arena upgrades, as well as the chance to host an NHL pre-season game.

Voting closes at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and the winning community will be announced during the first intermission of Hockey Night in Canada's late night west coast game.