After a long and close race, Ituna was named the Kraft Hockeyville 2017 runner-up. O鈥橪eary, P.E.I won the first place prize.
However, Karla Sauve of the Hockeyville organizing committee in Ituna said second place was still a victory for the town.
鈥淓veryone is just taking away the positives 鈥� I haven鈥檛 heard any negativity,鈥� said Sauve. 鈥淓veryone is just so proud of how much we鈥檝e accomplished in such a little time. As a community, we pulled together.鈥�
The winner was announced on Saturday evening. Waiting for the results, crowds gathered together in Ituna. Even after they learned they hadn鈥檛 won first place, Sauve said everyone still stayed out to celebrate well into the early morning.
As the runner-up, Ituna will still receive $100,000 towards upgrades at the Ituna Arena. Sauve said they鈥檙e adding that to their fundraising account, which they will keep building until they have enough for a new arena.
Ituna was picked out of approximately 3,000 towns in Canada to be a top two finalist in the Kraft Hockeyville 2017 competition. Although it鈥檚 a small town, it has received huge support from big names.
Among those were former NHL player and Saskatchewanian Jarret Stoll, who tweeted his support for the town. His partner Erin Andrews, who is a well-known television host, showed her support on Twitter as well.
Sauve said recognition from those stars gave them an extra boost of confidence in their race.
鈥淚鈥檓 literally getting chills just thinking about it again,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wish we could measure the impact of that somehow - the way it rippled out to everybody.鈥�
The victory for O鈥橪eary ensures them $100,000 towards rink upgrades, as well as the opportunity to host a preseason NHL game. The proceeds from that game will also go towards arena upgrades.
As the whole experience winds down, Sauve said they鈥檙e so thankful of all the support they received.
鈥淲e just really appreciate everybody,鈥� she added.
