Hooray … Hockey! Hockey … Hooray!!

That’s Hockey, a picture book by David Bouchard. Being a Canadian prairie boy, David Bouchard knows about hockey. That’s Hockey, engages us in the warm camaraderie of a pickup game. The twist at the end may make you smile or laugh out loud. Heads up… there is a Montreal Canadiens jersey involved. Speaking of the Montreal Canadiens, The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier, is a Canadian classic must read. Take time to enjoy the wonderful illustrations that support the humour so well. This 24-page book is in the children’s fiction collection.

Everyone can use a little magic, especially if it comes in second-hand skates that have three brand new wishes. If you give it your all, wishes can come true. Yes, there are Canadiens jerseys in this book too.

The Magic Hockey Skates by Allen Morgan is also in the fiction section, but is a great 32 page read aloud, with large, colourful illustrations on every page.

Skating on the Rink of Dreams? Learn more about the Ottawa Senators, who contributed so much to it. Learn about the team, its history, records set, star Senators and try brain teasers too. This is a 24 page non-fiction book for young children. It has large font and photographs, as well as a glossary and index to teach research skills. You cannot start too early! Ottawa Senators by Don Cruickshank Juv 796.962 OTTAW-C

Hockey players dream of winning the Stanley Cup. Lizzy dreams of being a champion figure skater. It does not take long for Lizzy to realize, just as hockey players do, that she needs to practice, practice, practice! Bailey is another Canadian author with a passion for skating.

The Best Figure Skater in the Whole Wide World, a picture book by Linda Bailey.

Sam the Zamboni Man is a collaborative effort of American author James Stevenson and his artist son Harvey. Together they have created a warm story of a young boy’s visit with his grand-father. Grandfather is Sam, former hockey player, now Zamboni driver. Grandson Matt is in awe of both man and machine. But best of all, Sam promises to teach Matt how to skate!

Speedy Sens Giveaway: Tickets to Florida Panthers this Thursday! {CLOSED}

Thank you for coming by - this giveaway is now closed to new entries. Winner will be announced Wednesday, December 21, 2011. GO SENS GO!

We have a set of four tickets to give away for this Thursday night's game between the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers. It's the perfect pre-Christmas activity for you and your family!

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment on this post telling us what your favourite concessions treat is (pretzels, pizza, Beaver Tails - anything!) and you're in. Your comment must be received by 8:00pm, Tuesday, December 20, 2011. We'll close comments at 8:00pm so we can do a random draw and the winner will be announced tomorrow on the blog. We will contact the winner tomorrow to arrange a pickup location for the tickets.

So, what IS your favourite concessions treat at Sens games?

Family Fun with the Ottawa Senators

by Anna When I was asked if our family would like to attend an Ottawa Senators game and share all about it, I was thrilled. Neither of our children had been to an NHL game but both loved the idea of it. We were invited to watch a preseason game where Ottawa played Montreal. The kids were excited and my Husband treated our son to a very special privilege. He brought out his Ottawa Senators Jersey that his own Father had bought at the very first game of the New Ottawa Senators 20 years ago, when Ottawa played Montreal on October 8th, 1992 and won. That being said, our daughter had outgrown her jersey so we did make a purchase that night so both kids would be decked out in all their finery.

We made sure to arrive early as there was lots to be seen an do prior to the game. There was a tent set up with a band, a bounce house and blow up slide. There was face painting and 50/50 tickets. We made sure to enjoy all of it! Since it was their first experience we wanted to make sure it was memorable. After our turn on the slides we made sure to head inside early so we could could have a slice of pizza for supper. While enjoying out pizza we actually had a lady come up and talk to us to see if we needed anything. She was part of the hospitality team and was there to make sure our visit to Scotiabank place for a Sens game was all we wanted it to be, this was a nice touch. We also made sure we bought 50/50 tickets because you just never know when your number might come up and the other 50 goes towards such great causes through the Sens Foundation.

The kids quickly chose their favorite players from the roster that was handed out that night and decided who they were going to cheer on. And cheer they did! We actually thought that our daughter might fall asleep, but she made it to the very end before crashing in the car on the ride home. The Senators started out strong at the beginning and were leading for quite sometime then Montreal showed up and the game ended in a tie. And unfortunately when there is a tie game it goes to a shoot-out and Montreal happened to win the shoot-out. So for our first hockey night for the family we didn't get to see the Sens win. But that's ok, it just means that we will have to go back again soon to watch another one.

A family can easily afford a night out at a game in Ottawa, although not quite as inexpensive as a movie, I would say that you get a lot more bang for your buck! You can purchase tickets in the Coca-Cola Zero Zone starting at $15 each. If you bring your car you will need to pay for parking which was $11 in the lot we parked in. And if you would like to get a drink or some snacks, I would say to bring at least another $30 depending on what you would like to have. So a family of four can easily attend a game for $100.

We look forward to our next family adventure with the Ottawa Senators.

Anna is a Mom of two (4 & 8 ) and Step-Mom to one (19), owner of Anna Epp Photography and also blogs at Life is Good...At the Beach.