Pense falls short in bid to be Kraft Hockeyville

Pense’s push to be the next Hockeyville has fallen short.

The town just west of Regina lost the title of Kraft Hockeyville to the community of Twillingate, N.L., in online voting that was conducted Friday and Saturday.

Saskatchewan has yet to produce a winner in the contest since it began in 2006.

Pense and Twillingate were joined in the final four by Tyne Valley, P.E.I., and Saint-Felicien, Que.

Twillingate will receive $250,000 to help repair its arena and also earned the right to play host to an NHL exhibition game.

Voting opened Friday at 7 a.m., and concluded Saturday at 4 p.m. Twillingate’s victory was announced during the first period of Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada telecast.

Pense’s residents were all in during the campaign, decorating the town with signs and other memorabilia.

There was even an unofficial mascot — Noodle Boy — who became the face of the campaign.

Pense’s rink board already had raised more than $100,000 as it looks to replace aging infrastructure in the facility. More fundraising now will need to be done to help make those plans come to fruition.