Meridian Centre secures hockey championship

The brand new Meridian Centre, which will have an official opening ceremony this Saturday, is already paying off for St. Catharines and the Niagara region. Hockey Canada announced today that St. Catharines will host the Under-18 Women’s World Hockey Championship in 2016.

The 2016 Under-18 Women’s World Championship in St. Catharines will be the second time Canada has hosted this tournament. The first time was the inaugural event in Calgary, back in 2008. That was also the first time Olympic gold medalist Natalie Spooner ever represented Canada.

A moment she’ll never forget: “All 23 of us were all in the locker room and it was all of our first time playing since it was the first ever Under-18’s and we all got to put on the jersey at exactly the same time and I remember we were all so excited to just get on the ice.”

There’s no question that fans will see some future Olympians here at the Meridian Centre in 2016. Sixteen women, including Spooner — who took part in the gold medal game at the Sochi Olympics — previously competed at the Under-18 World Championships.

Canada has struck gold in four of the last five Under-18 World Championships. Last year’s NCAA Female Hockey Player of the Year Jamie Lee Rattray, was part of the 2010 winning team: “I know when i was selected to play at these tournaments you were counting down the days until you were going and didn’t want it to end because it is the epitome for women’s hockey.”

Karen Phibbs, Hockey Canada board of directors: “Hockey Canada believes that the 2016 Under-18 IIHF Championships here in St. Catharines will set a new standard for this event.”

It will also create an economic impact of $4.2 million dollars in the city of St. Catharines during the week long tournament which will be held at the beginning of January 2016.