Johnstown’s Cambria County War Memorial has been named one of ten finalists in Kraft Hockeyville, a national contest sponsored by Kraft, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players Association. The competition seeks to reward the most passionate hockey community in the United States with $150,000 in rink upgrades and the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game.
The announcement was made on the national television broadcast of NBC’s “NHL Live” Saturday afternoon. Johnstown and the other nine finalists now advance to the first of three voting rounds, with each community rallying to cast as many votes as possible between Tuesday, April 14, and Thursday, April 16.
Johnstown led the nation with 2,471 nominations received during the first phase of the competition, which began Jan. 1 and ended March 18. Judges reviewed each nomination to select the ten finalists, with community pride, passion for hockey, and creativity/originality serving as the three primary criteria.
Prior to the announcement, a number of Johnstown schools, businesses and other organizations have held a range of rallies and public events to bring excitement and awareness to the contest.
The contest divides the ten finalists into East and West categories. The top two vote-getters from each category will advance to the second round next week. The final round of voting, set for April 27-29, will pit the top second round vote-getter from each category against each other for the chance to be named Kraft Hockeyville.
All finalists in the contest are guaranteed a minimum of $20,000 in committee-approved rink upgrades. The prize escalates to $40,000 for those advancing to the second round, and to $75,000 for the national runner-up.
Votes can be cast by clicking on Johnstown’s link at KraftHockeyville.com, calling toll free 1-855-255-5975, or by texting “Cambria” to 35350. Individuals can vote 50 times per method, per day.
Additional information can be found at JohnstownTomahawks.com and at the Johnstown Hockeyville Facebook page.