The puck drops on Sept. 10 and it’s the community as well as area non-profits that will reap the benefits.

Lloydminster and area hockey fans are thrilled with the return of the Boundary Battle of Alberta, in partnership with the Boundary Ford Gives , announced on Tuesday morning at the Ford dealership.

The inaugural Boundary Battle of Alberta was hosted at the Centennial Civic Centre in 2019 with the Calgary Flames alumni facing off against the Edmonton Oilers alum. 

The Flames and Oilers alum will make their return to the Border City in September and proceeds from this year’s charity game will be split between the Lloydminster Region Health Foundation (LRHF), the Lloydminster Rescue Squad and the Lloydminster Bobcats Junior A hockey team.

Roughly $100,000 was raised during the 2019 game and all proceeds went to support the LRHF’s mental health initiative, Project Sunrise. 

“Boundary Ford Gives is an element of our dealership that allows us to support our community through monetary donations to non-profits and organizations that are in need of funding through events and initiatives that have a positive impact on our community.”

Tuesday’s announcement saw former NHLers Jamie Macoun representing the Flames and Kevin Lowe representing the Oilers in attendance to help build up the buzz, as they know the importance of giving back to community, specifically the sports community.

“It’s critical,” said Lowe. “We all recognize that, but you quickly understand it when you become a professional athlete that, it doesn’t exist without the support of the fans and sponsors, and if you make it to the NHL level, you’ve obviously done fairly well for yourself, so you’re respectful and appreciative of that, but you realize you have a lot to give back.”

Macoun, who grew up in a small town in Ontario, echoed Lowe’s remarks on giving back to the community and added that Lloydminster feels like a big small town. 

“You got people that want to give back, and they have a history of giving back, Boundary Ford is a great example of that,” said Macoun, who also played in the 2019 game and had a great time.

“We quite enjoyed ourselves and we love being able to contribute. I know the rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary has never been stronger and we love the idea of playing against Edmonton.”

 The Flames will once again be bringing players to the likes of Theo Fleury as well as Curtis Glencross, Ric Nattress, Dougie Gilmour, and tender Brent Krahn.

The Oilers have already committed Ales Hemsky, Kyle Brodziak, Ladislav Šmíd, Eric Gryba, Cory Cross, Raffi Torres and tender Joaquin Gage.