The rematch is set! The Prairie Classic will see the Calgary Hitmen will face off against the Regina Pats on October 27th at Mosaic Stadium in Regina. This will be the day after the NHL’s Heritage Classic which will see the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets play in the first ever NHL regular season game in Regina.
This is the third outdoor game for the WHL, the second in Canada. The first took place in Spokane, WA at Avista Stadium, a minor league baseball park, on Janurary 15, 2011. The game saw the hometown Chiefs beat the Kootenay ICE 11-2 in front of 7,075 fans.
On February 21, 2011, the Calgary Hitmen hosted the Regina Pats in the Face-Off in the Foothills. Chandler Stephenson scored with less than a minute to go in the third period to win the game for the Pats 3-2. It was played at McMahon stadium with 20,888 in attendance. That set the WHL & CHL record for most attended game. This game also piggy-backed an NHL Heritage Classic game where the Montreal Canadiens visited the Calgary Flames.
The announced ticket price is $18.50 for general seating tickets, which is very reasonable. In 2011 the game in Calgary was $25, and it attracted a very good crowd. Season ticket holders of the Pats will have this game included at no extra cost. The Pats tried hosting an outdoor game during the 2017-18 season, but it was moved back into the Brandt Centre for various reasons. The tickets were much more expensive due to the fact that the Pats were going to have to bear the brunt of the full cost of the game. This time they can piggy-back off the NHL game and assume little cost. Tickets will go on sale to the general public August 29 at 10am.
Regina Pats COO Stacey Cattell announced that the game will be a celebration of the Canadian Forces. The Pats annually host a military appreciation night so this year the outdoor game will be honouring all levels in the military not just the PPCLI, with whom the Pats are named after.
