TSU! NA! MI!
Are you ready to ride the wave?
The Coastal Tsunami is playing its first ever regular season hometown game this upcoming Saturday at the Gibsons & Area Community Centre after back-to-back wins against Abbotsford and North Vancouver last week.
It was just last August when Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL) commissioner Trevor Alto announced the Sunshine Coast team was joining the league in September 2024.
In 2021, a group headed up by Rick Hopper and Stu Frizzell, representing local business owner Julie Reeves and investor John Hulstein, approached the PJHL with a proposal to bring Junior Hockey to the Sunshine Coast. After many discussions, projections, planning and test games, the PJHL board of governors gave the group the go ahead and the Coastal Tsunami was born.
Giancarlo Nadeau, director of marketing, media and sales for the Tsunami, says everyone has been working “super hard,” to get to this point. He notes there are many people involved who deserve recognition and thanks, including Reeves, Frizzell, members of the Sunshine Coast Junior Hockey Society and more.
“Saturday night will be all about them and then all about the community as well, because it's a community team. We're just super excited to get out there and make sure everybody gets the recognition that they deserve,” says Nadeau.
As for the team, Nadeau says the players are ready. He notes the leadership team was recently chosen and includes alternate captain, hometown boy Eric Stinson, captain and goaltender Nick Peters from the Powell River Kings who played the last three seasons with the Campbell River Storm, and alternate captain Nate Hughes, (6’4”, 208 pounds) who spent last season with the Oceanside Generals and the former North Okanagan Knights (now the Quesnel River Rush).
A big change coming to the rink is new seating. Instead of general admission as was the previous case at the arena, many of the bleachers were taken out and replaced with numbered bucket seating, so each ticket purchased is attached to a seat or specific area.
“So, standing glass is the cheapest ticket, then there’s the bleacher seating, which is the next price up,” explains Nadeau. “And then it goes to bucket seats and then it'll go to standing bar, which is behind the bucket seats, and then our most expensive ticket is our club seating.”
The club seating has designated servers who will not only take drink orders but also head out to the food trucks available during each game to bring in snacks and meals so fans don’t have to. Tsunami beer is also available for purchase.
The puck is set to drop at 5 p.m., Sept. 14, but the festivities will begin much earlier. Nadeau didn’t want to give too much away, but added there are some special additions to this inaugural event, including some dignitaries involved with the opening face off, player introductions, a photo booth and post-game autographs. Of course, Coastal Tsunami merchandise will be available for purchase.
The Tsunami is also looking for rising stars and superstars to perform the national anthem at their games, in front of a crowd of more than 500 hockey fans. As well, the team is looking for performers to entertain the crowd during games and an on-ice host to keep the excitement going.
Nadeau said ticket sales have been great, but there are a few left and the game is expected to sell out.
For tickets and more information about the Coastal Tsunami, visit coastalhockey.ca. And, don’t forget to practice that hockey chant, just in time for the game -- TSU! NA! MI!
