How to Go to a Hockey Game in New Brunswick, Canada

Next Friday, the most popular team in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, will host the Charlottetown Islanders.

Yes, the QMJHL may, and does, also include teams from Atlantic Canada, a.k.a. the Maritime Provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Yes, it's called New Brunswick. No, aside from the name, it has no connection with the New Jersey city that's home to Rutgers University.

I originally had this set for February 28, for their March 7 home game against their Provincial rivals, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. But the weather on that day was forecast to be nasty: "Snow of varying intensity" through the day and low 20s by night. So I moved it back.

Before You Go. New Brunswick is in Canada, so you will need a passport. And you will need to change your money. At last check, US$1.00 = C$1.32, and C$1.00 = US 76 cents. And I advise you to call your bank and let them know that you will be in a foreign country, so they won't see credit or debit card purchases from a foreign country pop up and think your card has been stolen.

The Maritime Provinces, a.k.a. Atlantic Canada, are 1 hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. So a game starting at 7:00 PM their time would by 6:00 our time. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

Saint John -- usually spelled out, unlike the Newfoundland capital, which usually gets shortened to "St. John's" and has the apostrophe-S on the end -- is in Canada, and this is winter. It's also a seafront city, where wind can be an issue. On Friday, the temperatures are expected to be in the mid-30s by day, and the mid-teens by night, but it's also expected to be the 3rd of 7 straight days with no new snow, so it's a big improvement over my original plan, for the Tuesday night game. Still, bundle up.

Also, remember that they use the metric system. A speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour means 62 miles an hour. And don't be fooled by the seemingly low gas prices: That's per liter, not per gallon, and, in spite of Canada being a major oil-producing nation, you'll actually be paying more for gas up there. So, in order to avoid both confusion and "sticker-shock," get your car filled up before you reach the border.

Tickets. Their arena seats 6,308 people. This is a minor-league game, and not against a Provincial rival, so they probably won't sell out. You should be able to get a ticket. Seats are C$29 between the goals and C$19 behind them.

Getting There. St. John, New Brunswick is 607 miles from Times Square, and 71 miles from the nearest border crossing, at Calais, Maine. Air Canada can fly you from New York to Montreal and then to Saint John International Airport, but it would cost over $1,000 round-trip, and your flight back would have to be at 5:15 AM. No good. VIA Rail goes there, but not on the day you'd need. On Greyhound, you'd first have to get to Montreal. There's 1 bus each day, each way, between Montreal and Saint John: Outbound, leaving 9:30 PM and arriving 2:40 PM; inbound, leaving 3:40 PM and arriving 12:05 AM; cost, C$273. That's nuts.

So it looks like you'll have to drive. Start out as if you're going to Boston: Take Interstate 95 North to New Haven. Take Exit 48, Interstate 91 North to Hartford. Take Exit 30, Interstate 84 East into Massachusetts. You'll merge with Interstate 90 East, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and take that until you reach Interstate 495, Boston's outer beltway.

But instead of continuing on the Mass Pike to Boston, take Exit 11A onto I-495 North, into Boston's northern suburbs, until you reunite with I-95 North at Salisbury, just before reaching the New Hampshire State Line. You'll cross New Hampshire and go into Maine. Take Exit 182A onto U.S. Route 1A, turn left on State Route 46, right on State Route 9, then follow this rural route all the way to Baring, where you'll meet up with U.S. Route 1. Turn left at International Avenue, and you'll reach the Border.

Don't get cute. Show your passport. If they ask for any other ID, show them that. If you have anything that could be considered a weapon, even a pair of nail clippers, it's probably best to mention that. Don't make any wiseass remarks about Canada. When they ask you your purpose for visiting Canada, tell them you' re visiting Halifax as a tourist. (That is the truth.) Presuming you don't do or say anything stupid, you should get across with no trouble.

International Avenue becomes New Brunswick Provincial Route 1. Take this to Exit 122, which will put you on Main Street. Almost immediately, turn right on Union Street, then right on Smythe Street, then right on Long Wharf, which becomes Station Street. The arena will be on your left.

If all goes well, you should be in New York State (not counting Manhattan) for half an hour, in Connecticut for 2 hours, in Massachusetts for an hour and 15 minutes, New Hampshire for 15 minutes, Maine for 4 hours and 45 minutes, Customs for 15 minutes or less, and New Brunswick for an hour and 15 minutes. Given rest stops in Connecticut and just after arriving in Maine, it should take about 12 hours.

Once In the City. Like the New Jersey city of the same name, which is home to Rutgers University, the Canadian Province of New Brunswick is named for the German city of Braunschweig. This was the hometown of Britain's King George I, who reigned from 1714 to 1727, and his House of Hanover, which continued under all 4 King Georges, King William IV, and Queen Victoria until her death in 1901.

Home to around 750,000 people, New Brunswick is about 22 percent Francophone, but only about 5,000 French-first people live in and around Saint John. The Province's license plates do say both "New Brunswick" and "Nouveau Brunswick." The Province is about 96 percent white, with scattered black, Asian and Aboriginal/Native/First Nations people. There are less than 800 Hispanic people in the Province. The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is 15 percent. All New Brunswick mailing addresses have a Postal Code that begins with E. The Area Code is 506.

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain founded Saint John in 1604, naming it for John the Baptist. It is home to about 67,000. Just last year, Moncton surpassed Saint John to become the Province's largest city, with 71,000 people. (Like New Brunswick, New Jersey, Moncton is known as the "Hub City.")

Saint John is "Canada's Irish City," as a result of taking so many immigrants during the Irish Potato Famine of the late 1840s. But Protestants (including Irish) still out number Catholics. 47 percent to 40.

The capital of New Brunswick is Fredericton, 68 miles northwest of Saint John, and home to 56,000 people. The drinking age in New Brunswick is 19. Its leading newspaper is the Saint John-based Telegraph-Journal.

Saint John Transit runs the bus service in town (no rail, either above or below ground, local or commuter), and fares, depeinding on distance, range from C$2.50 to C$3.50. Bay Ferries runs a ferry service across the Bay of Fundy from Saint John to Digby, Nova Scotia. The Province has no beltway.

There is no "centerpoint" (or "centrepoint") for street addresses, but address numbers go up heading north and east. Like many Canadian cities, Saint John has a climate-controlled walkway, in their case above-ground, known as the Inside Connection. The arena is connected to it.

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, in Fredericton

Going In. Harbour Station bills itself as "Atlantic Canada's Enetertainment Centre!" With 6,308 seats for hockey, 7,305 for basketball, and 7,586 for concerts, it opened in 1993, at 99 Station Street, at the intersection of Sewell Street. Parking is only C$3.00. The Saint John Sea Dogs, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, were founded in 2005, as the successors to the American Hockey League's Saint John Flames (1993-2003).

You're most likely going to enter from the west or south, since the north is bordered by Route 1 and a railroad. The rink is aligned southwest-to-northeast.

The Saint John Mill Rats were a founding franchise of the National Basketball League of Canada, in 2011, and they also set up shop at the Harbour Station, changing their name to the Saint John Riptide this season, renaming themselves for the nearby Bay of Fundy, famous for having the world's highest tides. The arena survived a small fire shortly before a Mill Rats game in 2014.

Food. The arena's website says only that, "Food services are available at 7 locations on the concourse, including TIM HORTON'S." (Emphasis theirs, not mine.) In other words, you may be better off eating before and after the game, rather than during.

Team History Displays. The Sea Dogs won the President's Cup, the QMJHL championship, and the Memorial Cup, the championship of Canadian junior hockey, in 2011. They won the President's Cup again in 2012. They have also won Division Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016. They have banners for all of these achievements.

They have no retired numbers. The former Sea Dog that Devils fans would most easily recognize is former New Jersey defenseman Eric Gelinas, now in the Colorado Avalanche's minor-league system.

Harbour Station also honors (or "honours") the Saint John Flames, for their 2001 AHL title, the Calder Cup; and its 1998 Division and Conference titles.

UPDATE: In 2018, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, playing out of Bathurst in the QMHJL, became the 2nd team from New Brunswick to win the Memorial Cup.

Stuff. Being a minor-league team, the Sea Dogs don't have a large team store, only a few souvenir stands. There are no books or videos about them.

During the Game. Your safety will not be an issue. The people of Saint John won't be bothered by a New Yorker showing up, especially if he's going to, as they say in another sport, root, root, root for the home team.

The Sea Dogs hold auditions for National Anthem singers, as opposed to having a regular. A "sea dog" is a seal, and the team's original mascot was a black seal named Splash.

Splash

However, in 2009, Fleaburn, the dog mascot of the departed Flames (his name a play on the fire theme), was brought back. Though why his hat resembles a basketball more than a hockey puck is a mystery.

Fleaburn, you dog.

After the Game. As with your entry, your exit is most likely to be by the west or south entrances. But there aren't many places nearby to get a postgame meal, or even a pint. Vito's, at 2 Peel Plaza (Union Street and Chipman Hill), was the only place that even showed up on Google Maps. You may have to go further east on Union Street to find a place.

Rocky's Sports Bar, at 7 Market Square (corner of St. Patrick and King Streets), is 5 blocks from the arena, and is said to be the best sports bar in the Province.

Sidelights. There is one other pro hockey team in New Brunswick. The Moncton Wildcats play at the Moncton Coliseum, built in 1973, about 90 miles to the northeast. They won the QMJHL title in 2006 and 2010. The Coliseum is also the home of the Moncton Miracles, of the National Basketball League of Canada, arch-rivals of the Saint John Riptide.

Moncton Coliseum

Professional baseball and soccer are not particularly big in New Brunswick. Indeed, a website titled Canadian Soccer Blog couldn't find a single bar in the Province to add to its The Ultimate Guide to Canadian Soccer Pubs, although the aforementioned Rocky's was cited on another page.

However, Moncton Stadium, opened in 2010 on the campus of the Universite de Moncton, hosted 7 matches of the 2015 Women's World Cup, including a Round of 16 match in which Australia eliminated Brazil. With 10,000 permanent seats, but expandable to up to 20,725, it's hosted 3 regular-season games in the Canadian Football League's "Touchdown Atlantic" series.

Moncton Stadium, with temporary end-zone bleachers

and the CFL's notorious 25-yards-deep end zones

taking out the curves of the running track

UPDATE: The Canadian Premier League, an attempt at a top-flight soccer league for the country, was founded in mid-2017, with the hopes of beginning play in Spring 2019. A team could be established to play at Moncton Stadium.

Other colleges in the Province include the University of New Brunswick, with campuses (campii?) in Saint John and Fredericton; and Mount Allison University, 120 miles to the northeast in Sackville,

Neither Elvis Presley nor The Beatles ever performed in the Province of New Brunswick. Harbour Station remains the Province's most significant concert venue.

The New Brunswick Museum, at 1 Market Square across from Rocky's, is the oldest continuously-open museum in Canada. Fort Howe was a site briefly taken over by the Continental Army during the War of the American Revolution in June 1777, until the British drove them out. Magazine Street at Webster Street. The Carleton Martello Tower is a historic site, dating to the War of 1812. 454 Whipple Street, across the Saint John River on the city's West Side, 3 miles south of downtown. Neither of these historic sites is reachable by public transit, but Fort Howe is a mile's walk, including over the Main Street overpass over Route 1. And New Brunswick's historic sites do not include any birthplaces or residences for Prime Ministers, as none has ever come from there.

Like East Brunswick, New Jersey, Saint John has an indoor shopping mall named Brunswick Square. It has a tower that is the tallest building in the city, 265 feet high. 39 King Street, corner of Germain Street. It is tied for the title of the tallest building in the Province, with Assumption Place in Moncton.

Any TV shows set in the Province would only be familiar to Canadians, not to Americans. The movie filmed there most likely to be familiar to Americans is Children of a Lesser God, for which deaf actress Marlee Matlin won an Oscar.

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Saint John is not much like St. John's University in Queens; and New Brunswick, Canada is not much like New Brunswick, New Jersey. But it is worth a visit, especially for a hockey fan.

How to Go to a Hockey Game on Prince Edward Island

Next Wednesday, the Charlottetown Islanders will play the Moncton Wildcats, probably the closest thing the biggest sports team on Prince Edward Island has to a rivalry.

Before You Go. Prince Edward Island is in Canada, so you will need a passport. And you will need to change your money. At last check, US$1.00 = C$1.32, and C$1.00 = US 76 cents. And I advise you to call your bank and let them know that you will be in a foreign country, so they won't see credit or debit card purchases from a foreign country pop up and think your card has been stolen.

The Maritime Provinces, a.k.a. Atlantic Canada, are 1 hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. So a game starting at 7:00 PM their time would by 6:00 our time. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

Despite being in Canada, and an oceanfront city where wind can be an issue, and with this being winter, the weather is not expected to be all that bad. Temperatures are expected to be in the high 30s in daylight, and the high 20s at night, with some snow. Be advised that it could be slippery as well as cold.

Also, remember that they use the metric system. A speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour means 62 miles an hour. And don't be fooled by the seemingly low gas prices: That's per liter, not per gallon, and, in spite of Canada being a major oil-producing nation, you'll actually be paying more for gas up there. So, in order to avoid both confusion and "sticker-shock," get your car filled up before you reach the border.

Tickets. The arena seats only 3,690 people, so, even for a minor-league game, tickets may be difficult to get. At least they're cheap: All adult tickets (age 13 to 64, unless with a valid student ID) are C$16.50.

Getting There. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is 803 miles from Midtown Manhattan, and 271 miles from the closest border crossing, at Calais, Maine.

Flying is the fastest way to get there, but not a good way. You'd have to change planes, more likely in Toronto (500 miles west) than Montreal, and a round-trip fare on Air Canada could be over US$1,000. VIA Rail doesn't to to PEI. Greyhound does, but the schedule doesn't work out.

So it looks like you'll have to drive. Start out as if you're going to Boston: Take Interstate 95 North to New Haven. Take Exit 48, Interstate 91 North to Hartford. Take Exit 30, Interstate 84 East into Massachusetts. You'll merge with Interstate 90 East, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and take that until you reach Interstate 495, Boston's outer beltway.

But instead of continuing on the Mass Pike to Boston, take Exit 11A onto I-495 North, into Boston's northern suburbs, until you reunite with I-95 North at Salisbury, just before reaching the New Hampshire State Line. You'll cross New Hampshire and go into Maine. Take Exit 182A onto U.S. Route 1A, turn left on State Route 46, right on State Route 9, then follow this rural route all the way to Baring, where you'll meet up with U.S. Route 1. Turn left at International Avenue, and you'll reach the Border.

Don't get cute. Show your passport. If they ask for any other ID, show them that. If you have anything that could be considered a weapon, even a pair of nail clippers, it's probably best to mention that. Don't make any wiseass remarks about Canada. When they ask you your purpose for visiting Canada, tell them you' re visiting Halifax as a tourist. (That is the truth.) Presuming you don't do or say anything stupid, you should get across with no trouble.

International Avenue becomes New Brunswick Provincial Route 1. Take this to River Glade, where you'll get on the Trans-Canada Highway -- which serves as Charlottetown's "beltway." You'll take that through Moncton and to the Confederation Bridge, over the Northumberland Strait and onto Prince Edward Island. Then continue on the TCH until the exit for Kensington Road, on which the arena sits.

If all goes well, you should be in New York State (not counting Manhattan) for half an hour, in Connecticut for 2 hours, in Massachusetts for an hour and 15 minutes, New Hampshire for 15 minutes, Maine for 4 hours and 45 minutes, Customs for 15 minutes or less, New Brunswick for 3 and a half hours, and an hour and 15 minutes on Prince Edward Island (including the Bridge). Given rest stops in Connecticut, at each end of Maine, and in New Brunswick, it should take about 17 hours.

Once In the City. The Island is named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, son of King George III of England, brother of King George IV and King William IV, and father of Queen Victoria, who was only 8 months old when he died. He lived for a time in Quebec, was the 1st member of the British royal family to visit America after its independence, and was the 1st person to publicly refer to British subjects in "British North America," British and French alike, as "Canadians."

It was his plan for a "confederation" of Canada that would be discussed long after his death. On the island named for him, the Charlottetown Conference was held in 1864, and this is why the city, named for his mother, Queen Charlotte (wife of George III), is considered "The Birthplace of Confederation," and Edward is called "Father of the Canadian Crown." Ironically, PEI did not become one of the original Provinces after Confederation on July 1, 1867, waiting until 1873, as the 7th of what is now 10 Provinces.

PEI is home to about 147,000 people, nearly half of whom, 64,000, live in the capital of Charlottetown. The people are about 98 percent white, with a few scattered black, Hispanic, Asian and Aboriginal/Native/First Nations people. It's about 93 percent Anglophone and 4 percent Francophone. The tiny Evangline, in Prince County, with about 1,200 people, is the only place on the Island to have a French-speaking majority.

Charlottetown was a fashionable resort in the Victorian era, and is, sort of, "Canada's Cape Cod," particularly its town of Summerside (38 miles west of downtown Charlottetown, population 16,000), even though it is nearly 700 miles from Montreal and over 1,000 miles from Toronto. (The island has a town named Toronto, a small village.)

Province House in Charlottetown, the Provincial capitol building,

site of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference, and thus "the Birthplace of Canada"

The drinking age in PEI is 19. Their Harmonized Sales Tax is 15 percent. The largest newspaper is named The Guardian. Postal Codes on the Island start with the letter C. Like Nova Scotia, PEI uses Area Codes 902 and 782. Maritime Electric runs the Province's electricity.

The 8-mile-long Confederation Bridge, linking the Island with mainland Canada, is soon to celebrate its 20th Anniversary, as it replaced an old ferry on May 31, 1997. Charlottetown doesn't really have a "centerpoint" (or a "centrepoint"), but street addresses increase as you go north and east, and the main intersection appears to be Queen Street and Kent Street -- effectively, named for the namesakes of the City and the Province, mother and son. T3 Transit runs buses (no trains, subway or above-ground), and a single fare is C$2.25.

Confederation Bridge

Going In. The Eastlink Centre is at 46 Kensington Road, at Park Street, adjacent to the Red Shores Racetrack & Casino, just northeast of downtown. It opened in 1990 as the Charlottetown Civic Centre, and naming rights were bought by Canadian communications company EastLink in 2013. Parking is C$12. Seating capacity is 3,690.

The rink is aligned north-to-south. It was home to the University of Prince Edward Island hockey team from 1990 to 2003, and the Prince Edward Island Senators (an Ottawa Senators farm team) from 1993 to 1996.

Since 2003, the arena has been home to a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team, originally called the PEI Rocket -- formerly the Montreal Rocket, named for Maurice Richard, and playing in the arena named for him at the Olympic Park -- and known since 2013 as the Charlottetown Islanders. They are no longer a Montreal Canadiens farm team, and have no connection to the New York Islanders beyond sharing a name.

Hockey setup

The arena is also home to the Island Storm of the National Basketball League of Canada, and has hosted concerts, including by Canadian performers The Guess Who, Bryan Adams and the Tragically Hip. It also seems to have a thing for old country music singers, as both George Jones and Willie Nelson sang there. David Copperfield performed his magic act there in 2009.

Basketball setup

Food. There are small concession stands (it's only a 3,700-seat arena, after all), including a Tim Hortons, and the Moose Light Lounge (named for a brand of Canadian-produced Moosehead beer) is behind Section 5.

Team History Displays. In their 1st 13 seasons, the Rocket/Islanders made the QMJHL Playoffs 11 times, but only 3 times made the 2nd Round, and never the Semifinals. Thus, they have no championship banners. They have 2 retired numbers, keeping the 9 of Maurice Richard packed away even though they no longer have even their former tenuous connection to him (PEI isn't even majority-Francophone), and the 22 of Pierre-André Bureau, who played for the Rocket from 2000 to 2005, but never reached the NHL.

The PEI Senators won Division titles in 1995 and '96, but there is no notation for this at the Eastlink Centre. That team is now the Binghamton Senators, but is about to move to Bobby Hull's hometown of Belleville, Ontario, while the Albany Devils will be moving to become the Binghamton Devils.

Stuff. There are small souvenir stands, but no team store, no books about the team, no videos.

During the Game. Your safety will not be an issue. Indeed, the people of PEI might be thrilled that someone from New York came to check them out. They hold auditions for National Anthem singers, and have no mascot.

After the Game. Surprisingly, there aren't any restaurants or bars within a 5-minute walk of the arena. You may have to head back downtown for a postgame meal.

The Olde Dublin Pub, 131 Sydney Street between Queen and Great George Streets, is well-regarded. So is the Churchill Arms, around the corner from the Olde Dublin, at 75 Queen Street between Sydney and Dorchester Streets. Both show English soccer games on the weekend, and will likely show whatever European game you ask for if your visit to PEI is during the season (as we now are).

Sidelights. Prince Edward Island is too small to generate any kind of mass culture, including sports. After all, it has just 147,000 people, about the same population as Paterson, New Jersey. Although hockey, rugby, and that classic cold-weather Canadian sport, curling, are common there, there are no professional teams in baseball or football -- either the American version or that common to Canada, with its 12 men on a side, 3 downs a series, and the 110-yard field with the 25-yard-deep end zones.

The former arena was named the Charlottetown Forum. It stood from 1930, at 229 Fitzroy Street, between Weymouth and Cumberland Streets, about halfway between the center of town and the Eastlink Centre. It was demolished in 2001, and the site is now occupied by a parking lot next to the Perfection Foods plant.

The Charlottetown Forum and the 1932 Charlottetown Abbies

The University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) has since moved into the MacLauchlan Arena, about a mile west of the center of town. The Panthers have won 6 Conference Championships, and count Joel Ward of the San Jose Sharks among their alumni. 170 N. River Road. They've also had some success in basketball and soccer.

UPDATE: The Canadian Premier League, an attempt at a top-flight soccer league for the country, was founded in mid-2017, with the hopes of beginning play in Spring 2018. There is no plan for a stadium or team on Prince Edward Island.

Neither Elvis Presley nor The Beatles ever gave a concert on Prince Edward Island. No Island native has ever come close to being named Prime Minister.

PEI has a few museums. Province House itself is a museum, a building as historic as any in the entire country. 165 Richmond Street. The Confederation Centre of the Arts is a few doors down, at 145 Richmond Street. The Prince Edward Island Regimental Museum is on the Northumberland Strait, at Water and Haviland Streets. Outside of Charlottetown, the best-known museum on the Island is the Acadian Museum, at 23 Main Drive East in Miscouche, just outside Summerside, about 70 miles west of the capital.

The tallest building in the Province isn't very tall, just 127 feet. It's a hotel at Confederation Court Mall, 134 Kent Street, downtown. The Charlottetown Thermal Generating Station, a natural diesel oil power station, is the Island's tallest structure, at 226 feet.

The most famous structure on the Island is Green Gables, the setting of the 1908 novel Anne of Green Gables by Island native Lucy Maud Montgomery, whose family lived at the house and surrounding farm. 8619 Cavendish Road in Cavendish, about 25 miles northwest of downtown Charlottesville, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. You'd have to drive.

Anne of Green Gables has been filmed only twice: A silent film in 1919, now considered lost; and a 1934 version starring Dawn O'Day, who also filmed another in Montgomery's series, Anne of Windy Poplars, in 1940. A musical film version is currently in development. The other notable film taking place on the Island is Johnny Belinda, starring Jane Wyman and Lew Ayres in 1948.

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Prince Edward Island is probably best visited in the Summer, when it becomes a resort. But it does have a professional hockey team, and is worth a visit.

How to Go to a Hockey Game In Newfoundland

Continuing my bid to do trip guides for all 50 American States and all 10 Canadian Provinces. On Friday, February 24, and Saturday, February 25, the New Jersey Devils' top farm team, the Albany Devils of the American Hockey League, will face the St. John's Ice Caps in the easternmost city in North America: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

There is a Newfoundland in New Jersey, an unincorporated community that straddles West Milford in Passaic County and Jefferson in Morris County. It's about 35 miles west of Midtown Manhattan, about halfway between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. This Newfoundland is considerably farther away.

Before You Go. Newfoundland is in Canada, so you will need a passport. And you will need to change your money. At last check, US$1.00 = C$1.31, and C$1.00 = US 76 cents. And I advise you to call your bank and let them know that you will be in a foreign country, so they won't see credit or debit card purchases from a foreign country pop up and think your card has been stolen.

Newfoundland has a weird time zone: While the rest of Canada's Maritime Provinces (a.k.a. "Atlantic Canada"), including Labrador, which is attached to the mainland, is 1 hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone, the island on which Newfoundland sits is an hour and a half ahead. In other words, when it's 12:00 noon in New York, Montreal and Toronto, it's 1:00 PM in Halifax, but it's 1:30 PM in St. John's, Newfoundland.

Despite being in Canada, and an oceanfront city where wind can be an issue, and with this being winter, the weather is not expected to be all that cold. The Telegram, Newfoundland's largest newspaper, is predicting temperatures to be in the mid-30s on Friday afternoon and the low 20s at night, and the high 20s most of Saturday. The problem could be precipitation: They're calling for "a few flurries" on Friday, which doesn't sound so bad, but "ice pellets" on Saturday night, which could be a problem going into or getting out of the game.

Also, remember that they use the metric system. A speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour means 62 miles an hour. And don't be fooled by the seemingly low gas prices: That's per liter, not per gallon, and, in spite of Canada being a major oil-producing nation, you'll actually be paying more for gas up there. So, in order to avoid both confusion and "sticker-shock," get your car filled up before you reach the border.

Tickets. The Mile One Stadium seats 6,287, but this is a minor-league game, and the Ice Caps and the Albany Devils aren't major rivals. So getting tickets shouldn't be hard: You might be able to walk up to the window on the day of the game and get one.

Seats are $37 between the goals, $34 in the corners, and $30 behind them. All of these prices are in Canadian dollars.

Getting There. It's 1,666 road miles from Times Square in Manhattan to the Mile One Stadium in downtown St. John's. It would be about 160 miles less as the crow flies, but you won't be able to do that unless a bridge is ever built connecting Cape Cod and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It's 1,133 miles from downtown St. John's to the closest border crossing, at Calais, Maine. If you can afford to fly, you should.

Because the only other option is driving. Greyhound Canada doesn't go to Newfoundland. Nor does VIA Rail Canada. Air Canada can get you to from New York to St. John's International Airport for under $700, but you'd have to change planes in Toronto each way -- in other words, go 500 miles west, and then go 1,900 miles east, and then reverse the process.

Here's the driving directions. Start out as if you're going to Boston: Take Interstate 95 North to New Haven. Take Exit 48, Interstate 91 North, to Hartford. Take Exit 30, Interstate 84 East, into Massachusetts. You'll merge with Interstate 90 East, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and take that until you reach Interstate 495, Boston's outer beltway.

But instead of continuing on the Mass Pike to Boston, take Exit 11A onto I-495 North, into Boston's northern suburbs, until you reunite with I-95 North at Salisbury, just before reaching the New Hampshire State Line. You'll cross New Hampshire and go into Maine. Take Exit 182A onto U.S. Route 1A, turn left on State Route 46, right on State Route 9, then follow this rural route all the way to Baring, where you'll meet up with U.S. Route 1. Turn left at International Avenue, and you'll reach the Border.

Don't get cute. Show your passport. If they ask for any other ID, show them that. If you have anything that could be considered a weapon, even a pair of nail clippers, it's probably best to mention that. Don't make any wiseass remarks about Canada. When they ask you your purpose for visiting Canada, tell them you' re visiting Newfoundland as a tourist. (That is the truth.) Presuming you don't do or say anything stupid, you should get across with no trouble.

International Avenue becomes New Brunswick Provincial Route 1. Take this to River Glade, where you'll get on the Trans-Canada Highway. You'll take that around Moncton and into Nova Scotia. Continue past Truro, where you would turn off to head down to Halifax, and go on to North Sydney. Here, the TCH continues as a ferry to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. This ferry covers 110 miles, and takes 9 hours and 15 minutes. Get some sleep.

Upon disembarking at Port aux Basques, remain on the TCH, crossing the entire island, until you reach Exit 41. Take Provincial Route 2 into downtown, where it becomes New Gower Street. The arena and the neighboring City Hall will be on your right.

If all goes well, you should be in New York State (not counting Manhattan) for half an hour, in Connecticut for 2 hours, in Massachusetts for an hour and 15 minutes, New Hampshire for 15 minutes, Maine for 4 hours and 45 minutes, Customs for 15 minutes or less, New Brunswick for 3 and a half hours, 5 and a half hours in Nova Scotia, 9 hours and 15 minutes on the ferry, and 9 and a half hours in Newfoundland. That's almost 37 hours. Given rest stops, it should take about 41 hours. Each way.

Once In the City. Newfoundland (officially, "Newfoundland and Labrador," abbreviated as "NL") is... different. And not just because it was still a colony of Britain until 1949, when it became the 10th and most recently-added Province of Canada. And not just because of that odd time zone, either.

The Vikings landed around AD 1000, but didn't stay, because the natives were harsh and the climate was harsher. In 1497, Venetian explorer Zuan Chabotto -- known as John Cabot to his sponsor, King Henry VII of England -- arrived, becoming the 1st European to reach mainland North America since the Vikings, nearly 500 years earlier. (Although the Cabot and Lodge families of Massachusetts are descended from a John Cabot, it is not the same one.)

Whoever wrote Cabot's charter for King Henry (known by his former title of the Earl of Richmond in Shakespeare's Richard III, and father of Henry VIII) ordered him "to set up our banner on any new-found-land." And the Labrador section was named for Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador. (Both Newfoundland and Labrador would become names of breeds of dogs.) Both Cabot and Lavrador appear to have been lost at sea around 1501 or so.

Basques from Spain, Portuguese and Frenchmen set up fishing villages in the mid-16th Century, but a 1585 raid put the island under English control for the next 354 years. Off the southwest coast, the islands of the Overseas Collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon make up the last part of North America still under French control, though only about 6,000 people live there. 

The combined population of Newfoundland and Labrador is about 530,000, and Prince Edward Island is the only one of Canada's 10 Provinces with fewer people. The capital city of St. John's has about 108,000 people, with about twice that in the metropolitan area, making for nearly 40 percent of the entire Province. (The NL capital is usually written with the abbreviation, as opposed to the New Brunswick city, which is nearly always written out as "Saint John" and has no apostrophe)

Newfoundland and Labrador has a 15 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). That's 5 percent federal, and 10 percent Provincial.

The Confederation Building in St. John's,

the Province's capitol building, and its tallest building.

There is a dialect called Newfoundland English, found in both Newfoundland and Labrador. It makes a little bit of sense that easternmost North America and the westernmost British Isles would have some things in common, and Newfoundland English has been compared to the English of England's West Country, such as Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall; and to southern and western Ireland.

(What we've come to call "pirate talk" also has its origins in England's West Country, due to the portrayal of Cornish actor Robert Newton when playing fictional pirate Long John Silver and real-life pirate Blackbeard in 1950s films.)

The Province is about 89 percent Anglophone and 10 percent Francophone. It's about 94 percent white (of those, more than half descended from the British Isles), 5 percent Aboriginal/Native/First Nations, less than 1 percent Asian, and there's less than 1,000 black people and 500 Hispanic people in the entire Province.

Mainland Canada has "Newfie jokes." To Torontonians and pretty much everyone else, Newfies are heavy-drinking, cod-fishing, funny-talking island folk. So, kind of like rednecks, only more sea, less land, and fewer guns.

Many of the jokes are variations on other "dumb person" jokes, such as Polish, Italian, blonde, or fans of whatever team you might hate. Example: During the 1995 Quebec separation referendum, the Newfies were hoping it would pass, and Quebec would leave Canada, because it would make Toronto closer.

Anyway... In St. John's, street addresses increase the further west you get from the harbor (sorry, the Harbour), and the further north you go. There's no subway or light rail. Metrobus Transit runs buses, and a single fare is C$2.50. The Province has no beltway.

The drinking age in Newfoundland and Labrador is 19. Postal Codes, in both Newfoundland and Labrador, as the easternmost part of the country, start with the letter A. The Area Code for both Newfoundland and Labrador is 709. Newfoundland Power runs the electricity.

Going In. The Mile One Centre, formerly the Mile One Stadium, opened in 2001, and seats 6,287 people. The address is 50 New Gower Street. Parking is C$10.

The name of the building comes from Danny Williams -- no, not the Hawaii Five-O character. This guy is from the extreme opposite end of North America. A lawyer and former owner of cable-TV company Cable Atlantic, he bought the naming rights to the new arena, before selling his businesses and going into politics, but kept the naming rights. He chose to name the building the Mile One Stadium, based on its location at the beginning of the Trans Canada Highway.

He served as Premier (think "Governor") of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2003 to 2010. After resigning, he brought pro hockey back to Newfoundland, and remains the owner of the St. John's Ice Caps.

The rink runs north-to-south. The Ice Caps are an American Hockey League (AHL) farm team of the Montreal Canadiens, with similar uniforms. Prior to their arrival in 2011, it was home to the AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs (2001-05) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's St. John's Fog Devils (2005-08, no connection to the New Jersey Devils). The Ottawa Senators have held some preseason games there, including 2 in 2014 against the Islanders, who won both.

Set up for that other great Canadian sport, curling

This will be the last season in the building for the Ice Caps, as the Canadiens are moving them to the Montreal suburb of Laval, as the Laval Rocket, named for Maurice Richard (who was from the nearby Bordeaux neighborhood). So far, no replacement team has been obtained, so the arena will likely remain mostly dormant, at least for the 2017-18 season.

While the Ice Caps name will stay with Danny Williams and the Mile One Stadium, and will be used for any new team, for the time being, the last Ice Caps game will be on April 15, against the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs farm team formerly known as the Toronto Marlboros. (The Caps could, however, make the Playoffs.)

Food. Not much information available. The arena website says only, "There are 5 concession stands and many kiosks located throughout Mile One that provide a vast variety of food and beverage selections."

Team History Displays. This is only the 6th season for the Ice Caps, and they've won nothing. Nor did the Fog Devils win anything. The St. John's Maple Leafs won 3 division titles, the 1994 AHL regular-season title, and the 1992 conference title, all before moving into the Mile One Stadium. But never the Calder Cup, the AHL Championship.

Maple Leafs alumni include goaltender Felix "the Cat" Potvin and a couple of Stanley Cup-winning coaches, Marc Crawford of the 1996 Colorado Avalanche and Joel Quenneville of the 2010, '13 and '15 Chicago Blackhawks (and a longtime NHL defenseman who was an original 1982-83 member of the New Jersey Devils).

The Fog Devils retired Number 12 for Scott Brophy, a St. John's native who's now out of hockey, having never reached the NHL, and that banner hangs in the Mile One Stadium. But anyone who's yet played for the Ice Caps? The only name you're likely to recognize is that of former Devil Stefan Matteau, son of, uh, let's not go there. Defenseman Tom Parisi is from Commack, Long Island. Their Captain, a Swedish left wing named Max Friberg, has played all of 6 games in the NHL, all for the Anaheim Ducks.

Brophy, Brophy, Brophy, Brophy:

Born is the Ki-ing of the-e Newfies!

(Okay, they don't actually sing that.)

Stuff. There is no big team shop in the arena, just a few souvenir stands. There won't be any team videos. The closest thing to a book about local hockey is Bill Abbott's 2000 book The Herder Memorial Trophy: A History of Senior Hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador.

During the Game. You might be rooting for the Albany Devils, but there's no rivalry involved. Ice Caps fans are not going to hassle you. Don't start anything, and you will be safe.

The Ice Caps hold auditions to sing "O, Canada" and, since the opponent will be a U.S.-based team, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Since they're a Canadiens farm team, and Canadiens fans chant, "Go, Habs, go!" and Washington Capitals fans chant, "Go, Caps, go!" St. John's fans also chant, "Go, Caps, go!" But, unlike fans of the Queens-based college basketball team, they do not chant, "We are... St. John's!"

Their mascot is Buddy the Puffin. Puffins are a bird common to Newfoundland, and Buddy has been with the various St. John's teams since 1992, which is why he wears Number 92 on his jersey.

After the Game. If you don't want to get your postgame meal at a chain like Tim Hortons (just south of the arena), The Keg or, God forbid, Jack Astor's, there are options.

The Chinched Bistro, a block east of the arena at 7 Queen Street, advertises itself as a "relaxed neighbourhood joint" serving "eclectic, seasonal bistros dishes & cocktails." Nearby, to the west, at 65 Lemarchant Road, Bacalao Nouvelle Newfoundland Cuisine sells Provincial favorites (despite their half-Portuguese, half-French name). East of the arena, George Street, Duckworth Street and Water Street have several options.

These include The Duke of Duckworth pub, at 325 Duckworth Street, said to be the leading pub in the Province for watching English and other European soccer games.

Sidelights. As I said earlier, Newfoundland is different. While hockey is popular there, in large part due to radio (until 1949, CBC announcer Foster Hewitt would begin a broadcast by saying, "Hello, Canada, and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland"), soccer, rugby union, and, due to the Irish and Scottish influence, Gaelic games are more popular there than in the rest of Canada. (Rugby league, not as much.)

But gridiron football -- both the 11-man, 4-downs, 100-yard variety played in America and the 12-man, 3-downs, 110-yard kind played in Canada --is virtually nonexistent. In each case, the British influence has something to do with it.

Soccer is hosted at King George V Park, a 6,000-seat stadium built in 1925, during the Dominion period, making it the world's oldest existing soccer-specific stadium (others are older, but were originally meant to house multiple sports), as Newfoundland's "national stadium." On September 14, 1985, it hosted the Canadian national team's 2-1 win over Honduras, clinching the country's 1st (and still only) berth in a World Cup, the greatest achievement in the team's history. 3 Carnell Drive, about a mile and a half north of downtown. Bus 3.

UPDATE: The Canadian Premier League, an attempt at a top-flight soccer league, has been founded. It plans to launch in Spring 2019, but a team playing here is not an immediate possibility.

Right around the corner, at 20 Lake Avenue at Kings Bridge Road, is the site of St. John's hockey prior to the opening of the Mile One Stadium. Opening in 1955, Memorial Stadium seated 4,190 people. After the new arena opened, it was converted into a supermarket, Dominion Memorial Market, about a mile and a half north of downtown. Bus 3.

Baseball is not particularly popular in Newfoundland. Not even the Toronto Blue Jays: While their radio network includes stations from coast to coast, from Vancouver in the West to Halifax in the East, they don't have a station in St. John's, or anywhere else in Newfoundland or Labrador. At any rate, the closest teams in any of the major league sports are the Boston teams, and they're over 1,400 miles away.

Neither Elvis Presley nor The Beatles ever performed in Newfoundland or Labrador. The Mile One Stadium is easily the Province's leading concert venue. There are 2 colleges in the Province: The Memorial University of Newfoundland, in St. John's; and the College of the North Atlantic, based in Stephenville on the island's west coast but with a campus in St. John's.

There are 2 notable museums in St. John's: The Rooms, an art museum, at 9 Bonaventure Avenue downtown; and Signal Hill National Historic Site, the location of the last battle of the French and Indian/Seven Years' War, where France finally surrendered North America to Britain on September 15, 1762.

It includes Cabot Tower, built in 1897 to celebrate the 400th Anniversary of John Cabot's arrival, and the 60th Anniversary of Queen Victoria's ascent to the British throne (her Diamond Jubilee). It was from Signal Hill, at a building since destroyed by fire, on December 12, 1901 that Guglielmo Marconi "invented radio," receiving the 1st transatlantic wireless transmission from Poldhu, Cornwall, England. (Which certainly makes sense, given the Cornish connection to Newfoundland.)

230 Signal Hill Road, about 2 1/2 miles northeast of downtown. Not really reachable by bus: Bus 3 will get you from downtown to Cavendish Square, and then it's a half-hour walk up Signal Hill Road.

Neither Newfoundland nor Labrador has yet produced a Prime Minister of Canada, and so there are no historic sites relating to such people. But a government building, the Confederation Building, home to the Provincial Parliament, is the tallest building in the Province, albeit only 210 feet high.

There haven't been many TV shows set in Newfoundland. The longest-running, on CBC from 2010 to 2014, was Republic of Doyle, a police procedural that was both comedy and drama. There have been considerably more films set and made there, most notably part of James Cameron's 1997 Titanic.

*

Newfoundland is a fascinating place. And different. Is it worth all the fuss it takes to get there? Maybe. They do love hockey. And they're playing the Devils' top farm team this weekend. This is the time to check it out, before the Ice Caps move. Who knows when they'll be replaced?

How to Go to a Hockey Game In Nova Scotia

Citadel Hill, overlooking downtown Halifax,

including the Scotiabank Centre.

Ah, why not try doing trip guides for all 10 Canadian Provinces, too? Nova Scotia will make 6.

Next Monday night, the biggest sports team in the Province, the Halifax Mooseheads, will play a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) game against the Moncton Wildcats of New Brunswick.

Before You Go. Nova Scotia is in Canada, so you will need a passport. And you will need to change your money. At last check, US$1.00 = C$1.31, and C$1.00 = US 76 cents. And I advise you to call your bank and let them know that you will be in a foreign country, so they won't see credit or debit card purchases from a foreign country pop up and think your card has been stolen.

The Maritime Provinces, a.k.a. Atlantic Canada, are 1 hour ahead of the Eastern Time Zone. So a game starting at 7:00 PM their time would by 6:00 our time. Adjust your timepieces accordingly.

Despite being in Canada, and an oceanfront city where wind can be an issue, and with this being Winter, the weather is not expected to be all that bad. Temperatures are expected to be in the 30s throughout the day, and no precipitation (either rain or snow) predicted until the 23rd.

Also, remember that they use the metric system. A speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour means 62 miles an hour. And don't be fooled by the seemingly low gas prices: That's per liter, not per gallon, and, in spite of Canada being a major oil-producing nation, you'll actually be paying more for gas up there. So, in order to avoid both confusion and "sticker-shock," get your car filled up before you reach the border.

Tickets. The Scotiabank Centre seats 10,595, and the Mooseheads rank 2nd in the league in attendance -- but that's only 6,546 per game. Getting tickets shouldn't be hard: You might be able to walk up to the window on the day of the game and get one. Adult tickets are $19 (Canadian), $16 for seniors, $12 for students with a valid ID, and $10 for kids age 12 and under.

Getting There. It's 862 road miles from Times Square in Manhattan to the Scotiabank Centre in downtown Halifax. It would be about 160 miles less as the crow flies, but you won't be able to do that unless a bridge is ever built connecting Cape Cod and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It's 330 miles from downtown Halifax to the closest border crossing, at Calais, Maine. If you can afford to fly, you should.

Air Canada can fly you from Newark to Halifax Stanfield International Airport for under $700 round-trip. (Robert Stanfield was a Premier of Nova Scotia, and Leader of the national Progressive Conservative Party, and thus the Leader of the Opposition from 1967 to 1976, against Prime Ministers Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, who also had airports named for them, in Toronto and Montreal, respectively.) However, your flight probably won't be nonstop: You'd have to change planes in either Montreal or Ottawa, both of which would be a bit out of the way.

But that's better than going there by train:

Penn Station, on Amtrak's Adirondack: 8:15 AM Sunday
Gare Centrale, Montreal: 7:11 PM Sunday
Leave Montreal, on VIA Rail's Ocean: 7:00 PM Monday
Halifax Railway Station, 1161 Hollis Street, downtown: 5:51 PM Tuesday
Game: 7:00 PM Tuesday
Halifax: 1:00 PM Wednesday
Gare Centrale, Montreal: 10:03 AM Thursday
Leave Montreal: 10:20 AM Thursday
Penn Station: 8:50 PM Thursday

That's about 22 hours just from Montreal to Halifax - and another 22 hours back. Note that this doesn't give you much time to get from the train station to the arena on Tuesday night. New York to Montreal and back is $138. Montreal to Halifax and back is C$276, or US$211. The total is US$349. And using Amtrak and VIA Rail means you'd have to spend almost 24 full hours in Montreal (hardly a bad thing if you can afford a hotel), you would have a shade over an hour to get from the Halifax station to the arena, you'd have to stay overnight in Halifax, and you'd have 17 minutes to change trains in Montreal -- and that's if the train from Halifax is on time! You might as well stay overnight in Montreal again -- which, again, is great if money is no object, but it might be.

How about the bus? Greyhound also serves the Halifax Railway Station. But this schedule is also ridiculous. There's only 1 bus per day leaving Montreal, at 9:30 PM, arriving at Halifax at 6:20 PM the next day, giving you even less time to get to the arena -- and it costs C$344. One way. And you still have to get to Montreal. Forget that.

So it looks like you'll have to drive. Start out as if you're going to Boston: Take Interstate 95 North to New Haven. Take Exit 48, Interstate 91 North to Hartford. Take Exit 30, Interstate 84 East into Massachusetts. You'll merge with Interstate 90 East, the Massachusetts Turnpike, and take that until you reach Interstate 495, Boston's outer beltway.

But instead of continuing on the Mass Pike to Boston, take Exit 11A onto I-495 North, into Boston's northern suburbs, until you reunite with I-95 North at Salisbury, just before reaching the New Hampshire State Line. You'll cross New Hampshire and go into Maine. Take Exit 182A onto U.S. Route 1A, turn left on State Route 46, right on State Route 9, then follow this rural route all the way to Baring, where you'll meet up with U.S. Route 1. Turn left at International Avenue, and you'll reach the Border.

Don't get cute. Show your passport. If they ask for any other ID, show them that. If you have anything that could be considered a weapon, even a pair of nail clippers, it's probably best to mention that. Don't make any wiseass remarks about Canada. When they ask you your purpose for visiting Canada, tell them you' re visiting Halifax as a tourist. (That is the truth.) Presuming you don't do or say anything stupid, you should get across with no trouble.

International Avenue becomes New Brunswick Provincial Route 1. Take this to River Glade, where you'll get on the Trans-Canada Highway. You'll take that around Moncton and into Nova Scotia. At Truro, take Provincial Route 102 South to Fall River, and take Provincial Route 118 South into Dartmouth, and cross the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge into downtown Halifax. (Macdonald was Premier from 1933 to 1940, and again from 1945 to 1954. In between, he served in the wartime cabinet of Prime Minister Mackenzie King.)

If all goes well, you should be in New York State (not counting Manhattan) for half an hour, in Connecticut for 2 hours, in Massachusetts for an hour and 15 minutes, New Hampshire for 15 minutes, Maine for 4 hours and 45 minutes, Customs for 15 minutes or less, New Brunswick for 3 and a half hours, and 2 hours and 15 minutes in Nova Scotia. Given rest stops in Connecticut, at each end of Maine, and around the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia Province Line, it should take about 17 hours.

Once In the City. "Scotia" was the Latin name for Scotland. Therefore, Nova Scotia is "New Scotland," or "Nouvelle-Écosse" in French. Halifax, with a population of about 400,000, was named for George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, essentially the founding father of Nova Scotia in 1749. (With a founder's name like "Dunk," maybe the city should be more interested in basketball than in hockey.) Halifax is the capital of the Province, and the capitol building, Province House, is 2 blocks east from the arena, down Carmichael Street.

Province House

Halifax Transit runs buses and the Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry Service, but there's no subway or above-ground light rail service. A single adult fare is $2.50. The Province has a 15 percent harmonized sales tax (HST). The Chronicle Herald is the city's single daily newspaper.

The Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry

Street addresses increase going north and west. Like Montreal's RESO and Toronto's PATH, Halifax has an "underground city," called Downtown Halifax Link, so people can get around while being protected from the cold.

The drinking age in Nova Scotia is 19. Postal Codes in Nova Scotia begin with the letter B. Like Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia uses Area Codes 902 and 782. The Province has no beltway. Nova Scotia Power runs the electricity.

The Province is 92 percent Anglophone, 4 percent Francophone, and all other first languages adding up to about 5 percent. Only Digby County, in the west, retains a French-speaking majority. The Province is about 91 percent white (including 55 percent from the British Isles), 3.7 percent Aboriginal/Native/First Nations, 2.5 percent Asian, 2.3 percent black, and only 0.2 percent Hispanic.

Yes, Canada had a Provincial version

of our State Quarter program.

Many Loyalists who did not want to be American -- and some black people who did not want to be slaves -- after the Revolution fled to Canada, and, in particular, to Nova Scotia. On July 25, 1784, the Shelburne Riots broke out, following a black minister's baptism of a white married couple. The British authorities arrested the perpetrators, and what's been called North America's first race riot was ended.

Going In. The Halifax Mooseheads play at the Scotiabank Centre, at 1800 Argyle Street. (More of that Scottish connection.) Don't be fooled by its exterior appearance: Most of the arena structure is below ground, due to the hilly nature of Halifax. If you drive in, parking is C$5.00.

Across Brunswick Street, to the west, is the Old Town Clock, and the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. (More on that in "Sidelights.") Across Duke Street, to the north, is the Scotia Square shopping mall. Just 7 blocks to the east is the Halifax Ferry Terminal, offering boat service to Alderney and Woodside in Dartmouth, a.k.a. "The Darkside," across Halifax Harbour.

The arena opened in 1978. It was known as the Halifax Metro Centre until 2014, when the naming rights were bought by one of Canada's largest banks. It is small by major league standards, but large by minor-league ones, and the largest arena in the Maritime Provinces: It seats 10,595 for hockey, though it can be expanded to up to 13,000 for concerts.

The famous orange seats at the Halifax Metro Centre,

before the renaming and renovation.

The arena has been home to a series of minor-league hockey teams: The Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1978-84), the Nova Scotia Oilers (1984-88), the Halifax Citadels (1988-93), and the Halifax Mooseheads (a.k.a. The Beasts of the East, since 1994). The Mooseheads may catch the attention of longtime Devils fans, since their colors are the Devils' original colors, red and green.

It's also hosted a series of minor-league basketball teams: The Halifax Windjammers (1991-94), the Halifax Rainmen (2007-15), and the Halifax Hurricanes of the National Basketball League of Canada (since 2015).

It hosted the CIS (Canada's version of the NCAA) Men's Basketball Championship every year from 1984 to 2007, again in 2011 and 2012, and will again this year and next.

It hosted the World Figure Skating Championship in 1990; the Memorial Cup, the championship of Canadian junior hockey, in 2000; the CIS University Cup, Canada's college hockey championship, in 2015 and 2016.

The rink runs north-to-south. The Mooseheads attack twice at the south end.

The navy blue seats, after the 2014 renaming and renovation

Due to its concert volume -- Ozzy Osbourne sold a 2007 show out in 9 minutes, and Elton John sold 2 2008 shows out in 42 minutes -- and its age (nearly 40 years old), there has been talk of building a new arena to seat least 15,000. So far, though, it's just an idea, and the city seems more interested in building a stadium for a Canadian Football League expansion team.

Food. Centerplate runs the concessions. No, they don't spell it "Centreplate" up there. Stands are along the sidelines only, not in the concourse behind either goal.

On the east, Argyle Street side, they have Halifax Poutine (yitch) behind Section 4; Halifax Popcorn, Budweiser Bar and Beer Solutions at 5; Taste 902 (named for the city's Area Code, "featuring local products") and Halifax Confectionery (candy and ice cream) at 6; Pizza and Halifax Kettle Corn at 7; another Budweiser Bar, Halifax BBQ and Halifax Coffee at 8; Halifax Grill (including poutine), Halifax Links (sausages) and Halifax Asian at 9; another Halifax Popcorn at 10; and King of Donair (Asian) at 11.

On the west, Brunswick Street side, they have another Budweiser Bar at 19; Halifax BBQ and Halifax Links at 20; another Pizza and another Budweiser Bar at 21; Mill Street Brewery and Halifax Fries at 22; and another Budweiser Bar, another Halifax Grill, and another Halifax Popcorn at 23.

Team History Displays. Founded in 1994, the Mooseheads don't play in Quebec, but they do play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They have won divisional titles in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013 and 2014. They won the President's Cup, the Playoff championship of the QMJHL, and the Memorial Cup, in 2013.

They have 4 banners for retired numbers:

* 18, left wing Alex Tanguay, 1996-99, a 2001 Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche, and currently a free agent.

* 25, left wing Joey Shelley, 1995-97, an original member of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2000-01, a Ranger in 2009-10, and now working in the Jackets' front office.

* 47, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 1995-97, famed for his trips to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003 (where he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP even though the Devils won the Cup and Martin Brodeur had 3 shutouts in the Finals) and 2007 (where the Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators), now out of hockey.

* And a banner for Pat Connolly, longtime Halifax-based sportswriter and sportscaster. The retired number banners are flanked by the 2013 title banners.

Other notable former Mooseheads are Boston Bruins Cup-winning left wing Brad Marchand, former Anaheim Ducks Cup-winning defenseman Joe DiPenta, and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, a Halifax native whose hat trick clinched the 2013 Memorial Cup win. It remains the only Memorial Cup won by a team from Nova Scotia. (UPDATE: After the Avalanche won the 2022 Stanley Cup, the Mooseheads retired Number 22 for MacKinnon.)

Stuff. There is no big team store. At an arena this size, for a minor-league team, it isn't really practical. So smaller souvenir stands will have to do. Don't expect to find any team videos. Two books can be mentioned: Hockey's Home: Halifax-Darmouth, published in 2002 by Martin Jones; and The Mooseheads: The History of Halifax's Favourite Hockey Team, published in 2005 by Dan Robertson -- both before the Mooseheads' annus mirabilis of 2013.

During the Game. There is no rivalry between the Mooseheads (a.k.a. The Beasts of the East) and any of the New York Tri-State Area teams, as neither the Devils, nor the Rangers, nor the Islanders have a farm team in the QMJHL. Rather than resisting Americans checking their city and their team out, they may be very welcoming.

This game against Moncton is a promotion, Family Day. There may be a lot of screeching kids in the audience. This, plus the stereotypical politeness of Canadians, means you should watch your language. Speaking of language, while the Maritimes have many French-Canadians, the signs and announcements will all be in English, not French.

Peter Baylis is the team's regular singer of "O, Canada." However, this being the 150th Anniversary of Canadian independence (or "Confederation"), he will be traveling the country this year, singing the National Anthem on 150 public occasions. So he may not be there on Monday.

The team has 2 mascots: A Moose named Mac, and a... thing named Hal, obviously short for "Halifax." On January 9, 2016, Hal had a little accident. The fans' main chant is, "Go, Moose, go!" Probably an outgrowth of the Montreal and Toronto chants that they saw on TV a thousand times: "Go, Habs, go!" and "Go, Leafs, go!"

Hal and Mac

After the Game. It's Canada, they don't hate New York or New Jersey, and you are a visitor, with no reason to root for the visiting team. You're going to be safe going out.

The Scotia Square Mall, across Duke Street to the north, has a food court, but it may be closed by the time the game lets out. Just south of the arena, the Midtown Tavern & Lounge is at 1744 Grafton Street, and The Five Fishermen is at 1740 Argyle Street. A block south, The Wooden Monkey is at 1707 Grafton Street, and Canadian chain The Keg Steakhouse + Bar is at 1712 Market Street.

If you visit Halifax during the European soccer season, on the day of a game (there won't be many on Monday), the leading "footy pub" in Nova Scotia is The Maxwell's Plum, 2 blocks south of the Scotiabank Centre, at 1600 Grafton Street at Sackville Street.

Sidelights. For a city its size -- the entire Province has only about 925,000 people, so it would easily be the smallest metropolitan area in any of the 5 major league sports -- Halifax has a lot to offer.

Before the Metro/Scotiabank Centre was built, the home of Halifax hockey was the Halifax Forum, built in 1927, seating 5,600 people, and still used for hockey by St. Mary's University and (while they build a new arena) Dalhousie University. 2901 Windsor Street, about a mile and a half northwest of downtown. Bus 1.

There is another QMJHL team in Nova Scotia, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles. Since 1997, they have played at an arena named Centre 200, because it opened in 1985, on the 200th Anniversary of the founding of its city, Sydney. The Cape Breton Highlanders, a National Basketball League of Canada team named for a famous regiment of the Canadian Army, also play there. 481 George Street, in the Cape Breton region, easternmost Nova Scotia, 250 miles east of downtown Halifax.

For years, the city has been trying to get a stadium built, so it can get an expansion team in the Canadian Football League, and possibly a professional soccer team as well. They almost got a team in 1984, but it failed, because they couldn't get a 30,000-seat stadium ready. The current plan would keep that team's name, the Atlantic Schooners, and let it represent all 4 Maritime Provinces, a.k.a. "Atlantic Canada."

Part of the problem is that they can't agree on a location. One possibility is north of the Forum. (It would be in addition to the old arena, not to be put on the site after tearing it down. The Forum is safe for now.) Another is at the Dartmouth Sportsplex, across the Harbour from downtown.

The likeliest site is at the Wanderers Grounds, longtime home of Halifax rugby, west of the Citadel, and thus technically still downtown. This is also being considered for the site of a minor-league baseball park, which Halifax has never had. 5755 Sackville Street.

UPDATE: On June 20, 2017, the City Council approved the building of a 7,000-seat stadium at the Wanderers Grounds, which opened in Spring 2018. The Canadian Premier League, Canada's attempt at a "top flight" soccer league, is planning to begin play in Spring 2019, and Halifax is represented by a team named for the grounds: HFX Wanderers FC. 5711 Sackville Street, across from the Citadel.

Until then, the biggest stadium in town was Huskies Stadium, home of St. Mary's, seating 5,000 but expandable to 11,000, and that just wasn't enough. 923 Robie Street, in the South End, about a mile south of downtown. Bus 1.

Yes, the running track is blue.

There are 2 other major colleges in Nova Scotia. Acadia University is in Wolfville, 57 miles northwest of downtown Halifax. In 1979 and 1981, they won the Vanier Cup as Canada's national college football champions. St. Francis Xavier University is in Antigonish, 132 miles northeast. They won the 1966 Vanier Cup, and the hockey equivalent in 2004.

Neither Elvis Presley nor The Beatles ever performed in Halifax, or anywhere else in the Maritime Provinces. Elvis sang in Ottawa and Vancouver, The Beatles sang in Montreal, and they both sang in Toronto.

The Old Town Clock is one of the best-known Halifax landmarks. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, commander-in-chief of all military forces in British North America, son of King George III, and father of the eventual Queen Victoria, wanted it built to resolve the habitual tardiness of the local garrison. It has operated since 1803, at Brunswick & Carmichael Streets, across Brunswick from the Scotiabank Centre.

The Halifax Citadel National Historic Site is a living history museum, dating to 1749 but depicting the Victorian period (Queen Victoria's reign, 1837 to 1901, including 1867, the year of Confederation). It is particularly known for its "Victoria Christmas" pageantry. 5425 Sackville Street, on Citadel Hill, overlooking downtown.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is the oldest maritime museum in the country, and includes the hydrographic surveyor ship CSS Acadia. 1675 Lower Water Street, on the Harbour. Not a part of its complex, but adjoining it, is HMCS Sackville, a corvette (small warship) that served in World War II and is now a museum ship.

Nova Scotia has produced 3 Prime Ministers of Canada. However, all served long ago, none of them have houses preserved as a historic site, and none of them are buried in the Province. Halifax native Sir John Thompson, a former Premier of Nova Scotia, served as Prime Minister from December 5, 1892 to December 12, 1894. Charles Tupper of Amherst, was the shortest-reigning Prime Minister: 69 days, May 1 to July 8, 1896. Robert Borden of Grand-Pre was Prime Minister from October 10, 1911 to July 10, 1920, including all of World War I. (Earlier in his life, he was a teacher, including a short time in Matawan, New Jersey. He is now on Canada's $100 bill.)

The tallest building in Nova Scotia is in Halifax, but it's not very tall. The Fenwick Tower stands 321 feet, at 5595 Fenwick Street in the South End, just south of downtown.

Most TV shows and films set in Nova Scotia are Canadian shows that most Americans wouldn't recognize. There is one notable exception: The History Channel's nonfiction series The Curse of Oak Island, trying to solve a mystery about an island in Mahone Bay, about 50 miles west of Halifax. There is a road bridge to the island. The 1948 film Johnny Belinda as set in the Province.

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Halifax is a small city, but it has quite a bit to see, including natural beauty, history, and a hockey team with a passionate fan base. It's not easy to get to, but it is well worth a visit.