Penticton Councillor Isaac Gilbert, Mayor Julius Bloomfield and Vees President, GM & Head Coach Fred Harbinson at Memorial Arena.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Penticton Vees
January 10, 2025 - 3:30 PM
The Penticton Vees hockey team blasts to the past with a special Penticton Panther celebration this weekend.
The Vees are taking it back during two games for a Panthers Retro weekend to celebrate the 14-year history of the Penticton Panthers era, which lasted from 1990 to 2004.
The Vees will be playing the Salmon Arm Silverbacks and Cranbrook Bucks at the South Okanagan Events Centre, all while sporting the retro inspired jerseys of the Panthers.
The night will include reduced pricing by half to $9 a ticket for adults, to reflect what tickets used to go for when the Panthers played. Youth ages 18 and under get free admission. The first game against the Silverbacks is Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and the game against the Bucks will take place Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
More than 25 Penticton Panther alumni and their families are set to watch the event, including former NHL defenceman, Duncan Keith.
Friday and Saturday night will also include 1990s-themed music to set the stage and fans are encouraged to wear their best 90s fashion to the rink. Fans who own retro Panther memorabilia and jerseys are also encouraged to show their Panther pride and show up in a sea of red.
In line with the throwback theme, the Vees will be wearing their own Panther-inspired jerseys to both games this weekend and the jerseys have been auctioned off online. The auction winners will receive their Panthers jerseys right after the game on Jan. 11., after the Vees have finished playing in them.
“We’re excited to celebrate an era that so many fans have fond memories of,” Fraser Rodgers, Vees Vice President of Business said in a press release. “We hope to see a generation that as young kids watched the Panthers at Memorial Arena now bring their families to the SOEC this weekend. With more than two dozen alumni in attendance, discounted tickets, Panthers jerseys, and 90s music, we hope to restore that Panthers Pride so many grew up with.”
On Monday, Jan 6, Penticton Mayor Julius Bloomfield, along with Councillor Isaac Gilbert and Vees President, General Manager and Head Coach, Fred Harbinson, declared Jan. 11 as Panthers Pride Day in the City of Penticton.
Tickets for this event can be purchased here.
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