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Hockey Night in Canada duo visit CFB Petawawa

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The segment in question airs tonight during Coach's Corner.

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Hockey Night in Canada duo visit CFB Petawawa

CFB PETAWAWA — The set looked familiar. So did the trademark thumbs up. The patterned suit was as eccentric as ever.

But they were nowhere near a hockey arena.

Instead, Don Cherry and Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean were at the Canadian armed forces base in Petawawa — to the delight of about 800 military personnel — to film a special segment for Cherry’s popular Coach’s Corner, to be broadcast tonight on CBC-TV.

“We were excited, Ron and I, and we’ve been thinking about coming for a month,” Cherry said Friday. “This is the one thing we’ve looked forward to and we drove down yesterday to make sure we were fresh and did a good job.”

MacLean added that it was a thrill for Cherry and himself to be there and said “there is no greater representative of this country” than the troops.

Of the soldiers who packed a maintenance hangar to watch the taping, about 200 were members of Canadian Task Force 1-10 — part of which deployed last week for a seven-month mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The 200 soldiers are part of a group of 2,500 that will leave CFB Petawawa for Afghanistan over the next six weeks for missions that mirror a “complete gamut of Canadian participation in Afghanistan,” according to brigade commander Col. Wayne Eyre.

Cherry and MacLean entertained the crowd for more than an hour with gut-busting story-telling that touched on nearly every popular hockey topic from Bobby Orr’s greatness to behind-the-scenes arguments with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

One soldier even asked Cherry, “Why do the [Toronto Maple] Leafs suck so bad?” which elicited a huge cheer from the engaged audience.

After the question period, Cherry gathered all the troops for a group picture, and then led the crowd in singing Auld Lang Syne.

Before the popular patriots left, they were presented with several items by military personnel, including a hockey stick adorned with nine patterned ties, two framed pictures from the base grounds and custom yellow ribbon Ontario licence plates for both, the newest addition to the yellow ribbon campaign that raises money for troops.

From the moment Cherry and MacLean entered the hangar to raucous applause to the moment they left, attendees were mesmerized by the easy-going visitors.

“I’ve always wanted to meet Don Cherry,” said 31-year-old Cpl. Brendon Clouthier, a member of TF 1-10. “Anyone who takes an interest in us like Don does, it means the world to us. It makes doing something like going to Afghanistan easy knowing there’s so much support behind us.”

As for those in charge at the base, it was the perfect event before sending off the troops.

“Everyone’s smiling from ear-to-ear and it’s a huge morale boost,” said base commander Lt.-Col. Keith Rudderham. “We’re honoured that Don and Ron have joined us here today because we know how busy they are and we know how famous they are, and to come all the way to Petawawa is a great day for the troops.”

“These guys are tremendous supporters of the Canadian forces,” added Eyre. “We have guys who are in the process of heading out the door to Afghanistan. It’s absolutely fantastic to have these two great Canadians, great supporters, here to wish them well.”

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Ron MacLean is the Hon Col of which Sqn? I searched, but didn't come up with an official sources.
 
cheeky_monkey said:
Ron MacLean is the Hon Col of which Sqn? I searched, but didn't come up with an official sources.

1 AMS in Winnipeg.
 
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