‘Our game’ — Hockey pride/history showcased at Windsor Chimczuk Museum

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Hockey. Canada’s game. Played on frozen ponds and in arenas across the country.

Many memorable on-ice moments, superstar players and thrilling championships are tied to Canada’s identity and pride.

And with Canadian patriotism boosted by recent threatening comments by the president of the United States regarding the takeover of the “51st state,” a Hockey in Canada exhibit at the Chimczuk Museum couldn’t have been timed better0.

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Museum Windsor is celebrating Canada’s game with the one-of-a-kind travelling exhibition from the Canadian Museum of History.

The two-dimensional exhibit is a brief walk through hockey history — from pre-NHL, through major players, to owners and fandom — plus a couple of interactive stations that allow visitors to feel part of the game experience.

“There are no physical, three-dimensional artifacts,” said Craig Capacchione, museum co-ordinator responsible for exhibitions. “So it’s all the panels.

“There’s not a puck or a stick; however, we are working on a smaller display in the concourse that … will showcase Windsor specific hockey items to complement this exhibition.”

Visitors can explore the photographs and reproductions of key artifacts, memorabilia and highlights from yesterday and today. They can listen to audio archives from hockey history or get into the game by recording their own running commentary, just like legendary sportscaster Foster Hewitt.

Capacchione was asked whether Canada’s overtime win over the U.S. in Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off final had boosted attendance at the exhibit.

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“I can’t say that I’ve seen an uptick yet,” he said Saturday. “However, we do have a lot of people who have been interested in the general concept of hockey and the idea that it’s kind of our country’s game, right?”

One of Capacchione’s favourite parts of the exhibit is a display of Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard tomato soup.

Richard was suspended following a violent altercation in which he hit a linesman, and there was rioting in the streets after NHL president Clarence Campbell suspended him for the remainder of the 1954-’55 season.

“So Montreal Canadians assumed (Clarence Campbell) was involved with Campbell’s Soup,” Capacchione explained. “He was not, but they boycotted Campbell’s soup out of his treatment of Rocket Richard.

“Someone developed a Rocket Richard soup you can get instead. So, just to show you kind of the passion of some of these hockey fans.

“And we get that passion right now with the 4 Nations Cup. It kind of brought back all that passion, definitely.”

Hockey in Canada runs through May 11 at the Chimczuk Museum, 401 Riverside Dr. W. Hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission is $5.75; $4.75 for students ages three to 24 and seniors ages 60 and over; and $18 maximum for families.

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