{"id":778,"date":"2011-10-10T14:07:45","date_gmt":"2011-10-10T18:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/?p=778"},"modified":"2015-06-11T10:08:08","modified_gmt":"2015-06-11T14:08:08","slug":"featured-post-from-air-canada-canada%e2%80%99s-claim-to-ice-hockey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/featured-post-from-air-canada-canada%e2%80%99s-claim-to-ice-hockey","title":{"rendered":"Featured Post from Air Canada: Canada\u2019s Claim to Ice Hockey"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is brought to you by proud<\/em> Educational Travel Week<\/em><\/a> sponsor, <\/em>Air Canada<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Air<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bodychecking, boarding, breakaways\u2026 Sounds like ice hockey season is back in action. And when you think of hockey, Canada<\/a> certainly comes to mind, eh<\/em>? But you might be surprised to know that the official national winter sport of Canada goes back, (way back,) as early as Egyptian<\/a> times. Paintings (dating back to 2000 B.C.) of men maneuvering curved sticks in the tomb of Kheti resemble the modern day sport. And, a game similar to field hockey was played in Greece<\/a> back in 514 AD. Don\u2019t panic though, the credit for the modern version of ice hockey still goes to Canada\u2014particularly Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. In 1875 the first organized indoor game was played in Montr\u00e9al\u2019s Victoria Skating Rink between two teams with nine players lasting an hour. It\u2019s a good piece of trivia to have in your back pocket before jet-setting off to Toronto\u2019s<\/a> Hockey Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s Hockey Hall of Fame<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experience first-hand how \u201ccat-like\u201d your reflexes are at Toronto\u2019s Hockey Hall of Fame. Stand in the place of a goalie at the Lay’s Shut Out<\/em> exhibit, blocking and dodging pucks. (No need for a helmet, it\u2019s computer simulated!) Or, do just the opposite and perfect your slap shot at the Source For Sports Shoot Out<\/em>. Test trivia skills like, where did hockey\u2019s highest honor, The Stanley Cup, actually get its name?<\/p>\n

The Stanley Cup <\/strong><\/p>\n

If you must know now, the award is named after Lord Stanley of Preston, the then Governor General of Canada. The Stanley Cup was initially a challenge cup, not meant for just one league. As a matter of fact, the Cup wasn\u2019t always the top prize of the NHL. It was originally an amateur championship for Canada dating back to 1892. (The Allan Cup is the amateur version now). Pros were allowed to play for the cup later in 1906. The Stanley Cup became a professional trophy and was opened to U.S. teams (starting with the Boston Bruins) as of 1926. The Montr\u00e9al Canadians have kissed the cup the most with Toronto Maple Leafs a few championships behind.<\/p>\n

Speaking of hockey\u2019s highest honor, you can enjoy some one-on-one time with the cup. Inside the Hall of Fame and museum, take a walk through the evolution of Canada\u2019s game and experience a little trip down hockey memory lane with lots of, well, memorabilia. At the end of the exhibit, get your photo with a replica of the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

Air Canada Arena<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ready to get back to modern day ice hockey? While walking about downtown Toronto, you can\u2019t miss its\u2019 major thoroughfare, Bay Street. There, you can check out the Air Canada Arena, home of Toronto\u2019s Maple Leaf hockey team (as well as a handful of other professional Canadian sports teams, concerts and events). \u201cThe Hangar\u201d (a popular nickname thanks to Air Canada\u2019s sponsorship) brought luxury suites to the ground floor, showcased a split scoreboard and featured rotating sponsor signs, revolutionizing stadiums around the world.<\/p>\n

Whatever the season in Canada, ice hockey talk is always in play. So, when in Toronto, brush up on its history and the chance to experience where it all began. Because whether you\u2019re a huge hockey fan or just like ice skating, trying your hand at slap shots and incredible saves is sure to get you in the spirit, (especially when there\u2019s no threat of an oncoming opponent.) Imagine the rough game centuries ago without shin guards or helmets and limited rules. Icing, charging and a good ol\u2019 check to the head must\u2019ve felt a lot different back then\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following is brought to you by proud Educational Travel Week sponsor, Air Canada.   Bodychecking, boarding, breakaways\u2026 Sounds like ice hockey season is back in action. And when you think of hockey, Canada certainly comes to mind, eh? But you might be surprised to know that the official national winter sport of Canada goes Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,173,63,172],"tags":[162,58,154,163],"class_list":["post-778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-aside","hentry","category-explorica-news","category-parents","category-students","category-teachers","tag-air-canada","tag-educational-travel","tag-educational-travel-week","tag-toronto","post_format-post-format-aside"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5727,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778\/revisions\/5727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.explorica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}