Elmira, NY — Elmira College is pleased to announce that in conjunction with the of the City of Elmira, Elmira Downtown Development, and the First Arena, a Home for the Holidays event will be held in downtown Elmira on December 5th through the 7th. The three-day event will be headlined by three exciting days of ice hockey, which will include Elmira Jackals Youth Hockey, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres Elmira Jackals, and the Elmira College men’s and women’s ice hockey teams. All ice hockey games will take place at Elmira’s First Arena, located on the corner of Main Street and Gray Street.
Although ice hockey is headlining the event, the action on the ice is just a small part of a fun-filled three-day event. The event starts on Friday, December 5th as the Elmira Jackals host the South Carolina Stingrays for a 7:05 p.m. game.
The following day, festivities begin at 9:00 a.m. with an Elmira Jackals Youth Hockey game. Following the Elmira Jackals Youth Hockey games, there will be a free-of-charge public skate from 12:00-1:00 p.m. which will lead into outdoor festivities lining Main Street from the intersection of Water Street and Main Street to the intersection of Church Street and Main Street. Elmira College student life groups will be present throughout the day, reading books to local children as well as singing holiday songs.
Street hockey games for all age groups will run all day long on Main Street. Teams of three can enter to participate in segmented age levels ranging from six & under to an adult division. The streets will be blocked off from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday with vendors set up along Main Street and in Wisner Park.
Then, at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, the Elmira College men’s ice hockey team will host Wesleyan University for a non-conference NCAA Division III matchup. Elmira’s game will be followed by a tree lighting ceremony at 5:00 p.m. at the Mark Twain Riverfront Park. The day’s events will conclude with a 7:05 p.m. Jackals game against Toledo Walleye.
Festivities continue on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. with an Elmira Jackals Youth Hockey game, which will be followed by another collegiate hockey game at 1:00 p.m. that will feature the No. 2 nationally-ranked Elmira College women’s ice hockey team against ECAC West opponent SUNY Potsdam. The weekend wraps up with another Jackals game at 4:05 p.m. versus the Wichita Thunder.
Elmira College will be holding a toy drive at both the men’s and women’s ice hockey games over the weekend. All toys will be donated to the Elmira chapter of Catholic Charities.
Both Elmira College games on Saturday and Sunday will be free to the public. Tickets to the Jackals games begin as low as $5 and can be purchased online at jackalshockey.com, at the First Arena Box Office, or by calling (607) 734-7825.
