Cape Breton’s annual Red Cup brings big crowd to high school hockey classic

It was standing room only at the County Arena for Sunday's championship game between the Riverview Ravens and the Glace Bay High Panthers.

It’s not everywhere you would see nearly 2000 people at a high school hockey game.

That’s the regular attendance for Riverview Rural High School’s Red Cup Showcase, an annual tournament that takes place the first weekend of February in Coxheath, N.S.

“It’s crazy. It’s so much fun, there’s so much school spirit,” said Grade 12 student Jorja Stewart.

It was standing room only at the County Arena for Sunday’s championship game between the Riverview Ravens – the host team – and the Glace Bay High Panthers.

“It’s amazing,” said fellow Grade 12 student Mattea MacKinnon. “You don’t understand it until you’re actually in the crowd.”

With police on hand to ensure student safety, the annual tournament is like the school’s Super Bowl and its winter carnival.

“It’s, like, the best part of the school year and it’s so worth it to look forward to it and then it finally gets here - it’s unbelievable,” Stewart said.

The home crowd, many of them dressed in red and white, the school’s colours, had plenty to cheer for as Riverview shot out to an early lead.

Cape Breton Eagles forward Rory Pilling was in enemy territory, cheering on the visiting Panthers. He said he was impressed by the home crowd’s energy.

“I went to this high school and grew up in Glace Bay,” Pilling said. “We (the Eagles) don’t even get these kinds of fans sometimes. It’s pretty special and these guys are lucky to have such a crowd like this to play in front of.”

No one seems to know exactly why the Red Cup get the cult classic treatment. It might simply boil down to one word - tradition.

“Like, we make sure everyone gets here,” MacKinnon said. “We make announcements, posters, we spread the word and it’s not only our school. It’s the community too. It’s really special and there’s no way this could be possible without our teachers and staff.”

The game ended the way the script called for, with a 6-1 win for the home team to clinch the Red Cup tournament championship. For players and students, it caps a weekend of fond memories.

“All the pictures, we’ll keep them with us,” MacKinnon said. “All these memories. It’s just amazing.”

This year marked the 46^th year for the Red Cup Hockey Showcase. It will be fun to come back and watch future games when they’re older, Stewart said.

“Hopefully the crowd and the energy just stays the same.”

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