The Tilbury Bluebirds are ready to fly for their debut in the Western Ontario Super Hockey League (WOSHL) Saturday night.
They play at home against another adult hockey expansion team, the Delhi Flames.
Owner Joe Byrne told CK News Today he and his players are chomping at the bit to get started.
"We've got an exciting brand of hockey coming to the ice. We've got a lot of talented hockey players with a high compete level and we're excited to see how they do," said Byrne.
Byrne said his team is well balanced on offence and defence and will roll out a solid four lines. He said some of the players have played on the same teams before and he can't wait to see how they perform.
"We have a healthy balance of everything. We've got toughness and grit and we've got finesse and speed, but most of all we've got a hard-working group of guys," Byrne added. "They're dropping all their beer leagues to come to practice. They just want to be in the room with each other. We've got a great locker room and a very deep team and that's one thing I'm very happy with."
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the Tilbury Arena.
The Tilbury Bluebirds are one of nine current teams in the WOSHL.
Fans at the games will be treated to family entertainment, live music, and contests.
The Bluebird name has a long history in Tilbury and Chatham-Kent. Tilbury had a Bluebirds team in the Great Lakes Junior B Hockey League between 1969 and 1974.