Down to ten for Kraft Hockeyville

After a week of farce (hello Phoenix) and near tragedy (Bonjour Montreal), we're glad to take a shift in focus from the travails of the professional game and cast our gaze at the grass roots of the game we call our own.

The Kraft Hockeyville competition is moving further along in its elimination phase, with ten cities still in the running to claim the 2011 title.

Voting is set for this weekend to bring the list further down to five potential Hockeyvilles, with Canadians prepared to cast their ballots for their favourite spot.

The ten communities are Mackenzie, BC, Fort Nelson, BC, Bentley, Alberta, Brandon, Manitoba, Wolfe Island, Ontario, Navan, Ontario, Chateauguay, Quebec, Saint Raymond, Quebec, Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Full reviews of the competing bids can be found on the Kraft Hockeyville website as well as on a Hockeyville Facebook page  and Twitter feed dedicated to the competition.

Other snapshots of the competing cities can be found on the competitions You Tube feed.

Hockey Night in Canada will provide the next rounds contestants, as the successful towns will be announced on March 19th.

Should five of the ten listed above hear their names called out on Saturday, they'll be one step closer to the entire Hockeyville prize package of 100,000 in arena upgrades from Kraft, the chance to host an NHL pre-season game in their arena and have CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast from their community.

The five communities to be named on Saturday will hope to be the one for 2011 to join the list of communities that have made the most impact on Canadians who cast their votes.

Past Hockeyville communities include

2006 Salmon River, Nova Scotia
2007 North Bay, Ontario
2008 Roberval, Quebec
2009 Terrace, British Columbia
2010 Dundas, Ontario