CALGARY, Alta. – When the puck drops April 16 at the 2012 Allan Cup, it will kick off Hockey Canada’s Season of Champions; over the course of four weeks, four national champions will be crowned at events across the country.

2012 Allan Cup – National Senior Championship | April 16-21 | Lloydminster, Sask.
www.allancup.ca (available in English only)

2012 Esso Cup – National Female Midget Championship | April 22-28 | Charlottetown, P.E.I.
www.hockeycanada.ca/essocup | www.facebook.com/essocup | www.twitter.com/hc_essocup

2012 TELUS Cup – National Midget Championship | April 23-29 | Leduc, Alta.
www.hockeycanada.ca/teluscup | www.facebook.com/teluscup | www.twitter.com/hc_teluscup

2012 RBC Cup – National Junior A Championship | May 5-13 | Humboldt, Sask.
www.hockeycanada.ca/rbccup | www.facebook.com/rbccup | www.twitter.com/hc_rbccup

Tickets for the Esso Cup, TELUS Cup and RBC Cup are available through Hockey Canada Tickets at www.hockeycanada.ca/tickets. Tickets for the Allan Cup are available at www.allancup2012.ca.

This year, for the first time, games from all four national championships will be available for free via webcast thanks to Hockey Canada’s partnership with FASTHockey.

All preliminary round and playoff games can be seen live via webcast at hockeycanada.fasthockey.com. Fans can watch all the action for free by following three steps:

• STEP 1: Visit hockeycanada.fasthockey.com and sign up for a free FASTHockey account.
• STEP 2: Like the events on their specific Facebook pages (see above).
• STEP 3: Just prior to the game, click the HC on FASTHockey link on the specific Facebook pages to watch.

Gold medal games at all four national championships will be shown on TSN/RDS, the official broadcaster of Hockey Canada. Check your local listings for broadcast times in your area.

Hockey Canada estimates more than 65,000 fans will attend games during this year’s Season of Champions, with over 250,000 watching online or on TSN/RDS. Each national championship will generate approximately $1 million in economic impact within their community and province.

For more information on Hockey Canada, its teams, events and programs, please visit www.HockeyCanada.ca.