Funds will assist team’s family members attend games in Turin, Italy

CALGARY, AB – With Christmas still weeks away, Molson Canada announced an early gift to the Women’s National Hockey Team following their morning practice at Father David Bauer Arena today. The company presented a $200,000 cheque to assist the team’s family members attend the games in February.

“As a long-time supporter of Canada’s national women’s team, we are proud to lend our support and assist the team’s family members with the costs associated with traveling to the games so that they can be there in person to cheer on the team,” said, Kevin Boyce, Molson Canada President and CEO. “Molson has a tradition of supporting sports in Canada and we’re thrilled to be a part of the excitement, team spirit and Canadian pride that this team exemplifies.”

Molson, a long-time partner of the Women’s hockey team, has similarly supported the team in the past prior to the world hockey championships in 2003 and the games in Salt Lake City where the team won gold.

“Once again, Molson has shown its support for Hockey Canada, and specifically our women’s program,“ said Hockey Canada president, Bob Nicholson. “This funding will help ensure that our women’s hockey players’ families will be able to attend the games in Italy in February when they otherwise might not have been able to afford the immense expense of traveling to Europe to support the team.”

Building on Molson’s long standing tradition of supporting Canada’s elite amateur athletes, Molson also renewed its on-going sponsorship with Hockey Canada through 2010. Molson has been an associate gold sponsor of Hockey Canada since 1998. The financial support received from Molson has been channeled by Hockey Canada to fund grassroots hockey, development programs, coaching initiatives, officiating, and male and female high performance teams.

Canada’s Women’s Olympic hockey team has been centralized full time in Calgary since August 2005, with the roster currently standing at 26 players. Team Canada Head Coach Melody Davidson will name 21 of the 26 centralized players prior to the start of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, which will make up Canada’s 2006 Olympic roster and will receive the Molson funding for their families.

About Molson Canada

With roots dating back to 1786 and a time-honoured tradition of brewing quality beers, Molson Canada is proud to be the nation’s preferred brewer. The company proudly offers the most popular brands in Canada with an award-winning brand portfolio which includes, Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Molson Export, Molson Dry, Rickard's, and Pilsner. Molson Canada also partners with other leading brewers to offer such global brands as, Heineken, Corona, Miller Genuine Draft and Foster’s Lager. Molson employs 3,100 Canadians, operates six breweries, including the boutique brewery Creemore, and invests in communities from coast-to-coast through its various charitable initiatives and sports and entertainment sponsorships. Molson Canada is part of the Molson Coors Brewing Company.