Lockport Mayor Anne McCaffrey proclaims Saturday to be "Hockey Day in Lockport" at Cornerstone CFCU Arena. (PHOTOS BY SCOTT LEFFLER / ENP STAFF)

By +Scott Leffler 
scott.leffler@eastniagarapost.com

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It's no hyperbole to say that Lockport hasn't had a day like Saturday in a long time. Between the events at Cornerstone CFCU Arena and downtown, there was more to take in than possible.

People watch a production in front of the Historic Palace Theatre -- part of Saturday night's parade.

Hockey Day in Lockport offered wall-to-arena-wall of events all day long, while Light Up Lockport festivities filled city streets in the morning, afternoon and evening with Lockportians in the Christmas spirit. Thousands turned out for both day-long events.

Hockey Day in Lockport brought people in from across the country, home to see the new arena for the first time ... to watch and play hockey. Games took to the ice beginning at 8 a.m. and not finishing until nearly 9 p.m. Eight games were played, in addition to the very important celebrations held honoring Lockport's own Ted Darling and making a near-perfect announcement regarding the arena -- that the second rink would be named after William R. Kenan -- the same William R. Kenan whose name is on the long-remembered Kenan Arena, where hockey was played for so many years.

The William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust donated $1.2 million to the Lockport Ice Arena and Sports Center Inc., the non-profit organization that owns and operates Cornerstone Arena, for the naming rights to the rink, making "Kenan" synonymous with hockey once again.

Fans cheered the announcement, as well as the arrival at the arena of Buffalo Sabres' broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, who visited Cornerstone Arena for the first time and marveled at the scope of the city's new complex. Jeanneret came to say a few words about his old friend Ted Darling before a banner was hoisted to the southwest wall of the arena's main rink. Jeanneret reminded the crowd that in his mind, Darling would always be "the voice of the Sabres."

RELATED LINKS:

• Hockey Day in Lockport photo album
• Light Up Lockport photo album

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East Niagara Post is the official media sponsor of Hockey Day in Lockport.