Petrolia and Forest will host a game each when the U17 World Challenge comes to Lambton County in November.

Teams from Czechia, Finland, Sweden, USA, and the Canada Red and White will be involved in the tournament Nov. 3 to 9.

Petrolia’s Greenwood Recreation will play host to an exhibition game between Canada Red and Czechia Nov. 1. Laurissa Ellsworth, director of marketing, arts and communication for Petrolia, is excited about the opportunity.

“TSL reached out and asked for tour of the arena, because this was a possibility, to make sure there was enough seating and space,” she told The Independent at the news conference unveiling the event. “And we are, of course, excited at the prospect, because we did host a game in 2014, very similar, actually, and it was great. Families came out. Kids loved it, so we wanted to be a part of it.”

Ellsworth says it also provides a lot of exposure for the town. “It puts our town on the world stage,” she says.

“It creates a community, because together, we’re going to celebrate having these folks there. I think it creates a business opportunity for all of us to decorate the downtown, make sure they’re well aware of our restaurants and shops. I think it just keeps Petrolia top of mind.”

The Shores in Forest will also host an exhibition game Nov. 1 against the US.

All others games will be at the Progressive Auto Arena.

Mark Perrin, general manager of Tourism Sarnia Lambton, says the event is likely to bring in $4 to $5 million in tourist dollars and will bring exposure to Sarnia across the country.

“TSN as a partner of Hockey Canada. So we will have TSN and they’ll be broadcasting the metal games on national TV,” he says.

Ticket packages will be available through the Sarnia Sting online site for the games starting Tuesday. Tickets for the exhibition game will be sold separately with about 900 likely to be on offer for the Petrolia game.

People who want a ringside seat might want to volunteer for the event.

“With over 150 volunteers required, we have broken it down into quite a few different jobs and roles, everything from your in game experience, so ticket takers, things like security, ushers, our actual in game presentation, and then on the back end, things like logistics. So having logistics coordinators, having transportation picking teams up, and of course team services, so being kind of at the beck and call for what’s needed for each individual team, and lots of help with kind of a media, the scouts, and really anything needed in a tournament,” says Perrin.