Oh what a night!

Nicholas Cundari gets the first puck over the boards during the Kraft Hockeyville NHL exhibition game Monday.

Fans raised the roof at Memorial Gardens tonight as they witnessed a once in a lifetime NHL hockey game that pitted the New York Islanders against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Six months of planning and negotiating all came to a head as North Bay celebrated the fruits of their Hockeyville labour.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, who last visited the Bay with former MPP Mike Harris about 10 years ago, said he was not surprised that North Bay won the title.

“This is a community that has a passion for the game. A community that knows how to get it together,” he says.

“This community epitomizes hockey in this country. The fans in this city are so passionate for the game.”

Bettman was delighted that the focus of the event was children and admitted he took great pleasure in seeing how happy the kids were.

“You can really feel the energy and excitement; it is the only opportunity to see players like this for some people,” he states.

“Seeing the excitement in the kids is something that is special. It is the reason we agree to do something like this. Hopefully they can take away the fact that they got to watch some of the greatest athletes in the world perform tonight.”