By Darryl G. Smart

The Brantford 99ers will get to show the rest of the country what they are all about.
On Saturday, the 99ers will host the Boyer Auto Group Pickering Panthers Jr. A Hockey Club at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre at 3pm, and will be televised nationally on CHCH TV.
The game between the two teams is part of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Game of the Week partnership with the television station based out of Hamilton.
“This is a great opportunity to show that Brantford is the hockey capital of Canada,” 99ers owner and general manager Darren DeDobbelaer said. “We are extremely excited about it.”
DeDobbelear said that admission for the game is free.
“We want to see the Gretzky Centre full,” DeDobbelaer said. “We want to show the country what we’re all about.”
The OJHL renewed and expanded its broadcast partnership with CHCH TV in September, and includes nine live hockey games during the season. The deal also includes the broadcast of nine episodes of The OJ Today, a weekly hockey magazine show featuring highlights and analysis from all games across the 22-team league.
“The OJHL is extremely excited about the expansion of our CHCH Game of the Week to a nine-game schedule,” OJHL commissioner Marty Savoy said. “The addition of the OJHL All Star Game to the schedule provides another platform to promote the top players within the league. The feedback from last year’s games was overwhelming and we look forward to this year’s telecasts with our partners, CHCH, this season.”
Currently the 99ers are in a heated battle in the OJHL’s West Division, with a 22-20-0-1 record. They are two points back of fourth-place Georgetown Raiders, and 10 behind the third-place Buffalo Jr. Sabres.
The Panthers are 25-14-2-1, and are first in the North Division, one point up on the Stouffville Spirit.