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The Puckhogs among Top 50 song contest contenders

Watching Hockey Night in Canada was an exciting moment for three local songwriters who have dubbed themselves The Puckhogs.
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The Puckhogs — aka local musicians (from left) Brent Wohlberg, Sean Barrette and Chris Leblanc — are attempting to win Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest with their song, “For the Love of the Game.” Supplied photo.
Watching Hockey Night in Canada was an exciting moment for three local songwriters who have dubbed themselves The Puckhogs.

Sean Barrette, Chris Leblanc and Brent Wohlberg learned they've made the top 50 out of more than 1,000 entries in the nationwide CBC Hockey Night in Canada Song Quest contest.

“I’m still absorbing the fact that I saw my face on Hockey Night in Canada,” said Leblanc, who co-wrote “For the Love of the Game” with Barrette and Wohlberg.

“I was never good enough at hockey for people to watch me play on HNIC, but getting on for music is as great consolation prize,” he jokes.

According to Wohlberg, it all took a moment to sink in.

“Not only are you seen coast to coast on a national television broadcast, but it’s because you’ve managed to be in the top five per cent of entries in all of Canada. That’s a bit surreal.”

“It’s such an iconic telecast. I felt like I was a little kid, sitting in the easy chair with my poppa watching the game just like we so often did on Saturday nights – it gave me goose bumps,” said Barrette.

The trio agree that it is far from over, with a tough field of entries vying for the final 10 spots, including a Grammy nominee, a Juno winner, a Canadian Idol winner, an Afghanistan veteran, a 10-year-old and an 85-year-old, and several well-known Canadian artists.

The Puckhogs are upbeat about their chances.

“We tried to capture the collective Canadian consciousness around hockey, and so far thousands of people have rallied behind a song that they’ve connected with,” they said.

“The support has been incredible. We’ve made it this far, and we are very, very grateful for this opportunity.”

Voting in the second round closes Dec. 19 at 11:59 p.m., with the Top 10 announcement taking place on Hockey Night in Canada this coming Saturday.

To vote for The Puckhogs, visit The CBC Music website at music.cbc.ca/#/artists/The-Puckhogs.

You can also “like” The Puckhogs on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Puckhogs/507447769363515.

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