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Instead of keeping its sticks on the ice, the Art Gallery of Windsor has hung them on the walls.

Power Play: Hockey in Canadian Contemporary Art, a new exhibit all about the beloved national pastime, looks at the laced-up sport as a slice of what it means to be Canadian.

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Photo by Dan Janisse / Windsor Star

“It’s accessible in that it’s hockey, but when you come through the door there’s so much more to learn,” said the gallery’s curator of contemporary art Jaclyn Meloche, an avid Ottawa Senators fan.

The exhibit features work by 14 artists from across Canada, including three from Windsor, as well as two historical pieces on loan from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto: an NHL special edition cereal box with Gordie Howe pictured on the front, and a mask worn by Jacques Plante, the first NHL goaltender to regularly don the face protection in regulation play.

“I hope that this is a platform to reach out to new audiences, new demographics, new age groups — families who spend their weekends in hockey arenas,” said Meloche, whose twin brother played the game growing up. “Hockey is a demanding sport on the family. Here’s an opportunity to explore that sport in a different context, and to learn more about why we play hockey, and why this is Canada’s official national winter sport.”