Hours after Team Canada’s men’s hockey team shut-out rival Team USA to move on to the gold medal game, Alberta’s provincial government officially allowed establishments to start serving liquor, as the puck drops in Sochi on Sunday.
The game is set to begin at 4 p.m. (local time) in Sochi – or 5 a.m. in Alberta.
Early Friday afternoon, hours after Team Canada secured a spot in the gold medal final – and while thousands of Albertans likely realized what time the game started live on Sunday, Premier Alison Redford turned to Twitter to announce the special, one-time, change:
Big game on Sun! Happy to tell you AB bars will be able to open & serve at 5 AM. Go Canada, go! #pleasedrinkresponsibly #WeAreWinter #ableg
— Alison Redford (@Premier_Redford) February 21, 2014
The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission confirmed the change a short time later.
“We appreciate the outpouring of enthusiasm of Albertans who want to gather to watch the game on Sunday and will support licensees to serve liquor when the puck drops,” AGLC President and CEO Bill Robinson said in a statement.
The AGLC said all licensed establishments are authorized to start serving alcohol at 5 a.m., and there was no requirement to apply for a change.
