Top 15 communities for Kraft Hockeyville announced

Following thousands of submissions from hockey fans across Canada, the Kraft Hockeyville 2012 judging panel released the final Top 15 communities Saturday night.

These finalists will now move on in the hope of being named Kraft Hockeyville 2012, with the opportunity of hosting a 2012-13 NHL pre-season game in their community and receiving $100,000 in arena upgrades courtesy of Kraft Canada.

As announced on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," the 15 communities are: Campbell River, B.C.; Osoyoos, B.C.; West Kelowna, B.C.; Teulon, Man.; Duck Lake, Sask.; Rosthern, Sask.; Stirling-Rawdon, Ont.; Goderich, Ont.; Bancroft, Ont.; Saint-Éphrem-De-Beauce, Que.; Amos, Que.; Chicoutimi, Que.; Pownal, P.E.I.; Yarmouth, N.S.; St. Andrews, N.B.

"It's truly inspiring to see so many hockey-loving Canadians rally together in creative ways to improve their communities," said Jack Hewitt, Vice President of Marketing Services for Kraft Canada. "In the seven years that we've had Kraft Hockeyville, we've never seen such passion and creativity as demonstrated by these 15 finalists. We wish each community the best of luck in the next round."

Canadians will determine which of the Top 15 advance to the Top 5 by voting for their favorite community online now at www.krafthockeyville.ca, or by calling 1-866-533-8066.

Canadians can vote for their favorite community once per click or call. Voting via the web and phone is unlimited.

The voting will close Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. ET. Once the votes have been tallied, the Top 5 communities will be announced during "Hockey Night in Canada" on March 17.

Canadians will then return to the polls for a final vote to determine the winner of Kraft Hockeyville 2012.

The "Hockey Night in Canada" crew will visit and broadcast live from each of the Top 5 communities on March 31. The winner will be announced that evening.

The four runner-up communities will each receive $25,000 for improvements to their local rinks from Kraft Canada.