BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
In the end, it was worth all the heat and
exhaustion to see the smiles on the faces of the kids sitting
by the rink, and know that we played a small role in trying to
better their lives.
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The ball hockey squad representing
Northern Life was exhausted and bruised, but happy to
contribute to a worthy cause by participating in the
Easter Seals Power Play ball hockey tournament over the
weekend. |
Bruises, scrapes, welts and exhausted faces
were the norm this past Saturday at Don Cherry's Restaurant
and Bar as the Fifth annual Easter Seals Power Play ball hockey
tournament was a huge success.
Overall, about $18,000 was raised by
participants for Easter Seals.
For the third year in a row, the Sudbury
Police Association was the top fundraising team. All together,
they pulled in an incredible $4,200.
It's an impressive total, and one that
will be appreciated by all the Sudbury and area kids living
with physical disabilities.
Way to go!
The money helps the youth with mobility
equipment purchases.
Under hot, sticky conditions, the Northern
Life team, comprised of salesmen Dave Fontaine, Ray Quenville,
Mike Crawford, myself, and our teammates Rene Perrin and Q92
radio man Chris Mask donned helmets, armed ourselves with
hockey sticks and met other competitors for fun on the outdoor
rinks in the parking lot of Don Cherry's, all in an effort
to raise funds and awareness for Easter Seals' kids.
We had a decent showing, making it to the
semi finals, before loosing to Don Cherry's, the eventual
overall winner in the competitive division.
Congratulations Don Cherry's. You guys
played hard and with class, and made games exciting with the
in-your-face tempo.
It's too bad there wasn't more
sportsmanship. There were some players who thought the Stanley
Cup was up for grabs, and acted very immature. Grow up!,
it's for fun and charity.
In the round robin, we went 2-1-1.
Crawford was our man in the pipes. Crawford
was solid in net, providing us with numerous key saves
throughout the day, and battling through the muggy heat,
especially with goalie equipment on.
Quenville and Fontaine were our main
snipers.
Quenville was a factor in every game we
played scoring timely goals and keeping us in tight games
against stiff competition.
Fontaine was the garbage man, stuffing home
rebound after rebound for the team.
Mask and myself supplied supporting scoring
roles, and figured in on some critical goals.
Then there was our big man on defence,
Perrin.
He was quite a sight, and a force to be
reckoned with. Perrin kept the competition honest with his
savvy defensive play.
Needless to say, we were all a little banged
up from the action, but it was all worth it.
This was the fifth Power Play event, and
organizers were pleased with the results
.
"It's a great amount to come in because
every bit of it goes towards helping the local kids," said
Cathy Macey, district manager for Sudbury and area for the
Easter Seals Society. "The money is used to purchase mobility
equipment."
Macey was proud of the combined effort put
forth by the community, volunteers and participants.
"We can't do it without the volunteers,"
said Macey. "There was over 40 volunteers involved to put that
event on. The participants, 20 teams, worked really hard to
raise all that money for the kids. They see the kids out there
on that day and know they know where their fundraising efforts
are going towards."
I am looking forward to the next Power Play
event.
