By Mark Squibb/May 12, 2022
The St. Kevin’s High Mavericks Hockey Alumni Charity Classic continues to be a community success.
The sixth annual game, held on April 29, raised $7,570 for local causes, the highest yearly total to date.
“We set the goal a little high at $7,500, but we were really hoping to get there,” said organizer Jason Snelgrove. “Regardless of how much we raised, any bit of money is good money. But we had a lot of support, and certainly a lot of support this year from local businesses who provided some generous monetary donations as well as a ton of prizes.”
COVID-19 restrictions shuttered the doors last year, and Snelgrove said the crowd may have been a littler smaller than years past due to the continued concerns over COVID-19, as was anticipated by organizers, but those in attendance made up for any lack in numbers.
“To come out on the ice at the start of the game and to see the stands pretty full of fans was pretty exciting for everyone,” said Snelgrove. “It wouldn’t have been the same if we had to do it with an empty rink. And to be honest, I don’t know that we would have went ahead with the event if it had to be an empty rink. Because the fans in the stands and that kind of community support really makes it that much better, that much more special.”
After two years of pandemic restrictions which have seen hockey severely limited or cancelled outright at all levels of play, he said it was good for the guys, young and young at heart, to get back in the locker rooms together to share some laughs and tell some stories.
“Everybody was excited to return to some sort of normalcy,” said Snelgrove. “It certainly was nice to see everybody back together and back in the dressing rooms together, both in the alumni room and the high school room, because they’ve had a lot of ups and downs with their regular hockey over the last number of years. So, it was certainly nice.”
The alumni team, which suffered its first defeat at the hands of the young guns back in 2020, struck back and won 10-4.
“The alumni team were hyped up after their previous loss, but I don’t think anybody was looking forward to losing,” said Snelgrove. “The young team came out and scored the first goal within the first 20 or 30 seconds, a beautiful goal by James Stamp, to start the game, and we kind of got back on our heels, and we said, ‘Oh, don’t tell me we’re in for another tight, close game.’ But the old guys managed to keep it together and keep the game simple and go away with the win. But no matter what the score was throughout the game, there was that friendly banter and lots of smiles and lots of laughs. At the end of the day, everyone plays to win, but I don’t think anyone really cared at the end of the day what the result was. It was just about the reason that we were there, and that was to raise money and give back to the community. So, win or lose, everyone leaves the rink with a sense of pride and a sense of being successful.”
Family members were quick to celebrate their favorite players following the final whistle.
“After the game the kids will run down to the alumni dressing room and want pictures with their dad, or on the other side you have high school players that are graduating Grade 12 and they’re getting pictures with their parents, or brothers on the ice afterwards as kind of a send off to high school, so those kind of connections are really important and will put a smile on anyone’s face,” said Snelgrove.
He added that an event like this could not go ahead without the help and support of players, fans, businesses, and volunteers.
“There’s just so many people to thank,” said Snelgrove, who added that planning for next year’s game is underway.
“It certainly seems like the game isn’t going away any time soon,” said Snelgrove.
