Charity hockey game brings in over $7 thousand for local Guelph hospitals

Over $7,000 was raised for Guelph hospitals in Sunday afternoon’s annual charity hockey game. Hannah Schmidt tells us more.

Over $7,000 was raised for Guelph hospitals in Sunday afternoon’s annual charity hockey game between NHL legends and some of Guelph’s bravest.

Fans filled the stands of the Sleeman Centre as Guelph firefighters and former NHL players went head-to-head on the ice.

All the money raised from the game’s ticket sales and community sponsors was going toward the Guelph Fire Fighters Association Benevolent Foundation, a non-profit that distributes funds throughout Guelph, with Saturday’s game focusing on raising money for local hospitals.

“You know that every dollar raised is going to The Benevolent Foundation, going to local hospitals. That there’s kids and people in this community that are going to benefit from us making a fool of ourselves over there,” said Guelph firefighter Matt Jervais.

The game’s sales and sponsors raised $7,500 toward the foundation and Guelph hospitals.

Since the charity’s establishment in 1984, it’s raised over $2 million toward local hospitals in buying life-saving medical and emergency equipment.

Last year, the charity donated over $25,000 to both of Guelph’s hospitals, which foundation President Regan Stocco says went mostly toward the pediatric and infant wards.

“Some of the calls that we go out to are very sensitive, especially if children are involved. That’s why we wanted to go down this avenue over many decades of the pediatric ward,” said Stocco.

The event was a positive experience for players on the ice, motivating them to give it their all.

“Anytime you’re involved in community fundraising, it’s a feel-good situation,” said former NHL player Gary Leeman.

Former NHL player Darryl Shannon said aside from raising money, the energy of the players gets him to come back year after year.

“The reason why I keep coming back, other than the cause, is you get to become friends with the guys and get to know them,” said Shannon.

The goalie for Sunday’s game was Guelph firefighter David Ayres. The cause is one that he’s familiar with.

“I went through a kidney transplant 20 years ago,” said Ayres. “So I know what it’s like to have to deal with medical issues... from hospitals and doctors and all the great stuff they do. My dad was also a firefighter a long time ago. He passed away of cancer in 2014. So... the charity thing, all this medical kind of stuff, this is right down my alley.”

The funds are given to Guelph hospitals in hopes to fill in any gaps they are experiencing.

“We want to see results from specific equipment being bought for hospitals,” said Stocco. “We do discuss with the General Hospital Foundation and nurses and say ‘hey, what’s the biggest need that you guys need?’”

By the end of the game, the teams tied 10-10.

Jervais says this event is bigger than the hockey game.

“We’d love to see more people, more donations… because at the end of the day, it’s just a hockey game. It’s not anywhere near as important as what the monkey is going [toward].”