Special hockey jerseys to be auction for charity

Rayside Balfour Canadians special edition jerseys A Sudbury area junior A hockey team unveils special edition jerseys that will raise money for local cancer charity. Molly Frommer reports.

Sudbury — A local Junior ‘A ‘ hockey team in the Sudbury area unveiled some special edition jerseys Feb.20.

The Rayside Balfour Canadians will be wearing Super Mario themed hockey jerseys as they play for first place in a game scheduled for Feb 27.

These special jerseys will be auctioned off at the game between the Rayside Balfour Canadians and the Blind River Beavers, and the money raised will go to support the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.

“This is a pretty unique one where we get to show off a nice jersey that the youngsters are interested in and also have the adults bid on the jerseys so that we can raise some money for the charity,” said Blaine Smith, the managing director with the Rayside Balfour Canadians.

Local foundation helps families with medical travel.

Officials with the Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer say all proceeds raised from this night will go towards funding much needed programs.

“All the funding is going towards our 23 programs and services offered across Northern Ontario who  have a child diagnosed with cancer,” said Dayna Caruso with Northern Ontario Families of Children with Cancer.

“Unfortunately, for the majority of families they have to travel for treatment to places like Ottawa, Toronto, London and some to the United States which means some parents can’t work and so NOFCC really strives to reduce the financial burden that they face.”

A total of 22 jerseys will be auctioned off after the game, and players say they’re looking forward to it.

“The jerseys are awesome, it’s going to a great cause for kids. Growing up I always played super Mario and Mario Cart with my siblings, so to see some of these kids I’m sure they’re going to know right away what the jerseys are and Super Mario’s a huge character so kids are going to love it,” said Greg Arnburg, a defenceman with the Canadians.

Tickets can be purchased at the door next Feb.27, and the team is hoping to raise a total of $10,000.