Tuesday, December 12, 2017
NHL Alumni at the Essroc Centre
Last Friday
night, several members of the NHL Alumni group took the ice at the
Essroc Arena to play against the local “Law Enforcement All Stars”.
The game was in aid of the Special Olympics for Ontario.
We were a
bit late getting to the arena, and I was pleasantly surprised to see
that there were very few seats available at that time. That bode well
for the Special Olympics, as a cheque for more than $ 4 000 was
turned over prior to the game.
Walter
Gretzky was in attendance, carefully signing autographs in the foyer
for young and old hockey fans. I doubt that anyone in Canada has
signed more autographs.
His son
Brent suited up for the Alumni. Brent played several games for the
Tampa Bay Lightning. A former Belleville Bull, he was part of the
Gretzky connection in this area, His brother Keith also played for
the Bulls. The oldest brother. I think his name is Wayne, was once
part owner of the team with Dr. Vaughan.
Since Mark LaForest went to all of the trouble to suit up as a goaltender, Ron Tugnutt did a decent job as a skater!!
Other Alumni
on hand were: Mark La Forest, Tom Fergus, Ron Tugnott, Gilbert
Dionne, Al Iafrate, Nik Antropov, Rick Vaive, Dave “Tiger”
Williams, and Mike Krushelnyski. Dave Hutchinson wore the striped
shirt and gave a running commentary throughout the game, similar to
the work that “Red” Storey did many years ago.
LaForest
took the puck on his stick in the first period, skated out of his
net, deked a couple of guys and got as far as the opposition blueline
before ffeding a perfect pass. That brought the crowd out of its
seats!!
The crowd
really enjoyed the game, focusing on the play of the former NHLers:
smooth skating, intricate patterns, quick shots mixed with plenty of
comedy.
A good time
was had by all!
# posted by James Hurst @ 10:56 AM 
