Worcester Sharks Opening Night Celebration Invite and Ticket

Like I wrote for the AHL All-Star Program and Ticket, the Worcester Sharks were the first organization in the community that I contacted to try and make a connection with when I started at Hope Lodge. I was put in touch with Mike Myers, and he immediately told me Hope Lodge could get free tickets to any game we wanted. Awesome.

The Sharks also helped out when Mike designed a pink goalie mask for Thomas Greiss to wear for the month of October. It was auctioned off at $5000, with all money going to Hope Lodge.

A couple of months later, we had a 17-year-old guest staying at Hope Lodge. He wanted to go to a Sharks game, but they didn’t have any home games scheduled for when he was here. So, Mike Myers and Sharks player Riley Armstrong came to visit him at Hope Lodge. It was great, and you can read that whole story here.

I wondered if Hope Lodge would still get free tickets when the AHL All-Star game came to Worcester two years ago, and we did. I think the highlight for me was watching former BC Eagle Cory Schneider setting a record by making 18 saves on 19 shots in the All-Star Skills competition.

Not surprisingly, the Sharks helped Hope Lodge with Skating for Hope. Finz made two appearances, and the Sharks provided games and prizes to keep the event going.

Tonight, they continued their generous donations by giving me an invite to the 2011-2012 opening night pre-game celebration and tickets to the game. I took my friend Patrick, and we each got a goodie bag with a Sharks pennant, schedule magnet, and t-shirt. There was also free food and dessert, and Fins was walking around greeting everyone. The only thing we had to pay for was drinks; and the $4.00 sodas seemed pricy even after getting everything else for free.

The game had just about everything I could ask for: A lot of goals, fights, and 4 former BC players (Benn Ferriero, Nick Petrecki, Stephen Gionta, Peter Harrold). The Sharks beat the Albany Devils 6-1, and after I beat Patrick 10-2 in his first game of PS3 NHL12 Hockey. Thanks again, Sharks!

Puck You, Look at Some of My Puckin' Collection...

Tonight was the last Skating for Hope committee meeting before things kick off Saturday morning. I tried to concentrate as much as I could, but I really have been getting stressed, excited, pumped, and worried all at once these past few days. I know it’s the first year of Skating for Hope, but I want it to go well enough so people will want to come back next year. I know it won’t be perfect and will be a learning experience, but it’s hard to tell that to yourself when it seems like you have 94 thoughts in your head all at once. Once I get going on Saturday, I’m hoping the stress will slowly leave. I know once I feel the puck on my stick for the first game, I should be A-O-K.

Some notes on these pucks:

I think the Celebrity Hat Trick puck was a stocking stuffer one Christmas.

I ran down the aisle at warm-ups of a Hockey East championship game one year, and grabbed the HE puck…I think we may use this one on Saturday.

Info on the 2005 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees is here.

Here’s my blog about the “Gahden’s” Last Hurrah.

On October 21^st, 2007, the Worcester Sharks had a “Pink at the Rink” game, and I got to drop this puck for the ceremonial face-off (those guys just look a little bigger than me!). In addition to this game, their goalie wore a pink mask for all of October that was auctioned off for a $5000 donation to Hope Lodge.

The Boston College Hockey was the first of my favorite teams to win a championship, when they did in OT on April 7, 2001.

In case you didn’t know, I love the Boston Bruins and they won The Cup this year.

AHL All-Star Skills Competition Program and Game Ticket (1/25/09, 1/26/09)

When I started working at Hope Lodge 4 years ago, the Worcester Sharks were the first organization in the community that I contacted to try and make a connection with. I was put in touch with Mike Myers, and he immediately told me Hope Lodge could get free tickets to any game we wanted. Awesome.

The Sharks also helped out when Mike designed a pink goalie mask for Thomas Greiss to wear for the month of October. It was auctioned off at $5000, with all money going to Hope Lodge.

A couple of months later, we had a 17-year-old guest staying at Hope Lodge. He wanted to go to a Sharks game, but they didn’t have any home games scheduled for when he was here. So, Mike Myers and Sharks player Riley Armstrong came to visit him at Hope Lodge. It was great, and you can read that whole story here.

I wondered if Hope Lodge would still get free tickets when the AHL All-Star game came to Worcester two years ago, and we did. I think the highlight for me was watching former BC Eagle Cory Schneider setting a record by making 18 saves on 19 shots in the All-Star Skills competition.

Not surprisingly, the Sharks are helping Hope Lodge with Skating for Hope. Finz is making two appearances, and the Sharks provided games and prizes to keep the event going. Oh yeah, they are making me a Sharks jersey…sweet!

Thank you for all the support, Sharks!

(Dream) Skating for Hope Schedule

I think we can all agree that cancer sucks. It makes people suffer physically and emotionally, and takes loved ones from us too early. We all want it to go away.

Still, I think there are lessons we can learn from cancer. It does not discriminate. Cancer doesn’t care about your age, race, religion, political party, job, finances, sexual preference, nationality, or anything else that people often judge each other about.

Cancer reminds us that our family and friends are the most important things in life, and that the “stuff” we have isn’t what makes us the happiest.

Cancer taught me to keep laughing no matter what is going on in my life.

Most importantly, it showed me how picturing something, dreaming something, and believing in it makes it happen.

19 years ago, I was picturing chemotherapy traveling through my veins, into my brain, and attacking my cancerous brain tumor. It worked, and I am here to share that story.

Two years ago, I got an idea for a Skate-a-thon to help Hope Lodge, and it is happening in a couple of months.

This is what my ideal Skating for Hope event schedule would be. Even though I am still waiting to hear back from a few people, some of it is already happening. There are former BC hockey players joining me, which itself is going to be unreal. I’m sure as the years go on, the actual event will look more and more like this “dream” one. Looking forward to July 30^th…