Cops, NHL alumni battle in Bracebridge
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OPENING CEREMONIES. A colour party from the OPP kicked off a friendly hockey game between the Bracebridge OPP and NHL alumni on Thursday, November 1. The game was a fundraiser held in support of Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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ONTO THE ICE. Local dignitaries and Crabby Joe make their way onto centre ice at the Bracebridge Memorial Arena to kick off a friendly game between the Bracebridge OPP and NHL alumni. The game was a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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FUTURE PROS. The Bracebridge Bears kept the crowds entertained during the intermission of a friendly game between the Bracebridge OPP and NHL alumni. The game was a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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DENIED. NHL alumni goalie Mark Laforest deflects a shot on net from the OPP during a friendly game against local officers at the Bracebridge Memorial Arena on Thursday, Nov. 1. The game was held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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NOW THAT'S A SHOOTOUT. The Bracebridge OPP even up the odds during a skills competition event against NHL alumni on Thursday, Nov. 1, where participants must hit targets set up on a net. The game, which featured many former NHL players, was held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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TRICK SHOT. Plenty of laughs were had during a hockey skills competition between the Bracebridge OPP and NHL alumni. The competition took place as part of a friendly game between the teams on Thursday, Nov. 2, which was held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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AN ALL-STAR GAME. Officers from the Bracebridge OPP faced off against a team of NHL alumni in a special fundraiser game for Special Olympics on Thursday, Nov. 1. Though the cops put up a tough fight, the NHL alumni won the game by a score of 14-10. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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GOOD GAME. NHL alumni shake hands with officers after their 14-10 victory over the OPP on Thursday, November 1. The friendly game was held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics, and drew a standing-room only crowd to the Bracebridge Memorial Arena. (Photo by Louis Tam)
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THE GREAT, GREAT ONE. Walter Gretzky arrives to the OPP vs NHL Alumni game in style on Thursday, November 1. The game was held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. (Photo by Louis Tam)
Huntsville Forester
A wild shootout between local police and former NHLers filled nearly every seat in the Bracebridge Memorial Arena last week.
Held as a fundraiser for Special Olympics, the Thursday, Nov.1 game pitted officers from the Bracebridge OPP detachment against retired professional hockey players. On top of supporting Special Olympics, the game was also held in support of the Ontario Law Enforcement Torch Run – another annual fundraiser for Special Olympics – and marked the 60th anniversary of the first NHL alumni game, which the town hosted in 1952.
Throughout the first half of the game, the OPP proved their mettle against their professional opponents, whose ranks included Brent Gretzky, Muskoka native Kris King, Marty McSorley, Rick Vaive, Todd Harvey and Lou Franceschetti. Though the law enforcement team led the NHL alumni by a score of 8-5 in the beginning of the game’s second half, the former professionals quickly regrouped and went on to win the game by a score of 14-10.
“They really took it to us in the third period. We kept a close game in the first, but come the third they really showed their talent,” said OPP Const. Derek Wickett. “We tried to overcome, but the NHL alumni were a lot stronger.”
The game kicked off with a special visit from Walter Gretzky, who rode onto the ice in a Jeep. Following opening ceremonies that featured the OPP colour guard, Parry Sound – Muskoka MPP Norm Miller had the honour of doing the ceremonial puck drop.
During an intermission, crowds were kept on their feet with a short game by the Bracebridge Bears, followed by contests for audience members and a hockey skills competition for both the OPP and NHL alumni players.
Despite the loss, Wickett said his team was glad the event was held for a winning cause.
“We came out and we played hard; it was for a good cause,” he said. “We held our own, and had lots of fun.”
The game followed another hockey fundraiser the Bracebridge OPP held just a week prior, when officers took on Special Olympians in a game of four-on-four street hockey at the town’s police station.