Mike Griffith: Time for another 48 hours of hockey
| Friday, Feb 20 2009 01:56 AM
Last Updated Friday, Mar 27 2009 01:23 PM
Bakersfield Ice Sports Center general manager Scott Hay calls it craziness and it is.
That's what makes the fifth annual Condors Fighting Cancer Hockey-Thon so special.
Forty-one straight hours of hockey, highlighted by two Condors games against the Victoria Salmon Kings and an alumni game pitting former Condors against other former West Coast minor-leaguers.
The event also features youth hockey games for the Bakersfield Ice Sports Center in-house players as well as all of the traveling Bakersfield Dragons teams.
But the real workhorses of the Hockey-Thon, which raises money for Links for Life, a local breast cancer resource center, are the 70 adult players who will toil repeatedly through the wee hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Being a sucker for punishment, I will be among those adults for the first time in a couple of years. Having participated in two previous Hockey-Thons I know what lies ahead and this aging body will probably revolt sometime during the ordeal. I'll be doing periodic updates throughout the event on my CondorsTalk blog.
Six adult teams will play anywhere from four to six games each over the course of the event, as they kick off action at 11:59 p.m. on Friday night. Two Dragons teams will play Saturday morning before the Condors play host to the Salmon Kings across the railroad tracks at noon on Saturday.
The Dragons kick back into gear Saturday afternoon with the Condors alumni taking on the Midget Dragons at 8 p.m. Adults get back on the ice at 9:30 p.m. and continue play until 5:30 a.m. on Sunday when youth hockey gets under way.
The Condors alumni take to the ice at Rabobank Arena at noon on Saturday to play a West Coast All-Star team. The Condors and Salmon Kings battle at 2 p.m. to end the event.
Former Condors/Fog defenseman Kevin Barrett came up with the idea of the Hockey-Thon after losing his mother to inflammatory breast cancer. Sponsored by 3-Way Chevrolet, the event has raised $162,000 over the past four years.
The Condors alumni roster features Scott Hay (2001-02), Glen Mears (1997-04), Quinn Fair (2001-04), Al Murphy (1998-99), Paul Rosebush (1999-06), Brian McCarthy (1995-00), Paul Willett (1999-04), Mike Hofstrand (2004-08), Scott Borders (2005-07), Jamie Cooke (1998-04), Jason Reesor (1999-01), Mark Pederson (assistant. coach, 2005-present). Markie Serda is the honorary Team Captain.
The West Coast alumni roster features former Fresno players Terry Friesen, Kory Mullin, Cory Murphy, Kris Porter, Mark Kuntz, Luke Curtin and Jay Johnson. Long Beach alum are Jean-Francois Picard and Jonathan Shockey, who also played for San Diego. Former San Diego Gulls are Martin St. Amour, Stephane St. Amour, Jason Courtemanche and Ian Forbes. Also playing will be Nello Ferrera (Bakersfield 2005-06). Chris Fleming is honorary Team Captain.
SLAP SHOTS
* The resurgent Condors head into this weekend's games having won five straight and seven of their last nine. Bakersfield has averaged 4.4 goals per game during the win streak.
* Bakersfield's Mike Wirll was named ECHL player of the week for Feb. 9-15. Wirll had four goals and three assists as the Condors went 3-1-0.
