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"Growing up in Western Pennsylvania --- Mercer Area High School did
not offer ice hockey. The closest rink was thirty-minutes away in Sharon -- and there was no way in hell my "otherwise"
supportive parents were driving me that far to play hockey in the middle of winter. Instead, my dad dropped
my teenage friends and me off at Brandywine Spring Community Park along with our figure skates, hockey sticks and
shovels for an afternoon of good cold fun! I loved skating at the park but remember the ice being rough
with frozen debris stuck to the surface. We would always try to keep the puck away the thin ice around the drain but
lost a few pucks each winter. When I was eight years old I remember Bobbie KovaI, Bob Cortez and me racing to
get a puck by an open drain on a small pond near our house in Clarion. Being the first to the puck is great under normal
hockey conditions, but when all three of us fell through the ice -- we had to drag each other out of the
water and walk home soaked and covered in mud. The worst part was trying to get our wet hockey skates off and explain
to our parents what the hell just happened."
"I would have never imagined many years later that
my "grown-up" friends and I would be in full hockey gear skating against former NHL greats Bryan Trottier, Joe Watson,
Bob Kelly, Reggie Leach, Joe Mullen and Dave Schultz who collectively ---- have seventeen Stanley Cup Rings. What's even
more bizarre is that a couple years after that, I would have the Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap
Shot in my car, looking at my CD's while we drive to a benefit hockey game."
"Growing up sixty-miles north of Pittsburgh, my dad took me to Penguins hockey games at
the infamous Igloo. The Igloo is one of the oldest operating NHL Arena's and still a great place to watch a
hockey game. Complete with a retractable roof, narrow hallways and a smoke filled ceiling (at the time) it still
has that "old school" hockey appeal. The roof is now rusted shut but who cares, opening it would melt the ice anyway.
I remember the Igloo being a pretty busy place with a loyal following of fans decked out in yellow and black
hockey jerseys."
"The Igloo is where I watched Mark Johnson, Rick Kehoe, Mike Bullard, Greg Malone, Pierre
Larouche, Jean Pronovost and Paul Gardner battle with wood hockey sticks made by Koho, Northland and Sherwood. These
sticks were referred to as "The Lumber" by many of the guys and incontrast to the rough nickname, were very light with a great feel
to them. My dad had contacts with security near the ice during warmups and I always seemed to come home with my own "Lumber." Once back on the
local pond, I used my prized "Lumber" to try to play like the pros. Before leaving for Slippery
Rock University in 1982, I taped all the sticks together and put them in my parents attic."
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| On Jan. 30, 1980, the Penguins wore black and gold for the first time! |
"After being off the ice for eighteen years I picked up "The Lumber" in 2000
and starting playing in a mens league at Twin Ponds in Harrisburg. Shortly after that I attended a NHL Alumni game and the
rest is history."
"Organizing an NHL Alumni Hockey Game is a tough job, and it takes about six months of
planning to make it happen and involves a lot of generous sponsors, players and volunteers. Jon Jehrio joined me in 2003
as Chairman and together, we play the game we love with the players we admired as kids. We raise money for a good
cause and give local hockey fans something different."
"There's a lot of great memories over the past seven years, almost too many to print. If you look at
the photos on our web pages, the faces will tell the stories. "Play It Again" for Charity
hopes our events keep the spirit of NHL Alumni alive. Today, Jon and I thrive on others enjoying the game like we do and love
watching their faces when they get the puck taken from them by a former pro!"
"In 2004, I went back to my parents attic and cut loose the bundle of used "Lumber" from twenty-two
years earlier. Intact were three sticks from the Pittsburgh Penguins. A stick from Rick Kehoe had electrical tape
on it and was still in good condition. A blank stick was in excellent condition BUT it was the third stick that
caught my eye. As I turned the stick sideaways to read the name. I could'nt believe what I was holding. This particular
stick had the name JOHNSON written on it. It belonged to Mark Johnson, one of the heroes of the 1980 United
States Olympic Gold Medal Team and star Rookie for the Pittsburgh Penguins."
"Staring at the stick I started re-thinking it's rough history. I must have been nuts
to use this prized stick on the frozen pond. Today, the stick is no longer in a cold attic, but in a warm house.
As a kid I remember putting "baseball cards" on my bike spokes and then years later wondering how many valuable rookie cards
I ruined. One thing is for sure ----- it's a good thing these rookie cards, were made of all things ------Lumber!
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