The Dallas Stars held what they hope will be the first of many community chest charity alumni games Saturday afternoon after the team’s 3-1 defeat of the Ottawa Senators- And the whole thing was to benefit Austin Stryker of the Stryker foundation.
While traveling to a hockey tournament in November James and Rebecca Stryker were killed in a car crash in Arizona, as well as their 16-year-old son Travis, twin brother of Austin, who played in this event.
There are a few different ways you can help.
First, visit the auction going on at auction.nhl.com, and choose the Dallas Stars option on the left. You can bid on the jerseys worn in the game Saturday and it all goes to this wonderful cause. The “9” tie that Craig Ludwig wore two weeks ago on Modano night looks like it’s in the list as well. Bid before the 29th.
Alternatively, text “DSAA to 72727” – That’s from Stars PR when I asked how to donate without buying a jersey at auction. Not sure how much that charges you just yet, but hopefully it will set you down the right path. We’re still awaiting video from the team on this.
You can also visit djha.com for additional resources and donation opportunities.
Stars alumni game about to begin! pic.twitter.com/ov5u8Z8Yw7
— Mike Rodriguez (@mrodsports) March 22, 2014
You know who was so cute tonight??? Tyler Seguin, encouraging his little goalie after the kid let one in #StarsAlumni pic.twitter.com/vqBM9C75BV
— Chris (@Ducks54) March 23, 2014
Great Alumni Game with the Dallas Stars and the Strykers! pic.twitter.com/6Catp4FpM8
— Suncreek Youth (@YouthSuncreek) March 22, 2014
Observations, very briefly:
- Ralph and Razor made the event, but Ray Whitney and Vern Fiddler (freshly showered, suited up and coiffed after their win over Ottawa) were a close second. All parties were witty and engaging in the interviews. All joked about conditioning of older players. Modano himself said the speed of the game (referred to quite sarcastically) was up his alley.
- Joe Nieuwendyk’s absence from Modano retirement night was glaring, despite his presence in Calgary the night before, but he was here. He’s often been the best player in other alumni games with the Flames– No exception here. He looked sharp.
- There were men out there measuring something like 65″ tall. There were boys out there measuring something like 36″ tall. Watching the interaction when those groups bisected was entertaining. Several times each bench tried to match “alumni” lineup to “alumni” lineup, and younger lines to younger lines. Occasionally there was a straggler from the little tikes that had no intention of changing. They were fearless out there. It was awesome to see.
- Ed Belfour had to let up on some plays where the little ones were involved. You could tell it hurt him to do so. The competitive nature of these guys just never dies.
- Marty Turco is still rock star. He was signing things thrown over the glass like crazy. He was over-dramatic in his goaltending, engaging the crowd. He made a huge save- An NHL quality save, and then fired the puck all the way down the ice to puck up what would have been an assist. He was having fun. It was fun to see. That was his building for a time.
- But.. he did let in the first couple of goals on the night. And there were idiotic, yet wonderful “Turrrrrr-Cooooo” calls for the rest of the first period. You guys are funny out there.
A taste of what you may have missed from YouTube: