The UBC Thunderbird men’s hockey team lost 8-7 in an once-in-a-lifetime matchup against the Bieksa’s Buddies, a team of locked out NHL players, which raised more than $200,000 for charity.
The two teams played a sold-out game Wednesday night at UBC’s Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, bringing in $100,000 to support three Vancouver Canucks-supported charity organizations. Vancouver singer Michael Bublé, who attended the game, matched the contributions.
The $200,000 was presented to the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, The Canucks Autism Network and The Canucks Family Education Centre.
The TBirds were leading the game 7-3 but the Bieksa’s Buddies made a comeback with five straight goals in the third period to win the game.
“We see these guys every day in the gym and we practice with them once a week so it was a lot of fun playing against them,” said Daniel Sedin.
“The biggest thing that everyone wanted to see was five thousand people walking away having had fun and really showcase how good our hockey is and how good our players are; that we can play and it is entertaining,” said UBC coach Milan Dragicevic. ” I thought we did that, I thought our guys put on a great show.”
Bublé was encouraged to join the teams in warm-up and participate in the game but he declined. Instead he took on a coaching role for the Bieksa’s Buddies along with Canuck players Ryan Kesler, Jason Garrison and Alex Edler, former Canuck Willie Mitchell and B.C. Lions kicker Paul McCallum.
For more information about the game, visit UBC Athletics at http://gothunderbirds.ca/news/2012/10/18/ICEM_1018122555.aspx
