The city's Allandale Recreation Centre saw some high-flying hockey action last night as the ninth annual Mind To Muscle (M2M) Cup raised money and food donations for the Barrie Food Bank.
The event featured the fast-paced talent of local players from the NHL, AHL, ECHL, OHL, NCAA and CIS.
Mind To Muscle partnered with Purolator, Domino’s and the Barrie Colts to support the Barrie Food Bank tackling hunger in the local community.
Some of the players on hand for the game were former Colts Tyler Tucker, of the St. Louis Blues, and Ben Hawerchuk, as well as guest coach Paul Matheson of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Retired NHL referee Dan Marouelli helped apply the rules on the ice.
Mind to Muscle has provided hockey-focused strength and conditioning in the Simcoe County region for more than 24 years, and offers training programs developing hockey players.
“Last year, we raised $582 and 982 pounds (of donated food), and the goal this year is to raise $2,000 and 2,000 pounds, and by the look of what is hear and in the Barrie Food Bank van, I think we’re going to come pretty close to the 2,000 pounds,” Karen Shuh, manager of fundraising and donor engagement at the Barrie Food Bank, said at the south-end arena.
“This is really the slow season for the food bank, so donors think of us around holiday times like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter … so events like this in the summertime really helps us stock those shelves for our clients. This is huge," she says.
There are between 6,000 and 7,000 people who use the Barrie Food Bank each month, according to Shuh.
Back on the ice, former Colts forward Aidan Brown, who played in Barrie from 2015 to 2020 and now suits up for the Bayreuth Tigers in Europe, was having a blast.
“It’s awesome. I love coming back to Barrie and playing in this and seeing a lot of old faces,” the 24-year-old said in between shifts on the bench.
No points yet for him at the halfway point in the contest with his blue team up 4-3 late in the second period.
“I’m playing a defensive game tonight,” jokes Brown.
Sliding down the bench after Brown and grabbing a water bottle is Ben Hawerchuk, son of Hockey Hall of Famer and former Barrie Colts head coach Dale Hawerchuk, who passed away in 2020.
Ben, 26, has been playing for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.
“It’s a great game and for a great cause, and seeing all these familiar faces and doing this once every summer,” he says. “It’s nice to get together with the guys.”
Hawerchuk claims he’s on the score sheet.
“I put one in the net, but I still might be minus-one,” he says with a chuckle.
“Oh, I gotta go,” he suddenly adds as he heads over the boards and back into the fray for that great cause.