CAPE ELIZABETH — The varsity boy’s hockey season may be over, but the team isn’t quite ready to call it quits.
For the second year in a row, the Fire Department has challenged the teenagers to face off in a fundraiser game for Engine Co. No. 2.
And they’d better be on their game, because on Saturday night, the Fire Department is out for revenge.
Made up of about 15 members of the fire and rescue squads and water extrication team, including Curt Brown, the boys varsity assistant coach, and Ben Davis,
former Cape hockey player and impetus behind the fundraiser, the town team hopes to regain some pride after losing last year’s game.
“Last year they kicked our butts,” Brown said. This time around, he said, the FD team is “going to try to hang with them a little more,” though the team doesn’t have a game plan worked out just yet.
But don’t let their ambition fool you – for some FD team members, this will be the first time they’ve skated since last year’s loss. For the boys team, on the other hand, it has been just two weeks since their season ended in the Western Maine final against Greely.
“It’s just a lot of fun,” Brown said. And half of that fun, he added, is watching the Fire Department team on the ice.
Davis brainstormed the idea last year when the department decided that their annual lobster stew dinner fundraiser had fizzled.
“I’ve been playing hockey all my life,” he said, so the idea of challenging his former team seemed only natural. The idea caught on, and with support from citizens who came out to the game, the department was able to raise a “good amount of money,” Davis said.
“We lost,” he said, “but obviously that wasn’t our main concern.”
One of the coolest parts of the game, Brown said, is getting the kids onto the ice with local fire and rescue members. More than just another chance to lace up their postseason skates, Brown said, it’s a good opportunity for the boys to meet those local professionals.
And, he added, “it’s great to see the community show up” in support of both teams.
Saturday’s face off is at 8:15 p.m. at the Portland Ice Arena. Tickets are $3 for kids, $5 for adults. Tickets are available at the door or in advance by calling Davis at 767-5739. All proceeds go to Engine Co. No. 2, which is based at Town Center Station.