Manitobans Score for Stop Concussions
By Scott Taylor Photos by Wulos
For another glorious summer , the stopconcussions . com Foundation took teams of U . S . and Canadian professional hockey players to Australia on a two-week tour to promote the game and make folks aware of the stopconcussions . com and Shoot for the Cure campaigns . This year , three Manitobans were part of Team Canada – goalie Chris Driedger and forwards Adam Hughesman and 48-year-old Terry Yake . It was another outstanding tour , Canada won and for organizer Kerry Goulet , Manitoba ’ s stars made it all that much better .
By his own admission , Binghamton Senators goaltender Chris Driedger had an almost perfect summer . After all , he spent more than a week in Australia entertaining hockey fans , raising money for good cause and just for laughs , he even played some pretty good hockey .
“ It was a pretty good time ,” said Driedger , a Winnipegger who is one of the best goaltenders ever produced in Manitoba . “ It was my first time in Australia and it was pretty much a perfect trip . I get a two-week vacation to a place I ’ ve never been before and it was a hockey trip on top of that . It was great and I ’ d love to do it again .”
While it was a great week for three Manitoba stars – Driedger , Bordeaux ( France ) Hockey Club ’ s Adam Hughesman and former St . Louis Blues star Terry Yake - fans from Sydney , Melbourne , and Newcastle had themselves the hockey experience of a lifetime . Not only was it an opportunity to watch high-level professional competition , but also to witness both the talent and passion that makes hockey the world ’ s greatest game .
The 2017 Ice Hockey Classic between the USA and Canada was another chapter in the greatest rivalry in sports . The tournament was an immense success , selling-out each game in Sydney , Melbourne , and Newcastle . And there was no shortage of star power as the leader and head coach for Team Canada was NHL legend Darryl Sittler and Team USA was led and coached by another NHL legend , Dave ( Tiger ) Williams .
The fans were also treated to NHL , AHL and ECHL stars and alumni such as Peter Holland , Adam Cracknell , Scott Hannan , Mike Commodore , TJ Brennan , Brandon
Bollig and Stephane Matteau . Adding to the spectacle , the historic Canada Cup was brought directly from the Hockey Hall of Fame while the talented Yvon Barrette , who played the role of goalie Denis Lemieux in the iconic film , Slap Shot , served as celebrity coach .
“ It was a slower pace than I was used to because for us it was mostly just fun ,” said Driedger . “ I ’ d call it really high-level beer league . But the crowds were great and I ’ m really excited about going back next year .
“ Part of what made it such a great trip is that there were a lot of guys I knew . There were three players from Bingo ( Binghamton ) and two other Manitoba guys . I played with Hughesman in junior in Tri-City ( 2010-11 ) so it made the trip all that more enjoyable .”
Kerry Goulet , co-founder of stopconcussions . com Foundation speaking to the crowd in Australia this summer
108 | GAME ON | SEPTEMBER 2017