Rafters get friends together
for Braden Pettinger
By Scott Taylor, Photo credit ???
Tatiana and Maverick Rafter, two of
Manitoba’s top hockey players, could
not going sit idly by this Holiday
Season without thinking of fellow
player Braden Pettinger.
Back on November 12 at the MTS
Iceplex during a game against the
Winnipeg Blues, Pettinger, a Portage
Terriers defenseman, tripped and fell
heavily into the boards. He suffered
a life-altering injury and is now
paralyzed.
The Manitoba hockey community,
as tight and as giving as it is, has come
together to do everything possible to
make Braden’s life and the life of his
family, a little more comfortable. To
date, a Go Fund Me project https://
www.gofundme.com/77ag2dq4 has
raised more than $140,000 for Braden
and his family and on December 26, a
social will be held in his hometown of
Souris, Manitoba, to help raise more
funds. The Brandon Wheat Kings raised
almost $9,000 during a game with the
Regina Pats in mid-November and
other teams in Manitoba have come
together to raise as much money as
they can.
However, on December 22 at
Sturgeon Heights Community Centre,
the First Annual Rafter’s Christmas
Cheer Board Classic will take place
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The highlight will
be a charity shinny game featuring
some of the best players in the
province.
“The shinny game will begin at 3
p.m. and run to 4:30 p.m,” said Tatiana
Rafter, a Winnipegger who played for
the University of British Columbia
and is now a professional player with
Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s
Hockey League in the United States.
“The featured players are from WHL:
Ryley Lindgren, Adam Brooks, Chase
Harrison, Nick Zajac, and Keegan
Kolesar. From the MJHL: Maverick
Rafter, Rhett Lough, Cole McCartan,
Dallas Starodub and Kevin Takatch.
From the CIS: Lucas Froese. And
from the NCAA: Tess Bracken, Allison
Sexton, Brooklyn Langlois and Saige
Patrick. The rest of our roster is filled
with friends that I would classify as
retired.
“It will be a charity shinny game, so
helmets will be worn, but not full gear
with 75 per cent of the funds raised
going to Braden and 25 per cent of the
funds earmarked for the Christmas
Cheer Board of Winnipeg.”
There will also be a 50/50 draw, a
silent auction, chuck-a-puck, a bake
sale and a chance for kids to meet the
players.
“If anyone wants to volunteer,
donate silent auction prizes, contribute
baked goods, or sponsor/or promote
the event, they should contact me
via email at tatiana.rafter@gmail.
com, or my brother Maverick at
[email protected],” Rafter
said. l
The Roster
Female Players
Tatiana Rafter: Buffalo Beauts, NWHL
Tess Bracken: Dartmouth College,
NCAA Division 1
Kati Tabin: Balmoral Hall Blazers
(JWHL), committed to Quinnipiac
University, NCAA Division 1
Christine Bumstead: alumnus of St.
Mary’s Academy
Allison Sexton: Merrimack College,
NCAA Division 1
Brooklyn Langlois: Maine Black Bears,
NCAA Division 1
Saige Patrick: University of Wisconsin
Superior, NCAA Division III
16 / sportslife