Bieksa's Buddies vs UBC Thunderbirds Charity Event

This was the hottest ticket in town last night!  If you weren't one of the five thousand people who were in attendance last night to witness this charity event, you missed one heck of a game!  Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks threw a very successful event for three charities close to his heart.  The Canucks Place Children's Hospice, Canucks Autism Network and the Canucks Family Education Centre received $200,000 dollars from last night.  Bieksa's goal was to raise $100,000, which he did but then singer, Michael Buble stepped in and matched the $100,000.  He was supposed to have played on Bieksa's Buddies team and they even had #88 jersey ready with his name but found he got cold feet when it came time to lace the skates up!  It was a very generous donation though.

Here's Bieksa and his dad mic'd up for the game. Courtesy of cbc.ca

So, my friend, Leslie-Anne and I got there, paid $10 for parking and found parking on the 3rd level of the parkade across the street from the Doug Mitchell Arena at UBC.  We walked into the building and took a look around.  I bought some 50/50 tickets from a volunteer.  Leslie-Anne saw him before I did.  She told me to look around "He's here! He's here!"  is what she said! lol.  So, I looked around to see who she was talking about.  That's when I saw him.  Sitting in his blue shirt and shorts giving Team 1040 radio station an interview.

Kevin Bieksa giving an interview with Team 1040 at Bieksa's Buddies

 After he was done, he ran down the steps to the bottom of the arena and got ready for the game.  We could see them walking around back there with a soccer ball bouncing around in the air.  I'm guessing pre-game warm-up!

We decided to look around some more.  LA wanted to get some beer so we walked around to the concession areas.  The prices were much cheaper than the regular BC Place and Rogers Arena prices.  So she got herself a beer and we ended up wandering around for a bit. It was both of our first times in this particular arena. Once we were oriented, I decided to have a seat and wait for the players to show up on the ice.  LA went back to the concessions to grab a burger.

We were each handed a roster program for the night.  This is what the Bieksa Buddies roster looked like.  Minus Buble.

Then they came out and started their warm-ups.

Cory Schnieder was the lone goalie for Bieksa's Buddies so he had a very long leash.  He looked kinda rusty out there for awhile but then seemed to settle down a bit more as it went on.

The Buddies are ready to roll here.

The first period started and both teams were able to keep it pretty even.  Schniedz looked shaky on his goals especially when he got beat on the very first shot!  After he let in the second goal, one of the reporters there heckled "Put in Luongo!".  Schneidz was able to laugh it off knowing full well, that this was Vancouver and he expected that sort of thing here.  Second period was horrible for the buddies.  They got schooled as the UBC Thunderbirds scored 4 straight goals to make it 7-3 before heading into the second intermission.  I have to say that I really didn't like the UBC goal scoring song.  I think it might have been their fight song followed by Thunderstruck - AC/DC.  The third period was much better with the Buddies scoring five unanswered goals followed by the Canucks goal scoring song, "Bang bang bang bang, vamanos, vamanos!"  Even Marty Bieksa, who played forward with the Sedins, scored a great goal.  He really was pretty good.
Their dad, Al Bieksa was the Referee for this event.  I thought he did a great job as well.  The only questionable penatly would have to be to Ilan Cumberbirch of the T-Birds who got two minutes  "for looking so good".  Actually it was for roughing but funny all the same.

The end result was an 8-7 win for Bieksa's Buddies over the UBC Thunderbirds.  Although, it seemed the T-Birds really made them work for it.  Even after the T-birds pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, the Buddies decided to pull Schniedz out of goal too just to make it more fun.  With the defensive draw on their own end, the Buddies were able to get the puck out of their zone at the last dying seconds denying the T-birds any chance at tying up the game.

And just for fan entertainment, there was a 10 man shoot-out at the end.  It ended in a 2-2 tie.  No points on the line here.  There were a couple standouts.  Marty Bieksa went in for a shot and threw his glove at the goalie and tried to score but to no avail.  It must run in the family.  Not quite the slider that K.Bieksa threw at Clutterbuck of the Wild last season.

The other standout was sniper Aaron Volpatti.  He had to go up against three goalies in one net.  The T-birds tried everything to try to stop Volpatti from scoring to keep it tied.  You can watch the entire shootout below.

All in all, it was a fun night.  The hockey starved fans got their hockey fix and were entertained thoroughly.  $200,000 was raised for the three charities that Bieksa is involved with and the players themselves got to play in a game in front of their fans which I'm sure they've missed as well.  It was a total success and all because of Kevin Bieksa.  I'm so proud of him and where his mind is at during this lockout.  He's not one to sit back and just do nothing.  And now, after today's response to the new NHLPA propsal, it's looking even more dismal of any sort of an NHL season to salvage.  Maybe all we'll have are Bieksa's charity games to look forward too.  He's not only a leader on the ice, but off the ice as well.  I hope he's planning his next charity game....looks like we're gonna need it.  Thank you Bieksa for arranging this much needed night for the fans, charities and the players!  You are awesome!

Here's a bonus video I found on youtube of Kevin Bieksa and his dad talking about taking the College route playing hockey.

“I’m in the position where we can go on the ice and raise money for charity and for me, it seems like a no-brainer to impact a lot of families in B.C … I don’t look too far ahead, but I know it’s something I’ll do at some point. Trevor took a year to evaluate things and relax and do some things he wasn’t able to do with the hockey season and training. He’s involved in a lot of charities and in business. I imagine I’ll be much the same.”

—	Kevin Bieksa

Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimers 2012

My next volunteering gig is for another great cause.  This charity event is in support of the Gordie and Colleen Howe Fund for Alzheimers at Baycrest.  It involves hockey enthusiasts and NHL hockey alumnis playing for Alzheimers and other dementias.  Its' a three day event with the kick-off starting on Oct 26th at the Vancouver Convention Centre.  Gordie Howe will be having a luncheon for the players.  The next event will be the draft where the NHL former greats will be drafted to teams the night before the tournament.  On the 27th, I will be at the Canlan Ice Sports Centre located in North Vancouver.  This is where the tournament will take place and I will be registering players and teams into the tournament.  This will be my first time working this event and it looks like it's going to a fun one!

List of former NHL players to be drafted. 

I've had the pleasure of meeting Gordie Howe backstage in the green room during the Memorial Cup 2007 event.  He was always smiling at me whenever he saw me throughout the whole three days I worked in the VIP Hospitality team.  Finally  at the awards ceremony at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, he walked over to me as the awards ceremony was about to start. I thought he was going to ask me where the bathroom was.  He didn't.  Instead he had came over to have a little chat with me.  I have to say that I was really shocked  that he did that. Pleasantly shocked. I've met alot of hockey personalities in my ten years of volunteering in this city and I have to say, the two of the classiest guys around have got to be Stan Smyl and Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe.  He left a lasting impression on me.  I was just there to do Access Control for the green room.  Mr. Howe certainly does appreciate his volunteers though.  He's always the first to thank us for a great job and always has a smile for you. 

So, I guess I'll find out more later when I actually get to work the tournament.  I'll blog more later.  Tomorrow, I'm heading to the Bieksa's Buddies vs UBC Thunderbirds game with my friend and fellow volunteer, Leslie-Anne.  I'll update the blog later.

Scotiabank Pro Am for Alzheimers information

Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer Event

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain pulsing down on our house skylights.  It sounded like it was hailing but it was only rain...and lots of it.  I was still psyched to go downtown to Concord Place where this event was taking place.  My fellow volunteers were Facebooking me that they were heading that way too and were waiting to see me there.  My shift started at 1pm so I decided I would get there an hour before to check it all out before they put me to work!

I bundled up in as many layers as I could since there was lots of rain puddles happening as I saw posted in this video that I screen capped.  The puddles were so large and deep at one point that this one in particular had to be cornered off with chairs so people would walk around it.

When I got there, the tournament was in full swing and all the different road hockey rinks were busy. 

After I checked in with the volunteer tent, I was positioned in the "Interactive Zone".  This zone had air hockey tables, bubble hockey tables and a fuse ball table along with a video hockey game console. As soon as I got there, I was greeted by a fellow Whitecaps volunteer.  His name was Paul.  He had been there a few hours before me and was just keeping warm by drinking a cup of coffee that the Van Houtte company provided in their kiosks for free to everyone.  I got a hot chocolate from there later on when I wanted to warm up.

As Paul and I watched the people walking by, we noticed our Whitecaps Club Ambassador, Carl Valentine, walk by.  Later on there was a Whitecap's Russell Tiebert sighting.  He was actually involved in the demonstration for the Cross-Fit company in a kiosk in the corner section of RHCC.  He was joined by former Whitecaps and current Women's Canadian National Soccer team player and Olympic Bronze winner, Emily Zurrer.  It was a competition between the girls and the boys.  Three rounds of push-ups with hand claps followed by ten tosses of the medicine ball to one another and then lunges to the end of the carpet and back. Paul, Carl and I stood by and watched in fascination and cheered on Russell and Emily.  They are from the Whitecaps family, afterall. Russell and Emily are pictured both in red jerseys as they were also playing on ball hockey teams.  Team Russell won by half a lunge step.

Afterwards, Russell and Emily were both interviewed by the Cross-fit speaker.  Here's Russell thanking his mother and his father....funny guy.

Once Carl, Paul and I congratulated Russell on his win, Paul and I headed over to the Interactive Zone again.  We feasted on some free frozen yougurt with strawberry, marshmallow, gum drop and little white chocolate chip for toppings.  It was pretty yummy.  Around three o'clock, people started arriving for the autograph session.  Unfortunately, it was still being set up and the players were still being rounded up as some of them were still playing.

Out of the possible five players, whose names you see displayed above, only two were able to make it to the autograph session.  The autograph session was originally to be held at the Interactive Zone but was later moved into the Budweiser beer garden.  Which meant that the two young ladies pictured in orange shirts here, were not able to get into the area.  So, Steph and I took all the stuff and headed off to the beer garden to manage the session.

First up was former Canucks, Garth Butcher.  He played defence in '82 and then from '84 - '90.  He went on to play for other NHL teams after but he always remained a favourite in Vancouver.  I was lucky enough to have a nice conversation with him while he was signing autographs.  You can tell he really loves Vancouver and the Canucks organization.  There's lots of respect there.  He's also going to be at the Gordie Howe fundraiser, Scotiabank Pro Am for Alzheimers from Oct 26th - 28th in North Vancouver.  Here's a pic I got with him.  Such a sweet guy.  He'd been giving autographs to a lot of people all day.

Hmm...I would post photos but they keep coming up sideways off of my phone.  Even after I rotate it, when I select the picture to post here, it reverts back to its sideways position.  How frustrating.  But I did meet him and Dave Babych.  Both really awesome guys.  Poor Dave was given an Adam Graves Oiler Jersey to wear by the team he got drafted on.  They were all wearing Oliers jerseys.  He wasn't too happy about that.  Here's a pic that I took from the RHCC Facebook page of Garth.

There was a Facebook comment made by a fan that said "Garth was a class act all day long."  I have to agree with that.  One of the nicest Canucks you could meet.

But once the autograph session was over, I left.  It was the very first Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer in Vancouver and it was a success!  I'm sure next year will be just as awesome if not more.  I would like the date to be set a week or so earlier just so we could make it more of a success while we have nice weather.  But I told the Event Coordinator, Savannah, that she did a great job and will be back next year!

This is another charity event that I will be working.  It's actually happening tomorrow at Concord Place from 6am to 5pm.  I will be there for my shift at 1pm helping out with the Interactive Zone.  This is where the celebrities who are going to be playing in the tournament, will be signing autographs for fans.  I'm really looking forward to this.

I chose to work this event because of two reasons.  One is that I just plain love hockey.  The second is that unfortunate as it is, Cancer is no stranger to the maternal side of my family.  I lost my grandfather to Prostate Cancer in 2007 and his younger brother to the same disease a year later.  I also have two cousins that were affected with tumors in the last few years and have gone through surgery and treatments to survive. This is a cause that I hold close to my heart.  Maybe one day, we will find a cure to Cancer.

So, I was looking at the celebrity line-up and so far it's pretty impressive.  A lot of Canuck Alumni's have joined the cause along with the Whitecaps Ambassador and former player, Carl Valentine and current roster player, Russell Tiebert.  There are many sports casters that have been drafted as well, like Scott Rintoul and Barry Macdonald.  Also, Emily Zurrer, of the Women's Olympic Soccer Team, is also on the roster of players.  The only woman so far.

Here's a list of the celebrities registered to make an appearance.

I'm hoping it's going to be a nice gray skies kind of day without the rain.  I know I'm kidding myself as the weather has turned into the normal October weather we are used to.  Wind and Rain.  But hey, it could be worse.  We could be living in Calgary where there is already snow on the ground!  I'll just bundle up with my red Molson Canadian Hockey House jacket from the Olympics and wear those $1 stretch gloves to keep my fingers warm.  I'm sure it will be fine.

Anyways, come out and support this great cause if you can.  I'll be there and so will my volunteering family.  Hopefully, I'll see a few familiar faces in the crowds!

Bieksa's Buddies vs UBC Thunderbirds Charity Game

Tickets went on sale Oct 6th.  For those who were able to get tickets, consider yourself lucky.  I am one of those people thanks to my friend, Leslie-Anne, who got a pair for us that morning.  However, if you were not able to purchase tickets because it sold out within an hour or two, you might be paying a large amount of cash for what was to be a low cost game for the fans, according to Kevin Bieksa.  Even after Bieksa's request for scalpers to respect the chairty game tickets, they went ahead and scalped them anyways.

The Bieksa's Buddies tickets have been showing up everywhere you can imagine; Craigslist, Ebay, Showtime Tickets and many other ticket brokers and scalpers that I know of that like to sell around the Whitecaps and Lions games.  The range of the tickets are anywhere from $50 - $500 depending on where you are looking.  The sad thing is, most people in this hockey-crazed city are so starved for Canucks hockey, that they will end up paying these outrageously priced amounts just to see our beloved Canucks and other celebrities play.

Here's an example from ebay. 

Taken from the vancouversun.com, here are the Canucks thoughts on the re-selling of the tickets.

So, anyways, if you have tickets to the game, good on you!  If not, it seems you may be paying a hefty sum to gain entrance to a charity event that was to only cost $20.  Hopefully, the next time Bieksa puts on his charity event, he will limit the amount of tickets so scalpers won't be able to take a large amount to re-sell.  Its' a learning curve for him.  It's the very first event he's organized on his own.  So, far he's done well.  Next time, I'm sure he will be Bieksallent! :)

I'll put up pics from the charity game after the 17th. :)

Have a Hobby? Wanna share with your favourite Whitecaps Player?

The Whitecaps are doing something kind of fun and interesting with their players this year.  They are putting them out there to their fans to have some fun with.  No, get you're head out of the gutter.  Not that kind of fun.  But if you have a favourite hobby or charity that you're involved with, the organization is asking that you tweet them at #OffThePitch with your idea.

Captain Jay DeMeritt was asked by a staff member, Brittany, who is the Manager of Fan Services at Whitecaps, to join in on her tap dance class.  This was the result. 

He looked like he had fun.  So, if you think you might be interested in getting the players involved in something like this, you are being encouraged to reach out to your Whitecaps FC through Twitter with the hash tag #OffThePitch.

For more information, please go to the Whitecaps #OffThePitch page.

Also, a big congratulations goes out to Jay DeMeritt and Ashleigh McIvor on getting engaged this past weekend!  What a beautiful couple!

"Your Vancouver Canucks" at the BC Lions game on Saturday!

Yes!  They were there.  I was working this game for BC Place. I was up on the 4th level end zone tunnel when all of the sudden I heard the announcer say "Please welcome you're Vancouver Canucks"  and next thing I knew, they were being shown on the big screen.  I almost died.  I miss my hockey so much. :(

Anyways, after the game was over, they took pics with a couple BC Lions players, the Felions standing by them and then had a chance to go onto the field and toss the football around.  The boys started off just spiraling the ball at one another and then they decided that they would try their hand at field kicks from the 40 line.  Elder was the only one to make a good field goal kick and the fans who lingered behind in the lower bowl cheered for him.

After they were done playing, they left the field and walked away towards the East Entrance.  They took lots of pics with fans and BC Lions employees.  Later that night, after my shift ended, I was on skytrain when a little seven year old got on and sat next to me.  Her parents and family friends were seated across the isle.  She was telling them how she got to talk to Ryan Kesler.  At this point, because I hadn't realized Kesler was with the crew, I asked "Kesler was there too?".  She replied "Yes."  She also told me how she got to say hi to him tell him that she loved him and that he was her favorite player.  It was so cute.  So, I told her that Bieksa was my favorite, who was hers?  She replied that her favourites were Ryan Kesler and Cory Schnieder.  She was so happy that Kesler smiled and said hi back.  It really made her day.  I love stories like this where you can see how much of an impact the Canucks have  just by saying a simple "hi" to someone.

Farhan Lalji was there from TSN and interviewed Bieksa from the sidelines.

Kevin Bieksa's Interview at BC Lions Game with Farhan Lalji on TSN

So, here's some pics I found from the Vancouver Sun that you might want to see.  My pictures turned out grainy as I was just too far up to get a good pic of them.

Kevin Bieksa on Global News

So, Kevin Bieksa was on the Global Morning News at 6am this morning.  He was talking about all sorts of things.  His Charity game "Bieksa's Buddies vs UBC", which I have tickets to, the lockout and he even tried his hand at the weather.  Hey, if World Metta Peace can do it, so can Bieksa!

How awesome is he, seriously?

Anyways, if you want to check it out, here is it.