Holy Cross Men's Hockey: Love Of The Game

A positive attitude filled the Hart Center as the teams took the ice, reuniting with many familiar faces. This is the fifth year that the Crusaders and Jumbos have played, and many of the returning Crusaders have been able to play with the Jumbos multiple times and have formed lasting bonds and friendships. The Jumbos and Crusaders held a short skills session and then broke into teams for a game that ended in an 11-11 tie.

The East Coast Jumbos is a team for mentally challenged athletes, created by coach Ray LeBlanc in honor of his son who loves the game of hockey but was not able to compete on the same team as his two brothers. With the desire to create a team his son could play on, Ray enlisted the help of his friend Jim Perry, whose son is also on the team, and the East Coast Jumbos was born. The team started off small and just held practices to teach the players to skate, but it has now grown and many of them now attend tournament games like the one held at Holy Cross. The Jumbos also travel to games along the east coast.

The Crusaders have had the opportunity to connect with the Jumbos over the past five years, and both teams look forward to the event every year.

“It was a great night and one that our players and staff look forward to every year,” said Holy Cross head coach David Berard.

“Events like this are awesome for our kids and they love coming out here and competing with these guys,” said East Coast Jumbos head coach Ray LeBlanc. “Our guys love to be here, they push us to improve and these players get it. They are making the game fun for us, a place like this and an event like this are amazing for our team.”

Senior captain Matt Vidal (Manorville, N.Y) expressed the importance of the event for the program and how great it is to see so many familiar faces.

“It’s definitely a great event each year, as we have been seeing the same guys come back and they are our friends now. We have seen them improve and it has been awesome to see their progress, its awesome to see the love of the game they have, and how much hockey can bring people together.”

The night was filled with energy and good spirits as the Crusaders had the opportunity to work and play with the Jumbos in a relaxing and fun environment.

“It is such a fun night for everyone involved,” said sophomore forward Scott Pooley (Granger, Ind.) “It’s a positive distraction and getting our minds off school and competition for a little while is great. We love to see everyone and the support we get from the community is impressive.”

Berard communicated the importance of the event, and its impact on the program.

“To be on the ice with the Jumbos and see how much fun they having playing, reminds all of us why we play. We all play for the love of the game. Events like these certainly put things in perspective. At times, our season can get stressful and it is easy to get caught up in the wins and losses. But, it is important to stay grounded and remember that it is just a game and it supposed to be fun.”

The event with the Jumbos provided the Crusaders a valuable opportunity to take their minds off of the competitiveness and stress of a Division I season, and allowed them to take the ice with only the love of the game on their minds.