Familiar faces to St. Joseph’s Hockey scene return as teams give back

By: Darren Doyle

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- St. Joseph Griffons Ice Hockey is taking in its tradition of bringing familiar faces together for the Holidays.

The alumni games took place on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at Bode Ice Arena, where attendees were able to give back to the community.

Admission to all St. Joseph Youth Hockey Association games is usually free; however, each person in attendance brought one non-perishable item as their entry fee.

All the food collected at the end of the night was donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in St. Joseph. 

For second-year SJYHA President Adam Danner, seeing a large turnout of familiar faces supporting the community makes the event worthwhile.

"There's a lot of people in our community that sponsor this program, so we appreciate them a lot," Danner said. 

For the SJYHA, hockey isn't only a sport; it's a way to teach the younger generation about character. Wednesday saw returns of some players who had kids watching them retake the rink. 

Returners like Curran Stuck, who has only been away from the team a couple of years, credit the opportunities given during his days as a Griffon at Bode Ice Arena. 

"It taught me to be a leader and to help people, because doing the (Try Hockey for Free events) and helping many kids, like learn about hockey and like develop their skills and stuff, I think it taught me to be a great leader," Stuck shared. 

The biannual "Try Hockey for Free" event will return to Bode Ice Arena on Dec. 6.

The event allows youth of most ages to try hockey drills free of charge and will take place from 3:15 to 3:45 p.m.

Interested individuals and families can visit the St. Joseph Youth Hockey Association's Facebook page for more information about upcoming events and teams.