The schedule has been announced for the Philadelphia Blind Hockey 3 on 3 Blind Awareness tournament. The event is set for Thursday, October 26 at Hatfield Ice beginning at 6 p.m. with pre-tournament introductions. Nine high-school teams will play in the tournament, which will feature three-on-three cross-ice games (three skaters and a goaltender).
The players will be wearing goggles to simulate visual impairment; goaltenders will be blindfolded.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Philadelphia Blind Hockey, which is staging the tournament in conjunction with the Flyers Cup Committee.
The nine schools will be divided into three pools of three teams each. The schedule is as follows:
Hatfield Ice was the venue on Sunday as Philadelphia Blind Hockey held a clinic for visually impaired youngsters. Attendance was limited because of the weather and related road closures, but Kelsey McGuire, Philadelphia Blind Hockey’s founder and executive director says, the enthusiasm of the participants made up for the lack of numbers.
“We had one new player who signed up; it was her first time ever being out on the ice,” she said, “and the rest were returning players that were so excited to be back on the ice.
It was so good to see them.”
The PBH staff was supported by members of the Pennridge hockey team, who renewed relationships with players they had worked with at a clinic this past spring.
“There was a bunch of them there where it was their second time doing it,” said Pennridge coach Jeff Montagna. “I didn’t ask them this time, they all volunteered to do it on their own; they came to me.
“We had six kids all together. For four of them it was their second time doing it. They really, really enjoyed doing that. And they’re starting to know who a couple of the kids are. They’re building a relationship with them.”
McGuire says Pennridge players are looking for ways to support Philadelphia Blind Hockey that go beyond being on the ice, including designing and building sleds for the program’s participants to help them become more comfortable on skates.
“So they won’t be leaning on sticks and actually learning how to skate properly with their head up,” McGuire said, “and not be afraid to fall.
“[The Pennridge players] came to me and said ‘We want to go even farther to give back to your program.’ They just love the kids and they love everything that we do.”
McGuire says the Blind Hockey program enhances the participants’ self-confidence.
“You just see in some of our younger kids,” she said. “That they’re so much more outgoing and they’re not afraid, which is a big part of it.
“Kids are always [being told] ‘They can’t do that.’ And this gives them the opportunity to prove that they can do it.”
The next Philadelphia Blind Hockey event is scheduled for Saturday, August 5 at Hatfield Ice from noon until 2:00.
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