The Moose Jaw U15 AA Warriors are doing their part to help the less advantaged during the Christmas season.
Members of the local squad took part in a special toy shopping spree on Thursday night at Canadian Tire, gathering $750 in new toys for the Salvation Army Toy Drive and the ongoing Toy Days promotion in the store.
The Moose Jaw Express, one of the team sponsors, helped out with the cause by making a $500 donation to the shopping spree, doubling the $250 pledged to the project by the team itself.
The event came on the heels of the team’s Teddy Bear Toss earlier this week, which also brought in a host of gifts for the Toy Drive.
“The Salvation Army is huge worldwide, and here in Moose Jaw they help so many families this time of year, so we’re just happy to be able to help out,” said U15 AA Warriors manager and Moose Jaw Minor Hockey president Chris Flanagan. “We had our own Teddy Bear Toss and were able to get some mittens and gloves and a bunch of teddy bears, and this is a nice bonus. It gives the guys a chance to help out, and they’re still kids, they know what kids want so it’s easy for them to grab some toys here and help out for the holidays.”
Players had a budget of $50 each and spent about half an hour working the aisles in the Canadian Tire toy section, filling up two shopping carts with gifts of all shapes and sizes. Those items were immediately donated to the CHAB Toy Days campaign, which continues to gather gifts for the Salvation Army this week.
Warriors forward Luke Pratte -- who scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal on Tuesday night as part of the Warriors’ 6-2 win over the Weyburn Wings -- was proud to be part of the donation drive.
“It feels good to be doing this for charity,” Pratte said just after dropping off his selection of toys. “Everyone deserves to get something for Christmas, no one should wake up and not get anything… we’re just happy to be able to help out.”
The Teddy Bear Toss itself was a huge success, with Pratte’s goal at 10:45 of the first period getting the job done early.
“I got a pass from Nixon (Friesen) right out in front of the net and tapped it in, it was a pretty good moment,” said Pratte, who scored his first of the season on the goal and has seven points in 12 games. Micah Coupland drew the second assist on the marker.
“It’s obviously nerve-wracking since you don’t know if you’re going to get shut out that day or if it’s going to right down to the third period, but for us, it worked out really well,” Flanagan said. “We scored a goal fairly early, lots of bags went over the glass and my truck is still full of stuff.”
The Warriors find themselves in the midst of one of their best seasons in years, too, with their 6-8-0-0 record good enough for a tie for fourth place in the Sask AA Hockey League South Division, a single point out of third place.
“It’s been a great year for us so far, the boys are enjoying some success on the ice,” Flanagan said. “Then things like this are great for the boys off the ice. You always want to have puck luck, and maybe this will help out with that, too.”
“Our team this year has won the most games in five years, and we just want to keep going,” Pratte added. “We still have a long way to come and we’re going to keep working hard.”
The U15 AA Warriors are back on the ice on Wednesday, Dec. 7 when they travel to Swift Current to face the Broncos. Next home action is Sunday, Dec. 18 against the Humboldt Broncos, Game time is 12:30 p.m. at the Bert Hunt.
