Faceoff to Fight raises thousands for cancer research

April 12, 2017 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
While some of the best in the area battled on the ice Saturday night at Bolton arena, what they were really doing was helping others with their own much tougher battles.
The Faceoff to Fight Cervical Cancer, put on by Bolton’s We Are Creative Marketing team, raised a whopping $9,000 for cervical cancer research while putting on a spectacle on the ice.
“We are honoured to be donating this money to Tealpower in memory of our friend Ange Chester, who lost her battle to cervical cancer just last week,” said Steve Conforti of We Are Creative. “Thank you to all of our partners, sponsors and prize donators — over 80 business contributed to our event’s success — and to our special guests — Tyler Puley and Neil Salinas from Tealpower, Mayor Allan Thompson, and the Argos cheerleaders. And a huge thank-you to all of our volunteers, especially Sarah Neal, who ran the whole event on game day so that Rebecca Vint and I could play in the game. Of course, thanks to all the players — Brampton Thunder and Sunday Night Hockey League — for putting on an exciting game on the ice. And last, but not least, the fans for coming out to cheer us on! We are so proud to be a part of such a great community event, thank you to everyone!”
Tealpower, a not-for-profit organization, has been raising awareness of cervical cancer and helping fund the search for a cure since 2013.
On the ice the excitement was palpable, with more than 400 fans in attendance for the rematch of Guys vs. Girls from 2016, with the CWHL’s Thunder looking to exact revenge.
It was the SNHL All-Stars, one of Caledon’s men’s hockey leagues, that jumped out to an early start, notching two quick goals off the sticks of Brent Spagnol and Dan Maggio. The game looked to be put away early when Marc de Abaitua made it 3-0, before Brett Appio put the guys up by four still in the first half.
Playing in front of her hometown, it was Bolton’s own Rebecca Vint who first put the Thunder on the board, with Karolina Urban cutting the lead in half before the first buzzer.
The Thunder continued to press, putting up two more goals by the seven-minute mark of the second half to tie the game, thanks to Chelsea Purcell and Sarah Edney.
With the game down to a shootout, the Thunder pulled off the improbable and completed the comeback, as Vint played the hero with her second notch of the game.
All in good fun and for a charitable cause, the teams met at centre ice to shake hands after an entertaining show for the crowd.
“For me to play against the girls was an honour,” said Conforti, a member of the SNHL All-Stars. “They’re some of the best women hockey players in the world, and it was fun to skate with them. We really couldn’t have written a better ending to the game if we tried.”
Already with plans for next year, Conforti said this year’s finish “sets the stage” for next year, in the form of a tiebreaker.
“Some of the guys are already talking about it, so we’ll

The CWHL’s Brampton Thunder faced off against the Sunday Night Hockey League All-Stars Saturday night in Bolton for the annual Faceoff to Fight Cervical Cancer, put on by We Are Creative Inc.
Photo by Jake Courtepatte

see what happens. Can we go bigger and better with the event? We’ll see.”
The game was followed by the SNHL final, in which the St. Louis Bar and Grill Wings toppled Ken’s Lawn Mower Repair Blades 4-2 to claim the 2017 Callaghan Cup.

Mayor Allan Thompson and Tyler Puley, co-founder of Tealpower, handled the opening face-off at Saturday’s match. The draw was between Rebecca Vint and Steve Conforti.
Photo by Jake Courtepatte