It’s Boudreau vs. Cheevers in Hockey Night in St. Catharines III
Hall of Fame goalie to step behind the bench
ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The coaching staffs for Hockey Night in St. Catharines III are starting to fill out.
Hall of Fame goalie Gerry Cheevers, a native of St. Catharines, has been named to coach a team opposite Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau in the United Way charity hockey game that will take place August 10th at the Jack Gatecliff Arena in the Gatorade Garden City Arena Copmplex.
“I’m very much looking forward to getting back to my roots and having some fun against coach Boudreau, and all for a good cause,” says Cheevers. “It’s an honour to be able to assist the United Way in my home community.”
Over the past two years, Hockey Night in St. Catharines has raised more than $225,000 for the local United Way by pitting Canadian MPs, a team captained by St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra, against elite hockey players — retired and current NHLers, OHL players and local players from various pro and semi-pro leagues.
Cheevers patrolled the crease of the Boston Bruins for 12 seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, backstopping the team to Stanley Cup victories in 1970 and 1972, and added five more seasons behind the bench as the team’s head coach in the early 1980s.
In 418 career NHL games in net, all with the Bruins, Cheevers posted 230 wins and a 2.89 goals against average.
“We are ecstatic to be able to add a name like Gerry Cheevers to Hockey Night in St. Catharines,” says Dykstra. “He’s a Hall of Famer, a St. Catharines native and the owner of one of the most iconic goalie mask designs in NHL history.”
Cheevers decorated his mask with “stitch” marks indicating where a puck hit him the head. By the end of each season, his white mask was criss-crossed with black stitches.
Follow Hockey Night in St. Catharines on Twitter @HNISC and join the conversation with the hashtag #HNISC3. For more information, please visitwww.hockeynightinstcatharines.com.
About Hockey Night in St. Catharines III:
Hockey Night in St. Catharines III is a charity hockey game featuring Canadian MPs and elite hockey players that raises funds for the United Way of St. Catharines and District. Since the initial game in 2010, Hockey Night in St. Catharines has been named the United Way’s top fundraising event two years running, raising more than $225,000 for the umbrella charity group.
www.hockeynightinstcatharines.com
