CENTENNIAL | Just a few hours before they took the ice for one of their most anticipated games of the year, the mood changed for the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team.
Preparing for the second annual Teddy Bear Toss, several Raiders had practiced a variety of celebratory moves if they were the lucky one to score the first goal to trigger fans tossing stuffed animals that would later be sent to Children’s Hospital Colorado.
But just a few hours before face-off with Cheyenne Mountain on Dec. 13 at Family Sports Center, the community — especially in local high schools — was rocked by the news of an armed student entering Arapahoe High School in Littleton, injuring two students before taking his own life.
Across town from the tragic events, confusion still reigned, but Regis Jesuit still had a game to play, though with some difficulty.
“Being in lockdown at school two hours before the game wasn’t planned, so I feel like it was harder to prepare,” senior forward Jacob Frishman said.
“A lot of the guys in the lockerroom had friends or even family members who go to Arapahoe, so it was quieter. I felt like once we started to get into our mindset and trying to play our style, it got better.”
Hopeful of bringing a little bit of happiness to the somber day, the Raiders came out flying against Cheyenne Mountain in search of that precious first goal.
It didn’t take long — just 1 minute, 5 seconds of the first period — before Frishman redirected a hard shot from the point by junior Thomas Jahde that found its way into the Indians’ net.
Seconds later, fans peppered the ice with all kinds of stuffed toys — blue elephants, bright green turtles, good old fashioned teddy bears and more, all earmarked to brighten the holidays for some young boy or girl at Children’s Hospital Colorado. (Photo gallery)
It wasn’t quite the outpouring of the first season of the event — which mirrors similar toy drives held by several professional and minor league hockey teams — but was still plentiful, likely aided by the teams’ use of social media to promote the event, including the creation of the RJ Teddy Bear Twitter account (@RJTeddyBearToss).
Frishman had planned a celebration for the occassion, but opted to just hug teammates and then rush over to help round up the toys on the ice.
“We all wanted to do it and we talked a lot of about who was going to score; I didn’t really think I’d be the guy who scored the teddy bear goal personally,” said Frishman, who netted his first goal of the season and scored again a short time later in the period to fuel what would end a 9-0 rout.
“I was just really excited and started pushing bears to the door so they could be picked up,” he added. “Last year we had more success, but the tragic events probably scared away part of the crowd, which is understandable.”
Frishman wasn’t sure of the exact number of toys the team collected, especially since they didn’t all end up on the ice as some fans thought they could throw them after each goal, not just the first.
Team managers still came away with at least four large garbage bags filled with toys. Team captains could only drop off the bears at Children’s Hospital Colorado last year, but hope to get the chance to visit with patients and present them directly.
Senior goaltender Sam Harden wasn’t in attendance at the Teddy Bear Toss as he was away helping his club team win a state championship, but he would gladly visit the hospital to hand out the toys on behalf of the team.
“It would be an awesome experience to go and see the look on the kids’ faces when they are able to get a present going through hard times,” Harden said. “To do something like that for the community would be a great experience and something that goes with our goal at Regis of doing more than just playing hockey.”
The Raiders expect to continue the tradition in the future.
Once the fun part of the night was through, Regis Jesuit got down to business, as John Kane, Connor Brennan, Connor Harshman and Jacob Lechner also scored goals, while Jahde, Jack Oneil and Cale Woodley each had two of the team’s 13 assists as the Raiders moved to 2-0 on the season.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
REGIS JESUIT 9, CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN 0
Score by periods:
Chey. Mountain 0 0 0 — 0
Regis Jesuit 3 5 1 — 9
First period: Regis Jesuit — Jacob Frishman (Thomas Jahde), 1:05; Regis Jesuit — Frishman (Grant Johnson, Connor Harshman), 15:26; Regis Jesuit — Kirk Underwood (Jahde), 16:30
Second period: Regis Jesuit — Roman West (Underwood) (PP), 2:12; Regis Jesuit — John Kane (West, Jack Oneil) (PP), 8:37; Regis Jesuit — West (Oneil, Jacob Lechner), 12:18; Regis Jesuit — Connor Brennan (Cale Woodley, Brendan Hill), 14:29; Regis Jesuit — Harshman (Woodley, Jack Jordan), 15:35
Third period: Regis Jesuit — Lechner (unaassisted), 7:34
Goaltenders: Cheyenne Mountain — Ryan McCann (35 shots-26 saves); Regis Jesuit — Sam Gartner (4 shots-4 saves)
