ATHOL – Officials with 202 Street Hockey Association were trying to come up with ways of raising a little cash to help cover the cost of constructing a new dek hockey facility at the former Pleasant Street School. According to association president Scott Dubrule, someone suggested contacting the Boston Bruins to see if they might donate some items which could be raffled off at a future fundraiser. But the contribution turned out to be more – much more – than hoped for.
How much more? Well, the association recently deposited a check from the Boston Bruins Foundation in the amount of $100,000.
So, how does a small street hockey association 80 miles from Boston land a gift of a 100-grand from one of the most storied teams in National Hockey League history?
“We just asked,” said Dubrule. “I was with another board member and a couple of teachers on a retreat up in Maine, and we just wrote a letter to potential sponsors. It was just kind of a generic letter saying we’ve been together since 1994, we haven’t missed a season yet, we’re being evicted due to marijuana grow facility going into the building where we’ve been playing, and saying the estimated cost of a new facility was around $100,000.”
“I was hoping maybe they would donate something we could raffle off,” he explained. “So, I talked to an intern at the Boston Bruins Foundation and she said she would forward the letter to the person it needed to go to. A couple of weeks later I got a call from Bob Sweeney. We talked for a little while, and he said he would confirm something the following week, but he was hoping to be able to help out with at least half the money, if not all of it. He called back the next week and said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to do the whole thing.’ It was pretty crazy, and kind of quick.”
Sweeney, the Executive Director of the Boston Bruins Foundation, played center and right wing for the Bruins from 1986 to 1992, after which he had stints with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, and Calgary Flames. He retired from hockey in 2001 and was named Director of Development for the foundation in 2007.
Dubrule said some monies from the donation have already been spent.
“We’ve been able to use it so far to purchase the boards,” he said, “and the surface that will be laid down.”
Several local businesses have also helped with the project.
“We had Matthews Excavation (of Warwick) come in and they donated their time, some three or four days of work,” said Dubrule. “Sykes Contractors, over on South Athol Road, they donated half the gravel to us. So, a lot of people have been helping out.”
Dubrule said he hoped to have the facility completed by the end of September so the 200 or so youngsters who participate in 202 Street Hockey will be able to get in at least a short season. In early July, the Athol Selectboard gave the association permission to build its new facility on the site of the former school. The organization had reached an agreement with Launch Space, the organization currently leasing the property, to relocate after it was learned the 202 Sports facility in Orange had been purchased, with plans to convert it to a cannabis cultivation operation.
“I really want to give a lot of credit to (Town Manager) Shaun Suhoski,” said Dubrule. “He really spent a lot of time trying to help us out, to find a new location, and to work with Launch Space to make this possible.”
While the overall cost of the project was pegged at $100,000, Dubrule said it’s turning out it will actually be more than anticipated. As a result, fundraising efforts continue – including a murder mystery fundraiser being held this weekend.
The event is being held at the Boiler Bar & Grille, 245 Tully Road, in Orange. Tickets are $50 each. Cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., with dinner and show scheduled to get under wat at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through the association’s Facebook site – facebook.com/202-Sreet-Hockey-Association – or by calling Dubrule at (508) 331-7801.