By Colby McKee
Hockey is a game of passion. For most Canadians, it unites us as a group and allows us to do some wonderful things.
That’s exactly what the Taber Fading Sons Hockey Club aspired to do at its annual charity hockey tournament that ran from March 6-8. The hockey club is an old timers hockey team that has been in existence for over 30 years.
The event brought in 12 teams from across Alberta, including teams from as far north as Edmonton. The first game of the tournament featured the hometown Taber Blazers facing off against the Lethbridge Old-Timers.
For Taber Blazers goaltender Glenn Shigemi, this game and the tournament means more to him than most other games. His wife Cheryl was diagnosed with breast cancer over a year ago and admits it has been a difficult time for him and his family.
“She was diagnosed in April and it’s been nothing but a whirlwind. So we went through the Jack Adams Clinic Centre, she had surgery and her recovery is really good. So to all the ladies out there, early detection is a good thing,” Shigemi said.
Every year the Taber Fading Sons Hockey Club donates to a different organization. In previous years, it’s donated to the Kidney Foundation, as well as the Lung Association of Canada. This year’s proceeds go towards the Breast Cancer Society of Canada, to support women like Glenn’s wife.
One of Shigemi’s closest friends is event organizer Jody Ginther. The personal connection to breast cancer was one of several reasons for the hockey club to donate towards the organization this year.
“Anything that we can do to try and make it better either for our girls, or anybody else that’s gonna suffer from this, we’re all over that, we’re big for that.” Ginther said.
In the back of his mind, an opening night victory in honour of Cheryl was Shigemi’s goal from the get go.
“We always have fun whenever we play a game, but this is definitely a special game for us. For myself, my family and as well as our teammates I wanted to win the game for her, so we did and that was a good thing,” Shigemi adds.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, it was expected that in 2014 alone, over 24,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, which represents 26 per cent of all new cancer cases for the year.
