PORT McNEILL-It was a showcase of current and former North Island Eagles hockey standouts - and most likely some future stars as well - as current Eagles squared off against an alumni team in a game to benefit the Gazette Hamper Fund Sunday at Chilton Regional Arena.
Several hundred fans donated toys, cash and non-perishable food items for the holiday hampers that go to needy families on the North Island. More than $330 in donations and 50/50 draw proceeds were donated to the fund, along with toys and food that overspilled a large table set up in the arena's lobby.
The alumni team won the game by a score of either 11-5, 12-5, or another, indeterminate margin. The "old-timers" overcame goals waved off by officials and the exhortations of public-address announcer Cliff Rosback to pull away from a 3-3 tie late in the first period.
One day earlier, Robert Cahill scored a pair of goals and blueliner Coltton Slater snapped a second-period tie with a power-play score as the Eagles midgets pulled away for a 6-2 Vancouver Island Hockey League victory over Kerry Park at Port Alice arena.
See full coverage of the weekend's action in Thursday's print edition of the Gazette.