Fire and ice may not always be a good mix but this month the combination will produce much-needed funding for charity.
The Port Coquitlam Fire Department will host its third annual Movember hockey tournament as part of the Great Canadian Fire Department Challenge to raise money for prostate cancer and men's health.
"There are a lot of us who play hockey and there are other tournaments around for different causes but nothing in this later part of the year so we thought it was good timing wise to set up a tournament," said firefighter Ryan Masi, one of the organizers for the Nov. 15 event.
The tournament has quickly gained popularity with other fire departments with teams this year coming from as far away as Kelowna and Nanaimo to compete for bragging rights.
"The first year we had 12 teams and we did kind of struggle to get those spots filled. The second year it was just a matter of sending an email and boom those spots were filled," said Masi. "I wish we could get more ice time because there's more teams that want to come but we just don't have the room for them."
The tournament hits the ice Nov. 15 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Planet Ice in Coquitlam. Fire department members will also be selling raffle tickets for some great prizes throughout the month and will host a barbecue Nov. 16 at Meridian Meats on the Oxford Connector in Port Coquitlam.
Last year Port Coquitlam raised the fifth most of any department in Canada, bringing in $12,794.
"That's something we're pretty proud of," said Masi, pointing out departments in Vancouver and Toronto have 10 times the membership of the 70 or so firefighters who work out of the two PoCo halls.
The firefighters are inviting Port Coquitlam businesses to join the cause and get involved in the challenge. For more information, visit movember.com.
