ON ICE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49
Stephen Scherer of East Hanover Local 227 scored to give the PBA a 4-2
lead in the second period.
bring out a little something extra both on and off the ice. With
35 seconds left in the game, Matt Gillen of the Bayonne Fire
Department got into some heated pushing and shoving with
Green Brook Local 398 member Kevin O’Connor. Firefighters
taking on cops would, of course, offer nothing less than hot-
ly-contested rivalry.
But the guns-and-hoses power gave so much more when
New Jersey’s two biggest public safety unions played at the Red
Bank Armory Ice Arena. The winners on this day were the Where
Angels Play Foundation that has flourished with the support of
the FMBA and PBA, and the PBA’s Survivor & Welfare Fund. The
thousands of dollars raised through the game were donated to
both charities.
“It’s a great thing to get together with the PBA – those are our
brothers in blue – and doing something like this for something
we love,” said Dan Beirne, an Elizabeth firefighter and captain
of the FMBA team. “Of course, police and fire always give back
into the community. It’s just in our nature – giving back to our
organizations.”
The PBA hockey team has been giving back at nearly the
rate it has been scoring goals. To date, nearly $20,000 has
been raised through selling tickets to games and other dona-
tions that has gone to the Survivor and Welfare Fund and other
charities. That’s on top of the financial support that Jerry Sil-
berman, Steve Zaretsky, Kenny Shamud, Josh Shamansky and
Adam Grossman (PBA Silver Card Honorees from Saddle River)
provided to help the team get started. Their continued support
provided the new blue jerseys for the FMBA game with each
player’s name on the back and his department patch on the
right shoulder.
“We’ve played a lot of teams and played a lot of games, but
I think this was one of our most meaningful games,” Schulze
said of the FMBA matchup. “They’re our brothers. You see us in
Trenton together fighting for bills. It’s just great to get on the ice
and play for two charities. Everybody had a great time.”
Clearly, players from both the PBA and FMBA were having a
great time during this historic meeting. But at times it was hard
to discern mutual benevolence from intense rivalry. It was truly
a battle of brotherhood with PBA goalie Joe Aliseo of Elizabeth
Local 4 facing off against his brother, Jeff, an Elizabeth firefight-
er.
“Of course, there is some pride on the line when you play the
firefighters,” Joe Aliseo admitted. “Even in our department, we
have bowling, we have hockey, we have basketball, and we’re
playing for a little bit of bragging rights, a little bit of pride. You
always want to beat them.”
Midway thr