A stroke of puck
NJ State PBA hockey team sets sights
on bigger goals for second season
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
So many fans know Lake Placid as the scene of hockey’s most
glorious moment, and another one unfolded just a few blocks
from where Eruzione shocked the Russians. Eighteen members
of the NJ State PBA hockey team shared a house they rented
when playing a tournament with law enforcement teams from
New York and Canada.
The puck dropped on the second PBA hockey season in the
Olympic city on the weekend of Sept. 22-24, with another affir-
mation that what these guys do is about a lot more than hockey.
The PBA won two of three games, including one on the very rink
where Mike Eruzione scored that game-winning goal in the U.S.
Olympic team’s stunning upset of the Russians that became the
“Miracle on Ice.”
What the PBA hockey team has been able to accomplish in
less than a year might not be “Do you believe in miracles?” wor-
thy, but it has bordered on miraculous. En route to being named
the Jersey Shore’s best nonprofit and amalgamating members
from all corners of the PBA, the hockey team has raised nearly
$50,000 to benefit a growing list of charities from the PBA Survi-
vor & Welfare Fund to those that support gravely ill kids.
“That’s what the PBA hockey team is all about,” confirms
Monmouth County Sheriffs Officers Local 314 State Delegate
Mike Schulze, founder and chief of the PBA hockey organiza-
tion. “We’re looking to pay it back and pay it forward. We want
to do things for our own, do things for the community and try to
support organizations that touch our players and our members
in a personal way.”
Accordingly, one of the prominent goals for the 2017-18 sea-
son – other than seeing Schulze, a prominent defenseman for
the team, score a goal – is to step up its fundraising capacity.
That features a Nov. 18 game against FDNY EMS at Jersey Shore
Arena in Wall to benefit the Ladacin Network, which provides
services to children and adults with special needs in Ocean
Township and was the runner-up to the PBA hockey team to be
the Jersey Shore’s Best Nonprofit as named this past spring by
WOBM FM Radio 92.7.
The Puck Drops Here
Mark your calendar with these dates to see the
State PBA hockey team in action
NJSPBA vs FDNY EMS
November 18
5:30 pm
Jersey Shore Arena
1215 Wyckoff Road, Wall Township
Benefits the Ladacin Network
NJSPBA vs NJ State Police
December 29
5:30 p.m.
Mennen Arena
161 E Hanover Ave, Morristown
Benefits Mallory’s Army
NJSPBA vs Philadelphia Police
March 7
During 2018 NJSPBA Mini Convention
2:30 p.m.
Flyers Skate Zone
501 N. Albany Road, Atlantic City
Benefits NJSPBA Survivor and
Welfare fund
www.njcopsmagazine.com
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