Lend a Hand Hockey Game

CANTON -- Snow did not dampen the spirit of giving as Thayer Academy hosted its third annual hockey game to benefit Lend a Hand, The Patriot Ledger's holiday charitable drive.
"It's quite an honor to be part of this game and a nice feeling for the kids," said Thayer boy's head coach Larry Rooney, of Milton. Rooney started the event, held Thursday at Canton Sportsplex, three years ago to involve his athletes in the community. "It's a way to give back to a community a little bigger than our school," he said.
And his players were up to the challenge. They asked friends and relatives to donate money for every goal they scored, shot they took or minute they played. "After reading the stories, it put everything into perspective," said defenseman Nick Celli, 17, a senior from Milton. "It feels good to help people out."
Thayer, a Braintree prep school, beat Xaverian Brothers High School of Westwood 5-3 in the scrimmage. "This is a great opportunity for us," Xaverian assistant coach Mark Spinale said. "Lend a Hand is a great charity that helps all those families at a tough time of the year."
His boys understand "the magnitude of the game," Spinale said.
"We pretty much treat this like a regular game on the ice but we have in the back of our minds that it's going to a good cause," said Chris Wagner, 16, a junior from Walpole, a right winger for Xaverian.
For the first time, Thayer's girls hockey team also participated in the event. "Our girls were looking for some sort of charity to help out and this seemed like a great idea," head coach Bill Lanagan said. They were supposed to play Canton High School but Canton canceled because of the snow, forcing the girls to scrimmage against themselves.
Regardless, the team understood they were "doing something greater than themselves," Lanagan said.
"It's really nice to help out families in need and spread a little Christmas cheer," said goalie Mae Planert, 17, a senior from Braintree.

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• patriot
• ledger
• lend
• hand
• hockey
• thayer
• academy
• xaverian
• high

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