Hockey for Horan

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Created on Monday, 16 March 2015 18:21
Written by Alex Farnworth

hockeyLYNDONVILLE- What started out as a school project soon was turned into a reality thanks to student Jason Pelkey. The Fenton Chester Arena hosted their first annual Ed Horan Memorial Hockey Tournament to pay tribute to one of the leaders of both the hockey and college community.

 

"It started as just a tournament organization, just something fun for people to do. I remember just sitting at my desk working on it, getting the press release together and my buddy Ed Horan was helping me put the press release together." the Lyndon State hockey player said.

Soon after the project was underway, a dear friend of the community passed away. At 24-years old, Ed Horan passed due to an allergic reactionand become the sole reason Pelkey wanted to make this tournament happen.

"It turned into a tournament for him. It motivated me and a lot of my other friends to get this done and get everything together."

Eight teams signed up for the tournament... some friends of Ed, some who wanted to help out a good cause and some who just simply wanted to get back on the ice.

When asked about why he signed up for the fundraiser, tournament winner Justin Mosher said "Honestly, I'd play in anything that's in Eddie's name."

Over forty players signed up, bringing in just under $1,500. Proceeds will be split between Horan's family, as well as expansion for the Fenton Chester Arena. The rink doesn't have much room to expand outward, therefore they'll have to expand upward according to Pelkey.

While skaters brought in money, Pelkey brought in two of his cousins, one of which was USA Olympic Hockey player, Amanda Pelkey. "My cousin was the one that started this tournament so he got a hold of me and now that my college hockey season is over it's legal for me to do this stuff now." the UVM forward said. Even though her collegiate season came to a close, she still had that itch to get back on the ice... but this time as a more laid back pace. "It's fun, this is what I needed. It's actuallly pretty fast-paced. It's fun to play at a fast pace but also kind of laid back and you don't have to worry about every little thing you do" Amanda Pelkey added.

They Pelkey's carried the Longhorn's to the finals but then fell short to Justin Mosher's Lumberjacks. Mosher joked around saying it was fun to take down Jason especially because they're roommates, but, everyone was happy because they were playing for a mentor, a friend, a brother and a great cause.

"It's a great feeling, especially for a good cause and from what I hear, a great person that sadly passed away. So I think it's a great turnout and it's been really fun." Amanda Pelky said in comparison to competitve collegiate hockey.

Despite the rommate rivalry between Jason Pelker and Justin Mosher, Mosher was still incredibly impressed with what Jason was able to pull off.

Even after winning the championship, Mosher was still happy to talk about his opponent, Jason, trying to coordinate this fundraiser.: "I saw him [Jason] doing it and I thought he was crazy at first so I just nodded my headand said yeah. To see that he put it all together so smoothly, it was pretty awesome.I'm proud of him."