By Grace Malec, Sports Editor
Saints Defenseman #19 Nick Dashner and Goaltender #34 Simon Johnson – Photo by Grace Malec
Saints fans are going to make the bears fly, well at least stuffed ones. This upcoming weekend on Jan. 31 at Southside Ice Arena the Men’s Hockey team will host their second annual teddy bear toss benefitting the Billy Bear Hug Foundation.
Fans attending the game are encouraged to bring teddy bears, new with tags to throw onto the ice after the Saints score their first goal against the Rochester Christian University Warriors. All bears thrown onto the ice will be donated to children in the West Michigan Community suffering from critical illnesses through partners such as Hospice of Michigan, Life EMS, Children’s Healing Center and Helen Devos Children’s Hospital. Freshman forward, Evan Doan said “I’m really excited to see all the teddy bears raining down on the ice because it will just show everybody at the game how much Aquinas cares about the community.”
The Billy Bear Hug Foundation is a locally-founded non-profit, with the organization’s board even featuring Aquinas College Alumni. The non-profit was founded by Charlie Wondergem in honor of his late brother, William B. Wondergem. William (Billy) Wondergem was a graduate of Calvin College who was studying to become a pediatric oncologist, even going on to discover a rare gene that would change how kidney cancer was diagnosed in his research at the Van Andel Institute. Wondergem unexpectedly passed away in his sleep, just weeks after being accepted into some of the top medical schools in the country in Oct. of 2010. More information can be found about the Billy Bear Hug Foundation here.
As a nonprofit, the organization is partnered with many local healthcare facilities and hospitals with one goal in mind – Giving the “cure of comfort”. Saints fans are able to give back to their community by bringing their bears and packing the ice of Southside Ice Arena.
The match-up against Rochester Christian University will be a big one for the Saints, winning two back-to-back games against the Warriors in a high-scoring sweep earlier this year. The last time the two teams met, scores such as 7-3 and 11-0 led the team to success both at home and on the road against the Warriors. Freshman defenseman, Arseniy Malyutin said “We can’t wait to play and hopefully win in front of a home crowd.”
The teddy bear toss will be held on Friday, Jan. 31 at Southside Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:40 p.m and the bear toss will occur after the Saints score their first goal against Rochester Christian.
Fans throw bears onto the ice during the 2024 bear toss – Photo by Grace Malec
The Saint 