The firefighters take control of the puck and head toward the RCMP goal in the third period of the Battle of the Badges game, ending in a 5-4 victory for the fire department. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert
The Todd Gustavson Memorial Battle of the Badges was an intense game this year, coming right down to the wire.
The game heated up in the last two minutes of play as the fire department set off the final siren, outscoring the RCMP 5-4 and defending their title.
Lloydminster fire chief Aaron Buckingham says although there is a great sense of competition on the ice, the real winners are the organizations who benefit from the event.
“At the end of the day The Olive Tree, the Salvation Army, and Big Brothers Big Sisters will benefit from about 3,000 pounds of food and about $3,000 cash,” said Buckingham.
Const. Melanie Flynn of the Lloydminster RCMP said the school divisions competed to see which could gather the most food for charity.
“After the February break there, they started collecting. The public school division won, they raised over 1,000 pounds of food,” she said, adding the Catholic division was not far behind, with a difference of less than 150 lbs.
“That really helped support the food donations that we brought in for the Salvation Army and The Olive Tree, so that was pretty cool.”
The hefty food donations will help those non-profit organizations provide for anyone in need coming into the March break and Easter.
“The food security organizations say that at Christmas there’s a big boom and people kind of forget about Easter,” said Flynn.
“Kids are home during Easter break and so they see a lot of food going out, so obviously they need food coming in up to that point, so it was nice to be able to provide them with that.”
She said the community support was amazing, although they weren’t counting fans she figures there were 600 – 700 people in the stands for the afternoon game.
“It was really great to see that kind of turnout,” she said, adding it was an exciting game.
“I thought we had it there. We were up by two but then … I think a lot of the young blood on the Lloyd fire team, their endurance might have been a little bit better,” she laughed.
The annual game has been enjoyed by players and fans alike for years, and although the name has changed, the goal has remained the same.
“Both the fire and police are excited to be able to get out to a community event like this that benefits the community overall,” he said, adding the game was renamed due to the untimely death of former Lloydminster fire chief Todd Gustavson.
“It’s nice to be able to honour his memory by having this game for sure.
“I hope that he would be very proud of the work that’s being done by all the organizers, to continue on his legacy of community involvement.”
He said although it’s a fun event at the core, there is a strong competitive component on the ice as well.
“It’s interesting as an old guy because you know you have a pretty decent crowd there and you want to do well,” said Buckingham.
“There’s lots of get up and go out there, just keeping in mind that it’s all for the charities. But there is some pride involved for sure.”
He said when the game-winning goal was scored with just a minute and a half left the excitement on the bench was intense.
“There was a lot of joy on the bench because it was a very close game,” he said adding from what he heard people in the stands really enjoyed the game too.
“It’s another opportunity for an event in Lloydminster you can bring your family to for a fun afternoon and support some local charities—that’s what it’s all about.”
