Beanpot Charity Challenge aids paralyzed skater

Once again, the New England hockey community has responded to the plight of a seriously injured hockey player. Last month, Norwood High School sophomore Matt Brown fractured two neck vertebrae in an on-ice accident that has left him paralyzed. He is a cousin of former BU All-American defenseman Peter Brown, later a coach at Norwood High. (See details in the Boston Globe article by The Daily Free Press’s Jake Seiner.)

This past Sunday it was announced that The Beanpot Charity Challenge will match up to $20,000 for donations made to Matt Brown's Fundraising Page. The Travis Roy Foundation and the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation are prepared to match every dollar up to $20,000 given to Brown’s fundraising page from Feb. 6 through Feb. 14.

The Beanpot Charity Challenge is played at BU’s Agganis Arena. The 2010 event was played this past Monday afternoon and involved three teams of local players, including former pros and college players The public is invited to make donations in the names of the participating players.

The Beanpot Charity Challenge was initiated by Jon Loughborough. It was his idea to organize a benefit hockey game on the day of the Beanpot Tournament. As fate would have it, John worked for the same company as Dan Ronan, who as a freshman was a teammate and roommate of Travis Roy at Boston University.

Since its inception two years ago, the Beanpot Charity Challenge has raised more than $150,000 and this year's goal is to match that total. In years past the charity game has included celebrity players Ray Bourque, Bob Sweeney, Mike Eruzione, and Scott Young, among others.

A pair with the Black Bears
BU returns to conference play this weekend with two critical games at Agganis Arena against surprising Maine. The Daily Free Press previews the series.

Looking back
Nashville’s Colin Wilson’s has a two-game scoring streak going at New York’s Madison Square Garden--where his father played a few decades ago. Last night, in his second game since being recalled from AHL/Milwaukee, Wilson netted the game-winner (video) in the Predators’ 2-1 win against the Rangers and his former teammate Matt Gilroy. Several shifts found the two Hobey Baker finalists on the ice together, along with Chris Drury. Wilson’s previous visit to MSG was Red Hot Hockey I in 2007, when he scored a goal against Cornell. (video)

Brandon Yip talked with Yahoo! Sports' Puck Daddy about life in the NHL (some interesting links included). Among NHL rookies, Yip is 7th in goal-scoring and 6th in +/-.

David VanderGulik scored the game-winner in a shootout as the Abbottsford Heat edged the Toronto Marlies. VDG now has an 8-15-23 scoring line.

JustMyShow.com has posted an audio interview with former BU standout and 1980 U.S. Olympian Dave Silk. Look for more posts and features here as the 3oth anniversary of the Miracle on Ice continues.