Family, friends and fans of the Straschnitzki family from Airdrie came together for a Charity Sledge Hockey game today (September 15th).

The Winsport Arena at Canada Olympic Park was the venue for the Cowboys N’ Sleds Sledge Hockey Game to support the Straz Strong foundation and STARS Air Ambulance.

Both teams consisting of rodeo athletes, sledge hockey players, the Straschnitzki family and other celebrities were introduced one by one to the crowd. The biggest applause came when Ryan set out out on the ice to take part in his first Sledge Hockey game to a standing ovation.

It was a game that would rival the classic hockey matches as Team Canyon and Team WPCA exchanged goals back and forth leading to a 4-4 tie with only a couple minutes left. Former Paralympic Sledge Hockey Player Chris Cederstrand would net the winning goal at the buzzer as Team Canyon took the game 5-4.

Ryan scored two goals in the game while his Dad Tom who was on Team WPCA had one assist.

At the end of the day, there were plenty of smiles around as everyone reflected on a great game that continued to show Ryan’s perseverance following the April 6th Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

Ryan’s Dad Tom says the community support and his former teammates are what keeps him going. “I think that’s what drives Ryan. He reads all the stuff too and he doesn’t think he’s the inspiration, he thinks everyone else is for him. He doesn’t want to give up either, that’s his drive, the community and his team [Humboldt].”

Chris Cederstrand knows Ryan’s situation all too well and says he’s amazed at the great spirit that Ryan has shown over the last few months. “Being a former junior player myself, the rink is your second home. To be able to get him back into that atmosphere again, I’ll never forget the first time we had himi on the ice and just the smile that he had on his face it’ll be imprinted on my mind forever because it was such a big moment for him to have that.”

Many of the players in the game had never played Sledge Hockey before meaning it was quite the physical experience for people like Tom.“The muscles you have to use and the skills you need to turn. As you can see we could only go north-south, some of us couldn’t go east-west. It was tough.”

The charity event also brought light to many services that helped after the Humboldt Broncos crash including Canadian Blood Services and First Responders.


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