Give Blood, Play Hockey

The annual Give Blood Play Hockey charity tournament at The Rinks in Irvine 

Give Blood Play Hockey. Credit: Lariat/Delani Taft

All three days of the Give Blood, Play Hockey event this weekend focused on raising money and donating blood sponsored by the Anaheim Ducks and CHOC Children’s hospital. There were silent auctions for Yeti coolers, signed Ducks jerseys, weekend vacations, and food/drink packages. There was also a variety of raffles and donation boxes, as well.

Three huge trailers from LifeStream Blood Bank parked in the arena to take volunteers to donate blood. Last year, the trucks collected 3,565 pints of blood from the event and raised $1,079,300.

“The phlebotomist did a great job pricking me with the needle; I only felt a small pinch. It was an honor and a privilege to donate blood to a great cause while supporting my daughter’s sports team,” players mom, Marcy McCandless said.

Vouge Salon was on the main stage at 11 a.m. to give free haircuts for those who wished to donate to Locks Of Love. In N Out catered a food truck on Saturday to provide free Double-doubles to those who donated a pint or more of blood during the event from 12:30-3 p.m.

Many of the teams from this weekend are returners from the Women’s Show Down Pro tournament that took place at The Rinks the weekend of September 27th. Snipe, Lady Raiders, Aztec, and the Rinks Rats competed in three playoff games for 1st and 2nd place teams. A fourth game was held to determine the championship of Rink Rats, with Snipe coming in second place.

“I’ve played in lots of pro games before, but this was the first time I was able to score a goal. I was excited about that, my family was here to watch, and it was a proud moment. It’s tough to play against some of these women; a lot of them are from the USA Olympic team, so it’s intimidating to be in the rink with them,” player Alexis Walsh said.

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