Griffins & Sled Wings Game - Details

GRIFFINS & GRAND RAPIDS SLED WINGS
17th ANNUAL SLED HOCKEY GAME

A fundraiser for the Sled Wings and the Griffins Youth Foundation

DATE: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024

LOCATION: Griff's IceHouse at Belknap Park

TIME: Arrive before 5:10 p.m.

DRESS: Wear your Griffins track suit/sweats, and bring your helmet and gloves from the arena. You will be given your jersey at Griff's, and the Sled Wings will provide you with a sled and two sticks.

(Coaches and training staff: You won't play in the game, but you'll watch from a bench and have the option to try out a sled between 5-5:45 p.m. if you'd like.)


Schedule of Events:

5:10-5:40 p.m. - Player autograph session with fans in west (main) lobby

5:40-5:50 p.m. - Put on your jersey, helmet and gloves, then head to the ice to get your sled and have a quick warmup. Half of the Griffins players on each roster (Team Didier and Team Barcarcel, named for the Sled Wings' captain) will play during the first half then watch the second, and the other half of you will watch the first half then play the second. You and your leadership can decide who plays in which half.

5:50-5:55 p.m. - Player introductions and National Anthem, then all second-half players leave the ice

6:00-6:45 p.m. Sled Hockey Game - Two 20-minute periods with a running clock. Both teams will include six members of the Sled Wings and two media players. Three Sled Wings players (including a goalie) will be on the ice for each team at all times, and you can do your own line changes to rotate the other three spots (making sure to include some shifts for your media player). There will be a brief intermission to switch out first-half and second-half players.


About the Sled Wings:

The Junior Sled Wings, a talented team of children and teens with physical disabilities, are sponsored by the Griffins Youth Foundation in partnership with Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital. They became the first junior-level sled hockey team in Michigan upon their founding in 2001 and have gained a national reputation by winning various prestigious tournaments and developing six players for U.S. National Teams. The Sled Wings won their second national championship in 2022 and have finished as national runners-up four times, while goaltender Taggart Vandermolen has been a member of the U.S. National Sled Hockey program since 2018, when he became the youngest netminder ever to be named to the team at the age of 15.


QUESTIONS?: Randy Cleves 616-550-3665

Thank you