The 41-hour Hockey-Thon was held Feb. 22-24 at the Ice Sports Center to benefit the Links for Life organization. The annual event began in 2005.
“Kevin Barrett lost his mother to breast cancer,” said Nahele Hoku Kaneakalau, the rink assistant in the Ice Sports Center. In 2005, former Condors player Kevin Barrett came up with a 27-hour event to fundraise the Links for Life organization.
The Hockey-Thon consists of hockey games played consecutively.
This event began at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 22, with Kevin Barrett dropping the puck for the first game. The event had more than 20 combined games.
A game that attracted a lot of attention was the alumni game played at Rabobank Arena. “I’m going to play in the alumni game,” said Paul Willett, hockey manager from the Ice Sports Center. “This is going to be a lot of fun, because we haven’t had a 41-hour event. Most of the time, they go for one whole night.”
The alumni game had former players from the Bakersfield Condors and the Fresno Falcons, including Scott Hay, Al Murphy, Quinn Fair, Mark Paderson, Jeff Ferguson, Kory Mullin and Jay Johnson.
Former members from the Condors and Ice Sports Center employees took the ice on Feb. 23 at 11:15 p.m. The game had a lot of cheering and boos throughout with the former Condors winning the game.
“Since it was so successful in 2005, we did it again that same year to raise more money,” mentioned Kaneakalau. “I believed we have raised more than $100,000, and with this Hockey-Thon under way, we are not sure how much to expect.”
All players participating in the event got free Condor tickets.
Trailers filled the parking lot of the Ice Sports Center, with entertainment and food for those who were involved with the event.
Links for Life provides awareness, testing, and benefits to women across Kern County. This organization also provides scholarships, a resource center, a needle biopsy program and free mammograms for women. They also provide a boutique which provides women with wigs, hats and scarves.