The teachers put on their game faces. (Photo provided by Corvin Uhrbach)

The post-game handshake. (Photo provided by Corvin Uhrbach)

About 300 people were at the Lacombe Sports and Leisure Complex to cheer on staff and students at the annual Lacombe Composite High School (LCHS) staff-student hockey game last Tuesday. Proceeds from the event will help honour 18 local war veterans killed during the Second World War.

About $1,500 was raised during the March 21 event, enough to fill between five and six memorial bricks. For a price of $275, each tax-deductible brick will be permanently placed in France at the Juno Beach Centre, a museum and cultural centre presenting the Canadian war effort during the Second World War. Corvin Uhrbach, the event’s organizer, hopes each brick will have its own $25 replica placed inside LCHS.

"I’m hoping to have all the bricks filled by next year," he said.

Although the staff lost 19-6 to the students in the 80-minute two-period game, Uhrbach was pleased with the money raised from the event.

"There was tremendous support from the community."

Several businesses donated items for the prize giveaways, while a 50/50 draw raised additional money on top of the $1,200 raised in ticket sales. The total raised for the war veterans is more than $1,800, added Uhrbach.

In the past, the event has raised money for such organizations as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Lacombe Community Food Bank and Lacombe and District Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Uhrbach attributed the teachers’ loss to an aging staff and a strong talented core of student players.