PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – It was a good weekend for the North American Aerospace Defence Command’s entry into the Quest For The Crown Charity Hockey Tournament, which took place April 30 – May 2 in Littleton, Colo.
With sound hockey play and a show of military poise under pressure, Team NORAD, made of Canadian and American hockey players, won all of their preliminary matches before going on to a solid win in their division championship game over the Lumbajaxs.
“I thought we represented NORAD very well,” said team captain David McClure. “We went out and played well, were professional, had fun, and were able to highlight NORAD to people who normally don’t think about us.”
Even though the final score was 7-3, the game was very close for a long time before NORAD managed to put a few past a strong Lumbajaxs’ goalie.
“He was by far the best goalie we faced,” said Kevin Lattemore, a Team NORAD forward. “He really kept the game close for awhile. I think we just tired him out in the end.”
The NORAD display booth was also a huge success with hundreds of people stopping by and learning about NORAD. Having a Canadian uniformed person at the booth emphasized the bi-national make-up of NORAD and led to many more questions about the variety of ways the militaries of both Canada and the United States work together.
All those who took the time to stop by the NORAD display were able to pick up souvenir NORAD hockey pucks, which were very popular, as well as other promotional items.
The Quest for the Crown Charity Hockey Tournament has been in existence since 2007 and has raised thousands of dollars for the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer organization. This year’s event featured 34 teams, 76 hours of hockey, and 3 days of competitive fun.
NORAD is the bi-national Canadian and American command that is responsible for the air defense of North America and maritime warning. The command has three subordinate regional headquarters: the Alaskan NORAD Region at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; the Canadian NORAD Region at Winnipeg, Manitoba; and the Continental NORAD Region at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. The command is poised to provide a multilayered defense to detect, deter and prevent potential threats flying over the airspace of the United States and Canada.