When Jamie Petrie got the Stratford Fighting Irish going four years ago, he wanted the team to connect with the city and its hockey fans. On November 30, they’re going to connect in a new way.
There will be a distinctly different look to the team when the Irish steps on to the ice Saturday night against the Elora Rocks, as they’ll be clad in their one-time-only City Connect jerseys. Following the game, the team will stick around as the sweaters are auctioned off – right off their backs.
“We’ve been doing Hockey Fights Cancer games for a few years now, and as much as we love that theme we wanted to change things up a bit,” Petrie said. “Major League Baseball does the whole city connect thing with their jerseys, so we borrowed that from them and put our own spin on it. We had our team photographer, Fred Gonder, design the sweaters for us.”
City hall is front and centre on the jerseys, along with the Stratford Festival Theatre and a swan, while the bust of William Shakespeare adorns the right shoulder. Petrie calls it a bit of a snapshot of Stratford and he’s pretty excited about the event.
“We’ve teamed up with the Stratford and Area Chamber of Commerce, who’s helped us promote the game, and all proceeds from this will be going to Shelterlink,” he said. “Along with the sweaters, we’re doing a food and clothing drive. I’m not being hokey here but it’s beyond baffling to me how weak we are in Stratford for supporting the needy. So for us, being in the public eye, it’s kind of our job to give back and this is one way we’re doing it. We’re looking forward to a big crowd so we can raise a ton of money for Shelterlink, and get some food and clothes as well.”
The auction is set to take place right on the ice after the game ends, and that’s the highlight of the night. Petrie said the team’s ‘Pot of Gold’ 50/50 is up to $500 now, and they’ll be doing all their regular perks fans find at Irish games. They’re pulling out all the stops for the auction as well – local hockey junky and former chamber general manager Eddie Matthews will be leading the auction on the ice.
“We’re really looking forward to this, and we’re hoping it becomes a yearly thing,” he said. “That’s a great thing about Stratford – you have all these amazing buildings around and lots of inspiration to draw from. All the history here gives us lots to work with.”
There will be 28 jerseys auctioned off in total. Doors at the Allman Arena open at 6 p.m. with the puck dropping at 7 p.m.
