Clap Bomb Crew’s Nick Sibilia, right, moves the puck into scoring position as Northern Tree goalie Luke Lepine watches during Round 2 of the Kevin Major Ice Hockey Tournament last night at the Amelia Park Ice Arena. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – The 3rd annual Kevin J. Major Memorial hockey tourney continued Thursday night with several games at Amelia Park Ice Arena. The tournament began last weekend and will continue over the next three days.
On Sat., Aug. 10 at noon, the Kevin J. Major Youth Sports Foundation will donate an Automatic External Defibrillator, and officially announce plans to sponsor a U-19 sled hockey team at the rink. A scholarship will be presented to the Springfield Junior Pics team. CPR/AED training will be held from 10 a.m. to noon. MoFroYo is expected to hand out free samples of frozen yogurt, beginning around 1 p.m.
“The community means everything to us,” said Kevin’s mother, Susan Canning. “Without (them), we couldn’t do it.”
The free CPR/AED awareness training, which will be conducted by Noble Hospital at the ice arena Saturday morning, is designed to educate and inform the public about new Hands-Only CPR guidelines.
Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths, and is recommended for use by people who see a teenager or adult suddenly collapse at home, work, etc. An automated AED is a portable electronic device that treats cardiac arrhythmias with electrical therapy. This stops the arrhythmia, allowing the heart to reestablish an effective rhythm.
Proceeds from the entire event will benefit the KEVS Foundation, which was created in memory of Kevin Major, a talented local athlete who died of hypotrophic cardiomyopathy in 2011. The foundation provides financial aid to motivate, educate and encourage children 19 years of age and younger to take part in structured youth sports programs. The KEVS Foundation also provides free heart screenings for youths and donates AEDs to be place throughout area communities.
For a complete schedule of games, visit ameliaparkice.org.
