November 23, 2010

Hockey East has entered a partnership with Restore Hockey

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna announced on Tuesday that the conference has entered into a partnership with Restore Hockey, a non-profit organization focused on making hockey more accessible by reducing the costs associated with participation.

The partnership will consist of used equipment collection events co-hosted by Hockey East member programs and Restore Hockey throughout the 2010-2011 season. All equipment collected at these events will be restored and sanitized by Restore Hockey before being donated free of charge to numerous local youth hockey programs and individual players.

"With the escalating costs of hockey equipment, we are happy to participate in this initiative, as Hockey East tries to give back to the hockey community. We are hoping it will continue to help grow the sport," said Commissioner Bertagna.

The collection schedule will feature 17 games on Hockey East campuses over the next couple of months. All hockey equipment and hockey related equipment will be accepted.

"We at Restore Hockey are both humbled and excited by our partnering with Hockey East on these equipment collection events, said Restore Hockey Founder Michael Spengler. "We are confident that the support given by both the Hockey East leadership, and its member schools, will help us further our mission and make the sport more accessible to those who might otherwise not have an opportunity to participate."

The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men's hockey conference founded in 1984 and an eight-team Division I women's league which began play in 2002-03. The men's league has won seven NCAA championships in the past 18 years.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, Restore Hockey is a division of Restore Sports, Inc, a 501c3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote hockey in a manner that embraces access, opportunity and affordability, while giving new life to equipment that has helped build its foundation. They act as an agent of hockey through the recovery and restoration of discarded equipment so that it can be used as a low-cost, reusable resource in promotion of the game. For more information, please visit their website at www.restorehockey.com.