SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga police were apparently too hot for the city’s fire department to handle. At the fifth annual Holiday Hockey Classic, the boys in blue beat the firefighters 12-2.
The event benefited the Franklin Community Center’s Holiday Assistance Program, which aims to deliver a Christmas present to every Saratoga child that needs one.
According to firefighter Chris Stewart, this year’s game resulted in more than 800 toys collected and $2,000 raised, surpassing last year’s totals. Attendees packed the Weibel Ice Rink for the event. “We had a standing-room-only crowd,” Stewart said.
The presents and funds were donated to the Franklin Community Center on Monday morning via fire and police vehicles.
“I play Christmas carols over the PA system of the ladder truck,” Stewart said. “A lot of people were out and about and they stopped and waved and were curious why Christmas carols were being played instead of a siren on a fire truck.”
The donated toys gifted to the kids included Barbies, Hot Wheels, coloring books, and board games.
“I can’t thank everyone that donated and attended the game enough,” Stewart said. “This entire event is make or break by how much the community comes together to support it.”
Stewart mentioned that sponsors such as Skidmore Hockey, King’s Tavern, the Adirondack Thunder, and the Bread Basket Bakery were “truly the ones that make this game what it is.”
