FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — They serve, protect and save lives, but off the clock, some of South Florida’s first responders suit up for something totally different – ice hockey.
On the ice, it’s not just about hockey. It’s about healing, honoring and a whole lot of friendly competition.
“(I) served 11 years in the Army, two tours in Iraq,” military veteran and Wounded Warriors hockey player Chris Sheehan said.
By day, they protect and serve, but on the ice, they trade their badges for blades as their duties shift from protecting to power plays.
“It’s an outlet besides being a first responder,” Fort Lauderdale Deputy Fire Chief Garrett Pingol said.
In the First Responders Hockey League, firefighters, police officers and military veterans square off on the ice.
They call themselves South Florida’s Finest, the Wounded Warriors and Los Bomberos.
Former New York City police officer, Ray Laschet, said since Sept. 11, 2001, some men and woman who once shared a rink together never got to lace their skates again.
“A very close friend of mine, Kenny Tietjen -- we played hockey together,” Vincent Peteroy, of Collier County Hockey, said.
Peteroy, a former Port Authority police officer in New York City, carries that weight every time he steps on the ice.
“It was a very memorable day for many people,” he said. “It became part of my life after it happened.”
Laschet, a former sergeant for New York City during 9/11, was there too.
“My best friend, Patrick McGovern, he died from 9/11 cancer. It’s been a real event in my life,” he said.
Peteroy and Laschet both came down to South Florida from New York.
“A little rainier down here than we get in New York, but it’s beautiful,” Laschet said.
The group of hockey players are not just there to compete in the rink, but also to chase a different kind of rush.
“We felt the need to honor the fallen -- fallen brothers, fallen civilians -- it’s a tough time,” Robert Barnett, who retired from the NYPD, said.
“Sometimes we take a chance to give back to ourselves,” Pingol said.
They also do it to remember why they put the uniform on in the first place – to serve.
“We are all part of another group, we all try to stick together,” Laschet said. “When there’s an emergency, we don’t care who’s coming. We just want to know there’s somebody else like us.”
Besides all the checks and goals, there’s a charity component to the tournaments they play in, including a recent one that specifically befitted 9/11 survivors and first responders impacted that day.
The next tournament will be in Orlando in January, supporting children’s cancer research.
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