Thank you gifts- were you a winner?

The winners of the thank you gifts were drawn and announced this weekend!

You can read about them here.

Or keep reading...

The Winners of our Fundraiser
"Thank you gifts"
are…

Basket 1- Julie Garmon

Basket 2- Diane Schotl

Cottage Pillows- Kathryn Feigal

Western Cabin Pillows- M. Fahey for his mom Nancy

Quilt- J. Porter

Please e-mail  (Peggy Sue) with your address so we can get
your gifts sent to you!

hippiegirl44@gmail.com

Thank you everyone
for donating and making this
a huge success!

We are thrilled, humbled and feel 
so blessed!!!

Our weekend of hockey turned into one of the most memorable experiences these young 14 year-old- boys will ever experience.  

For all the reasons, as parents, we hope will never happen.

But it all started off filled with possibility.  Craguns Resort hosted all the teams.  While its an older resort, on Gull Lake, in Brainerd, MN, it has a charm and warmth to it that make it very relaxing.

This was the view out our patio screen door.  It was too cold for me to want to open the screen for a clear view. 

Each room was equipped with a real wood- burning fireplace.

And below is the Blue Ox, the trophy on the line for the winner of the tournament.

We were slated to play some of the toughest Bantam AA teams in the state of Minnesota, and see how our team measured up compared to those.

Our first game we were matched against a long-time rival- Bloomington Jefferson.  Early predictions had them as the team that would go on to the championship.  

We were all nervous about how our team would fare against them.

We had faith in our boys and the level of competitiveness they contain.  

The Moorhead Junior Spuds team did not disappoint!

After a slower first period they got the scoring going through teamwork and were first on the board with a goal by Nolan.  Our team continued on for two more goals, before Jefferson finally answered back with one.

But when Jefferson decided to pull their goalie nearing the end of the third- we scored one more time and ended the game 4-1.

We beat Bloomington Jefferson- one of the teams predicted to go to the championship.

We quickly saw that the next team we would play, was a team we felt we stood a chance against, early the next morning.

The boys were off to an amazing start in the tourney.

We went back to our hotel for the tournament pasta feed and banquet.

As Rick and I headed down the hall to go to the feed, we ran into a heavy discussion going on in the hallway.  We were quietly pulled into the conversation.

A young 14 year old player, had collapsed on the ice.  The early reports were saying that despite extensive attempts to revive the young man, he had indeed died.

We went numb with shock and disbelief.  

The rest of the night, bits and pieces of information kept coming in.  It wasn't long, before the kids all new.  Soon, the story was being picked up by the news and local media.  Word continued to spread.

There were so many big questions our boys were asking.  And as parents, we had some really hard answers to give them.  

We were devastated, sad, and subdued.  "At a loss for words," seemed to be the first response by everyone.  

The tournament was cancelled, out of respect for the young player, later reported to be Patrick Schoonover, who played for Eastview.  

The following is part of some of the most recent news...

"... cause of death to Eastview Bantam AA Defenseman, Patrick Schoonover, was a defective heart. In an email to the team Saturday, Patrick's parents confirmed via the Brainerd Medical Examiner that Patrick's heart failed while playing. The fourteen year old young man collapsed on Friday in a game between his team and Wayzata in the Battle for the Blue Ox, in Brainerd, Minnesota. 

In a statement posted Sunday on the Eastview Hockey website, the Schoonover's reiterated that Patrick's death was due to a heart defect and not related to what happened during the game Friday, "...Patrick's death was due to a heart defect. More information will be forthcoming, but they wanted to clarify that this was not a hockey related injury."

Patrick is survived by his parents, Michael and Gayle, and three siblings, Abby, 18; Anna, 17, and Matthew, 11. His family lives in Eagan. "

Nolan has been subdued and sad.  At some level he understands the tragic nature of what happened, while still not completely understanding the sheer magnitude of it all.

I was impressed, with how well our hockey community came together.  We may be opponents on the ice, but off the ice we come together as friends and family.  There was nothing but compassion and sorrow and support, heaped with prayers, by so many.  

So each day, we talk a little more.  Assure and reassure our son's uncertainty.  And hug him with arms that reach all the way around in sheer gratitude that we were one of the families that got to bring their young hockey player, home, with them.  

Because one family, didn't.  

And we will be forever changed as we take the ice each time from here forward, remembering to #playforpatrick.  

Its infusion Tuesday tomorrow, Dr. P,  and tumor marker testing.  

Back soon with updates.