By Brandon Koch
After Niagara Falls Police Officer Craig Guiliani failed to get into the Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Tournament, he was forced to settled for Plan B — a game of his own.
Guiliani, 34, was a bit disconcerted when he was put on a waiting list to get into the second-annual event, which took place Saturday at the Erie Basin Marina in Buffalo. At the same time, out-of-state applicants were being accepted to play, he said.
Add that to the fact the Town of Niagara doesn’t have much going on during the winter season, what better than to hold a game of his own, Guiliani said.
“At first it was kind of (Guiliani) blowing off his steam, but then I thought it was a great idea,” said Mark Piwowarczyk, 34, a good friend of Guiliani and fellow Niagara-Wheatfield graduate. “You’re never going to know if you never try it.”
Guiliani and Piwowarczyk immediately began talking about the idea of having an outdoor hockey game on their online radio show, The Fantasy Football Lounge on the Niagara Broadcast Network, which airs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.
Both were surprised when they received a tremendous response to the idea and just weeks later, Guiliani said, he was granted permission to hold the event the at Niagara Active Hose Co., 6010 Lockport Road.
“I had a meeting with the fire hall president and chief and they were on board right away,” said Guiliani, who is an exempt member of Niagara Active Hose. “I told them they could make a lot of money off it or put money towards a scholarship.”
The biggest obstacle in organizing the event was getting the permission, he said. Each participant will need to sign a waiver in case of injury, however, the rules of the game will be the same as the Labatt Pond Hockey tournament (no contact, no slap shots).
“This year is just trial and error,” said Guiliani of the event, tentatively set for Feb. 20 and Fe.b 27. “Learn how to build the rink, see how many guys I can get to show up, play an all day game one weekend, and raise money to pay for the materials that I’m paying for this year out of my own pocket.”
So far, Guiliani has paid $700 toward the construction of the rink, he said.
This year, Guiliani will charge $20 per person to participate in the pickup game, Piwowarczyk said. They expect to get at least 50 people to come out and take part in the inaugural event, and raise at least $1,000, he added.
“I didn’t expect the interest that I have to be as big as it is,” Guiliani said. “This rink that I’m building is only 40-feet wide by 60-feet long. That’s only one rink. There’s no way I’m going to be able to get four-on-four guys at a time for them to play.”
As a result, there’s a slight chance he may have too many people who would want to play this year, Piwowarczyk said.
Proceeds from the event will go to the Robert “Chip” Bagby, Jr. Scholarship Fund, Guiliani said. Bagby was an active firefighter when he died in a 2009 motorcycle crash.
“Ultimately it’s benefiting the scholarship which is another reason why you’d want to do it,” Piwowarczyk said. “It’s not like me and Craig are pocketing the money and going to Vegas with it. It’s ultimately serving a cause with all the proceeds going to that which, to me, is great.”
Although there are no details yet for the direction of the scholarship, both men hope make this an annual event to raise funds in Bagby’s name.
Guiliani said he is 100 percent sure there is an overall interest in this outdoor event, and hopes this year’s go round will help spark even more interest in winter activities for years to come.
“It’s absolutely what the point was,” he said. “The interest in hockey in the winter time is huge. The City of Niagara Falls doesn’t take advantage of what they have — that being Hyde Park and the lake. There are so many things that could come out of this that somebody needs to take a hold of the reigns and lead.”
For more information, contact Guiliani at Gules34@hotmail.
