Well over 100 spectators hit the stands to watch several County of Brant firefighters duke it out on the ice in support of Community Living Brant on Sunday, April 13, 2025.
The friendly faceoff featured Paris Fire Station #1 going head-to-head with Airport Fire Station #2, whose team included firefighters from across the County including Burford #3, Cainsville #4, Mt. Pleasant #5, Onondaga #6, St. George #7, and Scotland #8.
Cristin Ladner, Executive Director of Community Living Brant, said the whole game came about after they were approached by the Paris firefighters.
“They came to us and asked if we wanted to be the recipients of funds raised from a nice little hockey game between them and the Airport station,” she recalled. “Community Living Brant is always looking for people who are willing to contribute to our organization and so this was a fun opportunity for us especially because we don’t really do a lot of fundraising throughout the year other than our annual golf tournament.”
The organization itself provides developmental service support for people in Brantford and the County of Brant.
“We are 70 years strong as an organization and we provide all sorts of support for people who just need that little bit of extra assistance,” said Ladner.
When asked who she thought would pull the win, the Executive Director laughed and said “a firefighter of some sort will win the game, for sure!”
Before the game began, visitors were sure to place their bids on nearly 20 silent auction prizes, drop off non-perishable food items to the Salvation Army, or chat with Camp Phoenix organizers about fire safety, before settling into their seats.
Following the singing of O Canada, and the ceremonial puck-drop by Ladner, the game quickly got underway.
Paris came out strong by winning the opening faceoff and finding the back of the net just over a minute into the first. They held the lead for most of the period, but in the last five minutes remaining, the Airport team managed to score twice just minutes apart, ending with a 2-1 lead.
Keeping up the momentum, Airport scored its third goal just under a minute into the second period. About four minutes later, Paris responded with their second goal of the game.
While things were looking up for Fire Station #1, Airport added two more goals within minutes of each other, bringing their lead 5-2. Not one to back down, Paris managed to add another goal to the board before the end of period, making the score 5-3 with just 3:19 left on the clock.
Moving into the third, the teams continued to battle hard but it wasn’t until about half way through the period that Airport scored their sixth goal of the game. Refusing to quit, Paris responded, making it 6-4 just a minute later, however things were short-lived when Airport secured their final goal to make it 7-4 just moments later.
Despite the loss for Paris, the players were all smiles, many even shared a hug and a playful jab or two with the opposing team before heading off the ice.
As it turns out, Ladner was right… The winner of the game was “a firefighter of some sort.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
