Correctional officers, firefighters set for 2025 Jim Pendergast Charity Hockey Game

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Penhold Fire Department Chief Sean Pendergast said they’re excited to get started.

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“It will be a good night,” he said

The game is named after Pendergast’s father Jim, who passed away in 2021. Jim was a longtime fire chief in Penhold.

“It’s a big deal to me. It’s something I look forward to every year. It’s a good memorial piece for my father in the efforts that he put through for charities and fundraising,” Pendergast said.

“He was a huge hockey fan so I always imagine him up there watching us play. He’d be proud.”

Pendergast estimates they’ve raised over 1,000 pounds of food for the food bank over the last couple of years, but make it a goal every year to outdo themselves.

“We try to make it bigger every year. We’re closing in pretty close now on capacity in the arena for this game,” he said. “Unless people start bringing more than they can carry in a single load, we’ll probably start seeing a cap at some point.”

He explained they’ve never made it to capacity at the Penhold Multiplex since in the events history since the inaugural game in 2016, but every year they’ve filled in more and more people. Last year they were quite close but are hoping to make it happen on Saturday.

“I know for myself and at least a few other guys we tend to bump up our efforts on the ice for this game,” he said. “I’m never more sore than I am after this game.”

Historically, the fire department has never beat the correctional officers squad but hope to make this year the first.

“We’ve had a few what we call close games, but if it was an NHL score, it would probably be called a blowout,” he said. “They have a good set of athletes over there… there’s a desire to win a game one of these days and I know we’re going to be pushing this year and next to try to get in the win column.”