The True Spirit of Hockey

For 364 days a year, Detroit, MI is known as Hockeytown, USA.  However, for one day each year that moniker travels approximately 700 miles eastward to Temple Street in West Roxbury, a well-kept, tree-lined street nestled right in the heart of one of Boston’s neighborhoods.  On this day, generations come together and celebrate the game of hockey with one of Boston’s newest and fastest growing traditions known as the Shamrock Shootout, held on March 17, naturally. 

The event started in 2008 after three friends and neighbors, Mike O’Brien, Dave Tracey and Marc Sanders, all products of the Bobby Orr mania of the ‘70s, lamented the fact that children these days were rarely seen playing street hockey, a far cry from your average day in 1974 when kids would leave their home at 9:00 AM with their Mylec street hockey stick and orange ball and not return home until dinner at 6:00 PM.  The next day would be the same, nothing but street hockey with your friends, sometimes playing other neighborhoods and the biggest worry usually being a ball falling into a catch basin. 

However, due to a variety of reasons, street hockey seemed to disappear from the streets of Boston over the past couple of decades and the three friends, not wanting their children to miss out on the game of their own youth, decided to take matters into their own hands by creating an annual street hockey tournament for local children, thus the birth of the Shamrock Shootout. 

Straight as an arrow and with nary a slope, Temple St. is the ideal street hockey “rink.”  The first year of the shootout, 2008, had a modest turnout but fun was had by all and doing it again in 2009 was a no-brainer for the friends and the buzz from the inaugural tournament pushed the number of players in ’09 to approximately 200.  Word of this new event spread like wildfire, even generating media coverage, and the three friends knew that the 2010 Shamrock Shootout was going to be the largest to-date but would also produce logistical nightmares in planning.  They figured the only ones capable of creating a four-game schedule for each of the 24 teams, almost all of them playing simultaneously on 11 makeshift rinks, would be their most trusted confidants—their wives.  Oh, not to mention acquiring street closing permits and organizing donations for enough food, drinks and snacks to keep the 1,000 or so grandparents, parents and children in attendance satisfied for the day.  Along with 80 other volunteers and numerous contributors, the three couples put everything together without any hitches and a great time was had by all. 

Hanging high above the day’s festivities was the white # 3 jersey of seriously injured Norwood High School hockey player Matt Brown.  Knowing that the Shamrock Shootout community would not hesitate to reach out to a fallen hockey player less than 10 miles away, co-founder O’Brien’s brother, Richie, suggested that something be done to honor and help Matt Brown with his recovery from his recent injury.  The Norwood High community was appreciative of the gesture and arranged for Matt Brown’s game jersey to get to West Roxbury to “oversee” the event.  Auction items were donated, merchandise sold and donations accepted and as the day drew to a close, co-founder O’Brien felt confident that the total raised for Matt Brown and his recovery would surpass $2,000. 

The Shamrock Shootout asks that all readers of this article take a minute to say a prayer for Matt Brown’s recovery, with the ultimate hope that one day he walks to center ice of the middle rink and drops the ceremonial first “puck” at a future Shamrock Shootout.