Health sciences faculty, students and alumni lace up their skates for mental health

By Cecilia Kalaw

The Faculty of Health Sciences participated in the 2nd Annual Surrey Fire Fighters’ Break the Ice hockey tournament held on October 21, 2016. Faculty members led the only co-ed team on the ice during the charity event in support of the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society’s mental health and addiction initiatives aimed at removing the stigma attached to mental illness.

The Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society generously funds the Faculty of Health Science’s public lecture on mental health, and provides support and access to mental health resources for citizens and first responders.

The SFU Health Sciences hockey team was one of twelve teams that participated in theBreak the Ice tournament. The team was represented by faculty members Tim Beischlag, Gratien Prefontaine and Kelley Lee, former postdoctoral fellow Kelly Sakaki, Masters of Public Health student Chelsea Stunden, health sciences undergraduate honours student Robert Payer, health sciences alumni Takashi Chijiwa and Susan Choi, and additional pick-up players Yvon Beaudoin, Alex Gilmore and Doug de Visser, a former University of Colorado goalie.

The SFU Health Sciences team played in the recreational division against teams from the City of Surrey, Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA) and Surrey-Beattie.

“It proved to be a very fast and competitive tournament from the first puck drop, but we managed to hold our own in all the games,” says Kelley Lee.

In Game 1, the team came up against a highly-skilled ex-professional player on the City of Surrey team. The former German league forward scored two goals and handed the SFU Health Sciences team a 4-1 loss, with Beaudoin scoring the lone goal for team. The team lost the second game against a very competent CBSA team by the same score of 4-1, with Alex Gilmore potting the only goal. The team finally prevailed in their third game against Surrey-Beattie by scoring first and maintaining the lead throughout. Robert Payer scored a hat trick and with two more goals by Alex Gilmore, the team ended the day on a winning note with a 6-2 victory.