Haverhill Fire Department Hockey Team Plays Saturday in Support of Veterans

Merrimack Valley Newsmakers

The Haverhill Fire Department hockey team is preparing for this Saturday’s charity game in support of veterans.

Haverhill Deputy Fire Chief Gregory R. Roberts, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program, says the contest supports the Skate for 22 Foundation, which was founded to help veterans adjust to civilian life after getting out of the service

“As you know, about 22 veterans take their lives per day. So, they started an organization back in 2017 to try to bring a lot of the veteran community together into that locker room facility where they had the teamwork and comradery they had while they were serving our country, and try to get everybody to talk,” he explains.

Roberts says the hockey rink, game, and locker room itself prove to be a very helpful setting.

“We’re a different generation of veterans where we don’t typically go to the VFW or the AmVets. We don’t gather like that. So, this was a way to bring everybody together, have everybody vent and have their time together and that comradery that we are so used to.”

Roberts spent 12 years in the Army before becoming a member of the Haverhill Fire Department. He says he has a lot of friends afflicted with post-traumatic stress and issues of that nature. He also mentions he didn’t play hockey as a youth or in High School.

“I picked it up with I was in my mid-40s, believe it or not. That organization, Skate for 22, I had heard about and I went out there and just started playing for them. We’ve been playing with them since 2017 and it’s been going strong since then. The Haverhill Fire Department one is fairly new. It’s probably about two or three years old.”

And concerning the Haverhill Fire Department hockey team, Roberts says they have been organized to help.

“What the Haverhill Fire Department club, as a charity, is we raise money and all that money we keep in Haverhill. We give, whether it’s for the high school sports teams or some of the youth sports programs, to help offset some of the costs.”

The game between the Haverhill Fire Department hockey team and the Skate For 22 Foundation is Saturday, Nov. 30, at 4 p.m., at Veterans Memorial Rink behind Haverhill High School, 137 Monument St. Donations of any amount are requested and a 50/50 raffle will also be conducted. There’s more about Skate for 22 Foundation at skateforthe22.org.

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