NHL alumni and hockey fans hit the ice at the BMO Centre in Bedford this weekend for a good cause - raising $400,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Many people attending the seventh annual Hockey Heroes Weekend fundraiser have a personal connection to the cause.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf Al Iafrate says the toughest opponent he ever faced on the ice, was a heart attack while coaching his son's game.
“I felt like I was getting stabbed in the back and then real shortness of breath, you literally feel like you're getting choked to death,” says Iafrate. “Thankfully, I was in the right place at the right time. I tell everyone that having a heart attack while playing hockey saved my life.”
Iafrate now combines his love of the game and his passion to raise money for heart and stroke research.
The cause is also personal for former Montreal Canadian John Scott.
“My dad has heart issues and my daughter has heart palpitations, so it definitely hits home,” says Scott.
Hockey fans had to fundraise thousands of dollars to be able to lace up beside former NHL’ers, but that was an easy challenge compared to what some had to overcome.
“I had open heart surgery seven years ago,” says participant John Guinan. “I'm very lucky to be here on the ice playing hockey.”
Guinan credits money raised over the years by Hock Heroes for saving his life, and has advice for others that he admits he didn't always heed himself.
“Listen to your doctor; listen to your doctor, pay tension to what you're eating and drinking and how you're living.”
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, heart disease and stroke take one Canadian life every seven minutes, but up to 80 per cent of premature heart disease and stroke can be prevented.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Marie Adsett
