Saves always matter for a hockey goalie, but the stops made by a quintet of Belmont Youth Hockey netminders this month mean more.
Each time Ronan Briggs, Elinor Dorn, Henry Hemond, Theo Hicks, and Michaela Rebolo stop a shot, Team Saves for a Cure supports cancer research and patient care services through the October Saves Goalie Challenge. Briggs, the team’s fundraising captain, honors his uncle, Rob, who died in September after a decade-long battle with multiple cancers.
“It helps cancer research and [prospective donors] might know someone who has cancer, too,” said Briggs, a sixth grader at Chenery Middle School. “[We’re raising money] so that scientists can come up with a cure and no one else has cancer.”
Dorn, a junior at Belmont High School, saw her grandmother battle cancer, as well as some of her mother’s close friends and a great uncle.
Rebolo, a Belmont Middle School seventh-grader, followed the journey of Zuza Beine, an influencer who died last month from acute myeloid leukemia.
“Seeing her story helped me understand how tough it truly is for people with cancer,” she said in a written message. “It gave me a whole new perspective and made me want to do my best to support anyone who’s going through something like that.”
Hemond, a sixth-grader at Chenery Middle School, makes saves in honor of his grandparents. His maternal grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. His paternal grandfather is currently undergoing cancer treatment.
Hicks, a sixth-grader at Marie Philip School, a Framingham-based private school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, loved playing goalie as soon as he got his first chance at the position in Belmont Youth Hockey. His late great-uncle Bill Robinson died of cancer in February. Robinson played at Boston University.
Founded in 2014, the October Saves Goalie Challenge is an all-volunteer organization based in Sterling, Virginia. The challenge includes goalkeepers of all ages from the United States and Canada, including Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman. The organization offers a scholarship for training camp or lessons for a goalie experiencing a cancer diagnosis in their family.
As of Oct. 10, Belmont’s youth netminders raised more than $10,000 en route to their $15,000 goal. They ranked eighth of 108 U.S.-based teams, and Briggs raised the second-most funds for a U.S.-based individual.
Donations can be made here. Briggs’ father, Brian, found the organization from a Facebook post of a participant in a nearby town.
All five Belmont goalies have special jerseys for the month, which they wear in their Valley Hockey League games in competition against area town teams. Ronan’s jersey says “Uncle Rob” on the back. He also wears cancer ribbon pad stickers.
“I started this fundraiser when I knew Uncle Rob was sick and in the hospital,” Briggs said. “I wanted to raise money to help my uncle and help find a cure to make him feel better. He never let cancer define him.”
Because saves mean more this month, Briggs has a strategy to make sure he stops plenty of shots.
“I like to wait for them to come to me,” he said. “I stay square to the shooter, out of the crease, and move in with the player. And if I can, try to poke their stick a little to get the puck away from them.”