Melanie and Bruce Inglis organized Queens Hockey Fights Cancer on Saturday at Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool. It has raised more than $16,000 so far for cancer research. (Rick Conrad photo)

A charity hockey game in Liverpool on the weekend raised more than $16,000 for cancer research.

Queens Hockey Fights Cancer was hosted by Memories Cafe & Eatery and Inglis Kassouf Financial Solutions at Queens Place Emera Centre on Saturday.

It was organized by Bruce and Melanie Inglis of Liverpool, who own Memories and Inglis Kassouf.

“Cancer is close to everybody one way or another and for us this year, it’s been pretty challenging with some various people that we know that are fighting different kinds of cancer at different ages in life,” Bruce Inglis said Monday. “It was a case where we thought we could make it so the community could show them how much they care.”

“We are always great at doing hockey game fundraisers,” Melanie Inglis said. “We’ve done several so we knew that would be a good one for us. We did a silent auction, with the help of Karleigh Huskins who was terrific at getting a lot of businesses to chip in.”

LINK: Queens Hockey Fights Cancer donation page

They also raised money through donations from individuals and businesses, a 50/50 draw and admission to the game on Saturday. The winner of the 50/50 draw, Danny Whynot, donated the pot back to the cause.

The Inglises say they’re thrilled with the result.

“A final tally isn’t done yet, but we are a little over $16,000 right now,” Melanie says. “I think it surpassed our expectations for sure.”

“I think we knew that the community would come together,” Bruce says. “We knew that we would do $5,000, hoped that we would do ($10,000). But anything above 10 I think is pretty remarkable.”

The hockey game featured the under-18 Queens County Midget Cougars going up against another group of players who suited up for the Inglis Kassouf All-Stars. 

Admission was $10 and about 300 people showed up to watch the all-stars win the game in overtime on a goal by 14-year-old Eric Hanley.

The Inglises said the big tally is even more special given the relatively small population of the area. 

“It was a nice crowd,” Bruce says. “And that’s on a busy Saturday in the summer when there’s lots going on. There were a lot of people who did send donations, and saying, ‘Sorry we can’t be there’.” 

“We’re thrilled,” Melanie says. “It’s fantastic to have the community rally together behind us to support the people that we love in the community.”

The couple organized the event in honour of a couple of friends going through their own battle with cancer.

Jack Stephenson is a student athlete at Bates College in Maine. He spent part of his childhood in Queens County. The son of Jay and Renee Stephenson is currently undergoing treatment for sarcoma.

Anthony MacDiarmid of Liverpool is also battling cancer. A longtime supporter of hockey and community causes, he coached the all-stars to victory.

All money raised will go to the Canadian Cancer Society for cancer research. You can still donate to Queens Hockey Fights Cancer at this link on the Canadian Cancer Society website.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lincoln Inglis and his father Bruce will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Friday night cheering on the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. (Rick Conrad)

As the Edmonton Oilers try to extend the Stanley Cup final to seven games on Friday night, a small but committed group from Liverpool will be in the stands cheering them on.

Bruce Inglis, his son Lincoln and three friends will be at Rogers Place in Edmonton for Game 6 as the Oilers try to tie their series with the Florida Panthers.

“This year, people kept asking me, ‘Are you and Lincoln going to a game from the start of the playoffs?’ And I said, ‘No we’re saving ourselves for the finals,’ which actually came to pass this time for the first time in 18 years.”

Bruce, who works as a financial planner in Liverpool, says he’s been an Oilers fan since he was 10 years old – when they upset the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 1981 NHL playoffs.

His team has won five Stanley Cups, beginning in 1984 during the Gretzky-Messier glory years. But it’s been 34 years since the Oilers last won the cup. And Inglis told his wife that he had to be there to see it.

“I had said many years ago to Melanie that if the Oilers were ever to win another Stanley Cup I was going to be in the building when they win it. So that’s our goal this year.”

The father and son were in the crowd at the Panthers’ rink in Sunrise, Florida, when the Oilers won Game 5. And if the Oilers win on Friday night, they plan to be back in Florida for Game 7. 

“We were in the very back row in Florida at the very top, but it was actually a great place to watch from. The view was fantastic.

“It was unreal. There was lots of energy of course, especially at the start of the game. The Florida folks were hoping to see the Stanley Cup brought out on the ice. So there was a lot of energy in the rink. … At the end of the game there were some pretty good Oilers chants as well. There were probably 2,000 Oilers fans in the rink. Lots of great energy, great food, it was a fun night.”

Lincoln, who’s 22 and is a masters student at Western University in London, Ont., says the playoff run has been pretty special.

“It’s very surreal because it’s the first time I can remember them being in the finals. Even just being in the away rink, the energy was pretty high. So I’m really looking forward to going to Edmonton because it’s going to be insane.”

Bruce says he made sure to pass on his love of the Oilers to Lincoln and his sister Lauren early on.

“When the kids turned 10, I took them each to an Oilers game because you want to make sure your kids get a proper education. Lincoln and I went to a playoff game in 2017 that they lost and then in 2022 and 2023 we saw a game in each versus Los Angeles. So we got to see them win those ones. So they’re on a hot streak with us in the crowd now. We have to hope that continues.”

Lincoln says it’s a chance he couldn’t pass up.

“You can’t not see the Oilers hoist a Stanley Cup. It’s one of those things that hasn’t happened in 34 years, so you don’t want to miss that kind of opportunity.”

Bruce says he loves sharing this Stanley Cup experience with Lincoln.

“It’s fantastic. It’s pretty neat. Lauren and I do concerts. That’s our thing together. But for hockey, it is neat when you grew up liking something and your son adopts that and ends up liking it as much as you do. But we have a lot of laughs when we go on these little trips and there are memories that you’ll always have.”

And they’re also happy to bring friends along, like Claudine MacDiarmid, her son Teed and Inglis family friend Rauri Whynot.

“It’s the small town hits the big city for a Friday night. It’s going to be a lot of fun. And for me to be going, especially to have three younger guys, … to see that experience for those guys, because if you’ve watched on TV, you’ve seen how loud Rogers Place in Edmonton is. It’s quite phenomenal.”

They’ll be wearing their Oilers jerseys on Friday night — Kelly Buchberger’s No. 16 for Bruce and Mattias Ekholm’s No. 14 for Lincoln.

“My jersey’s on a lucky streak right now,” Bruce says, “and so I think if I didn’t wear it, it could be bad news.”

So, do the Inglises have any predictions for Game 6?

“We expect an Oilers win,” Lincoln says.

“I really hope we see them win,” says Bruce. “If we don’t, the five of us will see a Stanley Cup awarded. And that’s a pretty neat and privileged thing to do.”

And if the Oilers tie it up on Friday night, father and son will be booking last-minute flights back to Florida for Game 7 on Monday.

“This is our favorite pastime,” Bruce says. “Some people have boats and some people go on parties but we’ll be a while paying this one off, Lincoln and I, but again (we) realize it’s a pretty special occurrence if it happens and who knows if we’ll ever see that again?”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Astor Theatre, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Photo Credit: Ed Halverson

An all-day concert to support people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine will go ahead.

The event, Queens Care Day for Ukraine, was scheduled at Liverpool’s Astor Theatre April 30 but was postponed after several performers became ill.

Astor Theatre General Manager Jean Robinson-Dexter says a new date for the event will be announced shortly.

Robinson-Dexter says after hearing the stories about the suffering in Ukraine she and a group of volunteers decided they had to do something.

“I guess it’s over a month ago now when they said that a theatre, a children’s theatre was bombed in a city in Ukraine,” Robinson-Dexter. “And that just kind of hit me to the core that places that people come together because they love theatre and they love the arts, and for that to happen…”

While Robinson Dexter and fellow organizer Ashley Goodwyn work to find a new date for the performances, Deborah Raddall, Melanie Inglis and Charmaine Stevens are spearheading efforts to raise money through a hybrid online and live auction.

The silent auction is already accepting bids through the Queens Care Day for Ukraine Silent Auction Facebook page.

Bidding will remain open until noon on May 12.

The auction will then go live, in person at the Liverpool Town Arts and Cultural Centre from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and the winners can claim their prizes that night.

Local artist Roger Savage will be painting portraits on-site that day and donating all the proceeds to the fundraiser.

Savage has agreed to take sittings this Saturday as well which must be scheduled in advance by calling the Astor Theatre box office.

Robinson-Dexter says the group has set a goal of donating $10,000 to the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.

She says the effort is the result of many people bringing their talents together for a good cause.

“What can we do? Well let’s do what we can do best and have performers on our stage and bring our community together to do what we can,’ said Robinson-Dexter. “So often we feel helpless when these things happen in other parts of the world.”

For more information visit the Queens Cares – A Day For Ukraine Facebook page or call the Astor Theatre box office at 902-354-5250.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson

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