3/10/13 - After one of its members had a brush with death, a local hockey club has challenged the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association to a game to raise money for life-saving devices and training. About two years ago, George Stefureac entered cardiac arrest after playing in one of the regular Friday games of the Hartland Ice Hogs. His teammates applied CPR and an employee of the Hartland Sports Center properly applied a defibrillator device, keeping Stefureac alive until EMTs could take him to the hospital for treatment. He has made a full recovery, but researched the event afterward and found that people in Michigan only have a 5% chance of surviving cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting. However, people in Washington State have a 40% chance of survival due to mandatory workplace CPR and defibrillator training. In response, the Hartland Ice Hogs hockey club has arranged a game against the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association on March 16th. The game, called the Sparky Defibrillator Challenge, will feature former NHL players George Bowman, Joe Kocur, Jason Woolley, Kevin Miller, and Ed Mio. Stefureac will serve as a referee. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students, and all the proceeds will go toward providing defibrillators and CPR training to the community. A distribution plan has not been set, but the team hopes to provide the devices and training to low-income areas that would not have access to them otherwise. Tickets are available at Mexican Fiesta in Hartland and Bagel & Bites in Brighton. They can also be purchased by inquiring by email at sparkydc@comcast.net or calling (810) 875-0205. (TD)
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