Once the Meadow Mulisha got their slo-pitch act together, there was no stopping them.
They mowed down their opponents at North Nechako Field last weekend in the Nechako Slo-Pitch Charity Tournament, then turned over their $800 prize to Mindright.info.
The Mindright program to promote mental health was tailor-made for the Cariboo Cougars major midget hockey team by Myles Mattila, 19, a former Cougar forward who now plays junior B hockey for the Kelowna Chiefs.
A few years ago Mattila had a friend who was struggling with mental health issues and depression and didn't know where to turn. Mattila wanted to help and has since developed his website which offers information and directs people to support resources to help them deal with their situations.
"It was a pretty big win for our group," said Steven Jandric, one of the gangleaders of the Meadow Mulisha. 'We had to decide on a charity to donate to and I think it was Matteo (Albinati) who said, 'Why don't we donate to Mindright?'
"Since we're all hockey players who grew up playing with Mattila and we see what he's doing and how he's supporting this, showing the world how much of a big deal this actually is and how much it affects sports guys, we thought it would be a good charity to donate to if we won."
Meadow Mulitia beat Eaten Pujols 19-9 in the final. The Mulitia lost their first game then reeled off five straight wins to claim the eight-team tournament.
Mattila approached MLA Shirley Bond before the tournament and she agreed to cover the cost of the T-shirts the Mulitia team wore on the slo-pitch field last weekend. He plans to use the $800 the team donated to buy NHL jerseys and auction them off to provide more funding for the Mindright.info charity.
"I think it's a cool story and I'm very grateful they picked my charity and my initiative for mental health," said the 19-year-old Mattila. "The hockey jersey is a great way to spark the interest of people at a hockey game and draw them in to talk about mental health. If I could possibly get a signed Brett Connolly jersey that would be fantastic."
Mattila is now working with B.C. Hockey to create a province-wide program geared to minor hockey players to promote mental health.
"That's been my long-term goal for two or three years, even before I created Mindright," said Mattila. "I think it's truly important to have resources like that, getting the coaches, parents and players educated around mental health. Even if the coaching staff could go through Mental Health 101, just in case some of the players are reaching out, they know some of the signs and who to reach out to. I've heard some stories of coaches who saw their players in distress and they had no idea where to go to."
The 12-player team drew its name from one of the summer pastimes of their youth - playing games of pickup softball at Moore's Meadow nature park, close to the Highland/Meadow communities where they grew up.
"We used to get 14 or 15 guys out there and we'd throw gloves in the middle to make a team and we'd play with tennis balls or baseballs and it was great fun," said Jandric.
The team included Steven and Chris Jandric, the Sutton siblings - Jarin, Devin and Jenna - the Albinati brothers - Nick, Josh and Matteo - Ian Walker, Riannon Petrovicky, Shelby Jansen and Cole Waldie. The Jandrics, Devin and Jarin Sutton are all former Cariboo Cougars.
Steven Jandric said the team plans to enter more slo-pitch tournaments this summer before he and his younger brother Chris have to return to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks to play NCAA hockey. Steven, who turns 21 in August, has already played one season with the Nanooks, while Chris, 19, is heading into his rookie college season after two seasons in the BCHL with the Vernon Vipers. They played together one year in Vernon and on minor hockey teams in Prince George and Quebec.
Steven, a forward, and Chris, a defenceman, will be the first Prince George brothers to play college hockey on the same team since John and Keenan Hopson were teammates with the Maine Black Bears in 2005-06.
"It should be really cool - not many people get to play hockey with their brother, especially at the NCAA level," said Steven Jandric.
