FillTheRinkForFrankie

With Whitley Warriors hosting an NIHL North Cup fixture against Billingham Stars tomorrow evening, the first Tyne-Tees derby game of the season is guaranteed to be a spectacular event as both teams aim to fill the rink for three-year old Frankie Sherwood who requires £550,000 to receive potentially lifesaving treatment in America. Diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma in 2015, an aggressive form of childhood cancer which affects fewer than one hundred children in the UK every year, Frankie has endured several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in his battle with the illness but unfortunately relapsed ten days prior to the completion of his treatment.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Now requiring funds to pay for antibody treatment in the USA, Whitley Warriors’ fan Rob Potter has teamed up with enforcer Andre Payette to organise the ‘FillTheRinkForFrankie’ campaign which will hopefully see hundreds of ice hockey fans descend on Whitley Bay Ice Rink to watch the Tyne-Tees derby tomorrow evening. Further to a bucket collection, there will also be an opportunity for supporters to have their photo taken with the Warriors for a £5 donation after the final buzzer. Several ice hockey players have already contributed to the cause, including Star Ben Davison who has agreed to donate £5 for every goal scored, as well as £1 for every share of his social media post, whilst Warriors’ netminder Richie Lawson has pledged £2 for every save he makes during the game.

Photo Credit: IceHockeyMedia - Colin Lawson

Reflecting on the organisation of this fantastic fundraiser, player-coach David Longstaff told NIHL Northern Trio: “The charity has been a breath of fresh air and Andre Payette and Rob Potter have to take massive credit for arranging this. Hopefully we can raise a lot of money and awareness for the little fella’s cause.”  Also sharing his thoughts ahead of the first Tyne-Tees derby of the season, Stars’ player-coach Richie Thornton acknowledged the unison of Billingham Stars and Whitley Warriors in their support of this campaign: “I think both clubs love to hate each other a little bit but there’s more important things than ice hockey and I’m proud that both clubs can work together for a special cause. Fans should expect to put their hands in their pockets to dig deep for Frankie. On the ice, both sets of players will be giving their all, especially since there’s cup points and bragging rights up for grabs. From what I can take from the last couple of seasons, we usually have one hundred plus people follow us up to the Bay. These are usually close games and it is a difficult rink to get points out of.”

For those who would like to attend, the local rivals face off at 5:00pm tomorrow evening at Hillheads. For those who cannot make it to the game but would like to donate, please follow this link: https://www.gofundme.com/28mzxuk.

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