“The main restaurant in town would usually shut down at 8 p.m.,” said Crowder. “That weekend, it’s the place to go. They stay open right until last call [at 1 a.m.].”<\/p>\n
The 2012 edition of the tournament has long been sold out. Two-hundred teams will take the ice this year and there is a massive waiting list in case anyone backs out.<\/p>\n
The success of a for-profit event, though, wasn’t enough to satisfy Crowder.<\/p>\n
Recycling for the future<\/h4>\n
Crowder remembered his hockey roots. Coming from a hockey family, he was on skates at an early age. Having a father who played professionally and coached, there were always plenty of skates, sticks and pads around the house.<\/p>\n
But Crowder remembered that wasn’t the case for all his friends. Growing up in Nashua, N.H., he was hardly from a poor community. Still, not every friend’s family had the money to shell out for their kids to play hockey, easily the most expensive of the four major North American sports.<\/p>\n
Knowing that could happen in an upper-middle-class town, Crowder knew that there were plenty of communities where kids who idolized hockey players couldn’t play the game themselves.<\/p>\n
Crowder sought a way to help but the small financial contributions he personally could make — less than two years out of college and making just modest profits off his pond hockey tournament — wouldn’t go very far.<\/p>\n
Then he remembered all of those piles of used hockey equipment that sat in his basement as a kid. Crowder thought if he could find a way to collect used equipment, particularly in the ever-evolving technology and equipment in hockey, he might be able to find a way to outfit kids whose families would never be able to afford equipment, thus giving them the chance to experience the game.<\/p>\n
Crowder’s idea was hardly unique. Used sports equipment has sold in stores like Play It Again Sports for years. Rarely, though, is that used equipment given away.<\/p>\n
Still, not seeking to recreate the wheel, Crowder began an Internet search that led him to Michael Spengler, a former college hockey player himself who spent four seasons at Bentley. Spengler was attempting to establish Restore Sports, a company that would collect used equipment from all sports to provide back to children in need.<\/p>\n
When Crowder contacted Spengler, Restore Sports was still in its infantile stages. Together, the two decided to focus their efforts first on the sport they knew best: hockey.<\/p>\n
So was born Restore Hockey. The organization began small, using the networks that both Crowder and Spengler had to begin setting up donation spots where they could collect equipment.<\/p>\n
That small network, though, was stronger than many would think. Organizations like the Boston Bruins and Hockey East embraced Restore Hockey’s mission.<\/p>\n
Last year, in Restore Hockey’s first year of official operation, the non-profit held donation events at Bruins games as well as events at each of the 11 Hockey East schools.<\/p>\n
What originally was about equipment, though, quickly morphed. Restore Hockey teamed with Pure Hockey, a New England-based equipment supplier, to negotiate the purchase of “starter packages” — skates, pads, a stick and basic uniform — that would be enough for any beginning player to get his or her first crack at the ice. At a price point of $150, Crowder and Spengler could solicit financial contributions from individuals and organizations to purchase these starter sets.<\/p>\n
Hockey’s biggest stage<\/h4>\n
In just one year, the credibility of Restore Hockey built. Timing was also very much on Restore Hockey’s side.<\/p>\n
![\"Restore](\"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/restorehockey3.jpg\" "\\"Photo")
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