SAN DIEGO — A group of NHL alumni were having difficulty gaining separation against a determined team of Navy SEALs during their spirited hockey game at San Diego Ice Arena on Saturday.
Dave Scatchard, a center who played 11 seasons for the Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues, offered to stake out the front of the net during the final period and see if he could score a greasy goal.
Sure enough, Scatchard scored on a rebound to give the NHL alumni the lead for good in the eventual 5-1 victory.
“The old, crafty NHL guys found a way to make some plays and score a couple goals,” said Kevin Bieksa, a 13-season veteran who retired after the 2017-18 season.
“They’re competitive,” retired defenseman Kevan Miller said of the SEALs. “They don’t want to lose, we don’t want to lose, it just makes for a really good all-around game. A lot of fun. It’s just such a good cause.”
SEAL team captain Grady McDonald, a 26-year veteran of the special forces, said his group’s youth and fitness got the attention of the former NHL players, none more so than when they scored in the second period against Ryan Miller to tie the game 1-1.
Miller’s 391 wins are second among United States-born goalies in NHL history behind Jonathan Quick of the New York Rangers (393).
