JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Bishop McCort Catholic and Richland high schools once again will team to “Fill the Net” as part of a food drive culminating in their Thanksgiving eve hockey game at 1st Summit Arena.
The two Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League squads hope to win on and off the ice. Fans are asked to donate non-perishable food items to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementEach school already has collected items during the weeks leading to the game, and the effort wraps up during Wednesday’s 6 p.m. varsity matchup and an 8 p.m. developmental team contest.
“We are excited to once again join Richland for this project,” Bishop McCort coach Art McQuillan said. “It’s a great opportunity for competing athletes to come together for a common cause that benefits their community. Projects like this teach valuable lessons beyond the playing surface.”
In 2024, the two schools combined to donate approximately 375 food items to the pantry, McQuillan said.
Thanksgiving eve high school hockey at the War Memorial dates back to well-attended and hotly contested meetings of city rivals Bishop McCort and Westmont Hilltop in the 1990s and 2000s. After a break in the holiday action, Richland and Bishop McCort reset the tradition in 2024.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor more than 25 years, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul has operated Food for Families within the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese, a Bishop McCort statement noted. The society operates two food banks family kitchens in Johnstown and Altoona, as well as five food pantries serving Altoona, Ebensburg, Hastings, Johnstown and Patton.
Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.
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