Roughly 20 years ago, under the inspiration of Dr. Barry Engelhardt a local family physician, hockey teams like no other were born. Engelhardt wanted to become a goalie like his son. He had a vision of getting enough local doctors playing to join the yearly “Docs on Ice” Ontario Hockey Tournament.
Dr. Engelhardt was a longstanding Dufferin General Practitioner who knew many of the paramedics as well as local nurses and their spouses. He encouraged them to come out and play with him. Two teams were formed with many faces from HHCC that you might recognize: the doctor team and the paramedic team.
For the doctor team, there is a myriad of skill levels including several players who have never played ice hockey before - only street hockey. They have had 76-year-old players and heart patients on their side, as well as a few Chiefs of Staff and Department Heads. The doctors include Family Physicians, Anaesthetists, Emergency Doctors, Pediatrics and an Internist. It is a bonding time for the local doctors, as many no longer see each other in the workplace - just on the rink. The team is rounded out by the local Audiologist, an Engineer and few businessmen.
The paramedic team is centred around Tom and Paul (AKA ‘Fric and Frac’ or ‘Laurel and Hardy’). They have recruited many of their workmates who are a lot younger than the doctors and seem to have spent more time on the ice and less time ‘in the books’ than the doctors have. Paul has taken the difficult task in scheduling goalies - a thankless job but so important! Tom and Paul round out their team with nurses, an IT Specialist, Radiology Technician and Supervisor from HHCC, as well as various local businessmen, contractors and a college professor.
Although each team is stacked with competitive athletes, the game is more about camaraderie and exercise. The early morning dressing room kibitzing is as important as which side scores the most goals. Both teams look forward to the annual Doctors vs Paramedic games which raise bragging rights and money for the HHCC Foundation.