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The Ferndale Area High School hockey team has two goals in mind when it takes the ice Friday night at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
One is to defeat the Northern Cambria Colts. The other is to raise money to fight Lafora disease.
The game, known as the Jess Ambroe Classic, starts at 8:15.
Three senior hockey players – Billy Devlin, Greg Walters, and Colton Dull – are taking a regularly scheduled game and turning it into an event to raise money for Chelsea’s Hope, an organization supporting the research to conquer Lafora.
Lafora, a form of epilepsy, is a progressive disease that has affected one of their schoolmates, Jess Ambroe, a senior.
Jess, who will be honorary Ferndale captain for the game, was diagnosed with the disease in 2009.
Colton said the Classic was started last year by then-seniors Donny Blasko and Devin Murphy.
Both former seniors are close friends with Jess and wanted to use a game that they love to help others, Colton said.
Colton said that he, Billy and Greg feel the same way.
“You develop a friendship, kind of a like a love, for someone over the years,” he said. “If something happens to them, and you don’t see them as much as you are used to, then you have to do what you can to fight what that person is battling.”
Greg said he is looking forward to the game.
“I’ve gone to classes with Jess since kindergarten,” he said. “We have been friends since kindergarten, so it means a lot to me to help fight the disease.”
He said the three started working on the event, their senior projects, in November by asking teams such as the Pittsburgh Penquins for donations.
The teams responded with autographed memorabilia and jerseys that will be offered at an auction to raise money, he said.
Greg said they also asked for and received donations of gifts or money to buy gifts from many local businessess and individuals. The gifts will be raffled off to raise money, he said.
They also raised money by selling more than 300 T-shirts, sweat shirts and jerseys at between $10 and $20 each.
Fellow seniors will decorate the War Memorial Arena for the game and help with the raffle and auction, he said.
Billy, who designed the logo for the Classic, likewise has been a close classmate of Jess since kindergarten.
“We felt compelled to do something to help her just as her classmates had done in previous years,” he said.
In addition to last year’s hockey game, various students have held events in Jess’s name. Collectively, they are called Jess’s Army.
“Jess is an all-around nice person,” Billy said, adding that Jess is the type of person who was always there when you needed help with your school work or needed someone with
whom to talk.
For their efforts, the three are the Persons of the Week.
Josh Mottillo, a teacher and adviser for the project, said they are hoping to raise around $5,000 through the event.
“The three are doing a good job,” he said. “They’re enthusiastic as well as organized.
“The three stepped up and said they wanted the responsiblity for the game this year.”
Mottillol said the trio worked hard to get great gifts to raffle off, including an autographed football from Johnstown native LaRod Stephens-Howling, a member of the Arizona Cardinals.
He said they invited Northern Cambria to play because of that team’s support of the event last year.
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