Charity game with Jack Johnson a big success in Ann Arbor (with photo gallery)

 

By @MichaelCaples –

ANN ARBOR – Justin Spiro summed it up best when he said that people wouldn’t drive in from Ohio just to skate with him.

They would, however, to skate with Jack Johnson.

At the second annual Andrew Singler Memorial Cup, hockey players of any age and skill set had the chance to skate with the Ann Arbor native and Columbus Blue Jackets star at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Dating back to their middle school days, Spiro would organize an exhibition hockey game for he and Johnson to play in. When Spiro’s friend Andrew Singler was killed during his senior year at Michigan State, however, Spiro decided it was time to make their hockey game more meaningful.

“Jack Johnson and I have been friends for years, and we actually had an annual exhibition game when we were kids,” Spiro said just before puck drop Saturday evening. “There was no real cause attached to it, it was just something we did, go hack around. I can barely skate when I play. When we lost Andrew Singler, I decided to honor him and make the game from a friendly exhibition to a fundraising event for what they started for Andrew. His family set up a great foundation that helps kids go to school that couldn’t afford it otherwise. They send a kid to Michigan State who would die to go but just couldn’t have the opportunity. It’s a great organization, we’re really happy to support it – it’s a really cool deal for us.”

For Johnson, taking part in the charity game for the Andrew Singler Stay Strong Foundation was an easy decision.

“It’s all Justin’s doing, really,” the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and University of Michigan alum said. “We used to play just a pick-up hockey game with friends and family every year, and Justin turned it into this, and asked if I would still play and I said, yeah, absolutely.”

For $20, players could secure a spot on either Team Johnson or Team Spiro. As word spread around the hockey community that Johnson was taking part in the event, popularity grew.

“It’s incredible how much it’s grown,” Spiro said. “We went from, last year we had about 20 guys sign up to play, and it spread to over 50 this year. We had to eventually cut it and tell people they couldn’t come – we felt bad but there literally isn’t enough room on the bench. It’s surreal to see how it’s really taken on in the second year – it’s really special.”

Apart from the game, Spiro’s wife, Lynn, helped organize a raffle for prizes like an iPad, sporting event tickets and memorabilia. Between the skate and the raffle, the event raised more than $3,300 for the foundation – noticeably more than the $2,000 Spiro told MiHockey he was hoping to generate before the event.

“It’s terrific,” said Janis Singler, Andrew’s mother. “It’s so good to be able to remember Andrew in the way that this event does. We continue to be able to have contact with his friends and people like Justin and the generosity of Jack and Justin, and in putting something together like this – it just keeps Andrew’s name alive.”

The Singler family is especially grateful for Johnson’s willingness to participate, knowing that having his name attached to the event helps increase its awareness and popularity.

“He is a famous NHL player who takes the time out to come here and do this,” Janis Singler said. “He didn’t even know Andrew. He’s friends with Justin. For him to travel from Ohio to here, I think is, again, it’s a very generous thing to do. To take time out of your schedule for somebody you don’t even know? We’ve actually had a couple of people from Ohio who obviously are familiar with Jack and playing, because they follow the Blue Jackets. They want to be involved now because they have an opportunity to play with Jack. It’s turned us into Columbus Blue Jackets fans now, too. It’s great.”

 

Johnson, who was booed spiritedly by the ‘Team Spiro’ bench for his first couple of shifts, said it was fun to connect with the kids participating in the event, knowing that he was just a few years removed from being in their shoes (and skates).

“It’s always great to contribute to any foundation, but I get a kick out of being out here with the kids, because it wasn’t that long ago that I was that kid, just playing with kids,” Johnson said. “Justin knows the family and the foundation, and I just said I’d come out and play some hockey.”

For Reeder Singler, Andrew’s father, the collection of people in attendance at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube was an emotional sight.

“It’s very difficult to capture,” he said. “It’s still really difficult to think about and deal with, but when you have this kind of support from people that you’ve known, people that you don’t know, and people that are absolutely just giving their time and trying to help for a cause that we have a lot of belief and faith in – it’s absolutely a good program.”

The Singler family hopes to continue growing the foundation named in Andrew’s honor. If they were to ever reach a $30,000 fundraising goal, they would be able to establish an endowment at MSU. Considering Justin Spiro is just getting rolling on his efforts to support the cause, $30,000 doesn’t seem unreachable.

“We didn’t think it would be this big this fast, or really ever,” Spiro said. “It’s blown us away. We’re not going to cap our enthusiasm, we’re going to shoot for the stars and we’re excited.”

Click here for more information about the Andrew Singler Stay Strong Foundation