Whitecourt team to host hockey game in memory of boys killed one year ago
The Whitecourt Wolverines hockey team will play a special memorial game in honour of Ryder MacDougall, 13, and Radek MacDougall, 11, two boys killed in a Spruce Grove murdersuicide last December.
“It was a sport that both of them loved to play; their family is so tied to the hockey community,” said Andrew Peard, spokesman for the Alberta Junior Hockey League team, which is owned by Tracy Stark and Brent Stark, the mother and stepfather of the brothers.
“Hockey is great for entertainment, but it’s also something that can bring people together. Anything that can help in the healing process, we’re looking to do it. I think it’s going to be a great thing to remember those kids doing something they loved to do,” Peard said Thursday.
The brothers were found dead in a Spruce Grove home on Dec. 19, 2016. While the RCMP have been hesitant to reveal details about their deaths, family members said their biological father, Corry MacDougall, 39, killed his sons before taking his own life in his home.
Nearly one year to the day of their deaths, the Whitecourt Wolverines will play their final home game before Christmas against the Spruce Grove Saints in honour of Ryder MacDougall and Radek MacDougall.
“It’s just a great thing for our community to come out and show some love and support to Brent and Tracy in what is a trying time. Obviously, the holiday season is very tough and it’s a great way for our community to come together and embrace two people who have been big pillars in our community for a number of years going through a tough time,” Peard said. “We want to do whatever we can to show that we’re there for them.”
Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday at the Scott Safety Centre at 72 Sunset Blvd. in Whitecourt, members of the public are invited to paint messages of support for the brothers, the family and friends on the ice.
“Those messages will stay on the ice for later in the night when we play the Spruce Grove Saints in our hockey game,” Peard said.
The game will start after a series of pre-game ceremonies at 7:30 p.m., beginning with a candlelight vigil with live musical performance, a ceremonial video and puck drop.
Some of Ryder MacDougall and Radek MacDougall’s close friends have been invited to play shinny hockey during the intermission.
For more information, including how to purchase tickets for the game, go to www.whitecourtwolverines.ca