Memorial game to be held in honour of Broncos, Evan Thomas

The Moose Jaw Generals will be joining forces with the Moose Jaw Warriors for a special memorial game in honour of the Humboldt Broncos and former Generals forward Evan Thomas. Thomas was among 16 players and staff of the SJHL team killed in the tragic bus accident on Apr. 6. “(Former Generals) Chantz Petruic and Ahmed Ally, they reached out to me and asked if we could put something like this together, they have all the contacts with those guys and I thought it was a fantastic idea,” said Generals coach Ray Wareham. “So we got together and we met with Alan Millar and the Warrior staff and discussed our options and it all came together pretty quickly.” The game is set for Apr. 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Mosaic Place, with admission by donation and all proceeds going to the Broncos and the Thomas family. In only a couple of days, more than 40 players signed on to take part in the contest – including Vancouver Canucks defenceman and former General Derrick Pouliot. The current roster includes a host of former Midget AAA players along with many from the SJHL and WHL. “Once word started getting out, there are a lot of guys who reached out and wanted to participate,” Wareham said. The event’s organizers hope the contest will act as another step in the healing process after such a horrific tragedy. “Everybody heals differently; hockey is ingrained in us here, it’s in our blood and Evan was part of our family,” Wareham said. “Plus his dad is a former Warrior on the Wall of Fame, and Evan’s mom is a former Moose Jaw girl, so there a lots of ties to the community. “Anything we can do that might help, we’re just honoured and pleased to be able to do it... we’re just trying to make it a night where we all get together to honour Evan and maybe share a few laughs as a part of the healing process.”