Some people would argue that there’s nothing quite better than a good game of hockey on a perfectly chilled winter day – especially when you all share the same goal.
On a Saturday morning, a few dozen people gathered at Cedar Park Heights in Pointe-Claire for the 7th annual Mark Bernotas Winter Classic.
Bernotas was a Pointe-Claire resident, who was killed in a car crash in June 2011.
The 21-year-old was an avid athlete and an active member of his community – playing sports like hockey and water polo.
So to keep his memory alive, seven years ago, his friends started a hockey tournament in his name.
“After the accident, during the first winter, we were trying to get everyone back together,” said Alexandre Bergeron, Mark’s best friend. “We thought of a hockey tournament and we do a spaghetti dinner here at night.”
Six teams of 10 compete in the tournament, with each player donating $25.
All of the money goes to the Mark Bernotas Water Polo Foundation, set up by his family.
“We give a bursary to a water polo player at the Dollard water polo,” said Mark’s father, Robert Bernotas. “Unfortunately, water polo is a very expensive sport, even though people don’t think it is – with all the travel and everything. So we’re going to be giving our 7th bursary this year – we’ve given almost $35,000 in bursaries over the last 7 years.”
Though the Bernotas family says the main goal of this tournament is to raise money for the foundation, they add it’s become a way for those who knew Mark to gather together and remember him.
“All of his friends come out and to them, it’s sort of a homecoming,” said Bernotas.
“They look forward to it every winter. It’s been seven years, so everybody’s now all over the map, but they all seem to come together to play hockey in February.”
And his friends say every year, they always feel his presence.
“He’ll always bring us some good weather, some sort of sign throughout the day,” said Jeff Zeidel. “And right now he’s smiling down on us, and he’s having a good laugh.”