Bishop Thomas John Paprocki will be taking to the ice that night as goalie for one of the adult teams and he is also goalie coach for SHG, said Jeff Rocco, who is the director of the SHG team and is also involved in arranging the Catholic Charities event.

Tickets for the evening are $3 each and the price of one ticket will cover both games. "We are pre-printing 1,500 tickets that will be distributed throughout the Catholic parishes and tickets will be available at the door as well," said Rocco. "We want the Catholic Charities game to be very well attended and we know people will also want to stay to see the SHG-Chatham game because there is a big rivalry there."

Rocco said the Catholic Charities hockey game is fairly new to Springfield. "This is only the second year we've had the Catholic Charities event," said Rocco. "The teams consist of adult players from the surrounding area who donate a playing fee in order to play in the game. The teams are divided equally to make the game as competitive as possible."

Rocco said he went through coaching certification with Bishop Paprocki and was impressed with his hockey skills. "He is very for real. There are very strict standards for coaching at any level any more and he, along with every other coach, has completed the courses to meet those standards. Trust me, he can play.

"Of course, the kids look up to him, but to us he is Coach Paprocki," Rocco said. "We all respect the fact that he is the bishop, but his role on our team is the same as any other coach, to assist in the development of players, to be there for guidance, to pass on his knowledge of the game to these young athletes."

SHG has been part of the Lincoln Land High School Hockey League for the past 10 years. "The league is comprised from six teams, including all area schools and Decatur and Champaign. Our home rink is the Nelson Center," said Rocco. "Last year for the very first time, we won the prestigious LHHL Cup. This year we're excited because our head coach is Joe Saucier, who played on the founding SHG team and made our very first goal."

The SHG team players are each required to participate in team community service, Rocco said. "The whole team will be hosting this (Catholic Charities) event," he said. "We will also be participating in the Mini O'Beirne Crisis Center Children's Christmas Store in late December.

"We are really looking forward to those games on Dec. 7," said Rocco. "I think we'll have a good crowd for that night."