| Rampage Sled Hockey Team | ||||
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The San Antonio Rampage Sled Hockey Team is a joint effort between Operation Comfort and the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) offering a therapeutic and competitive sled hockey team for injured soldiers. The competitors on the team are primarily GI’s rehabilitating at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) and the Center for the Intrepid. Some competitors are veteran soldiers with disabilities, and a limited number of competitors are San Antonio residents with disabilities. | |||
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The team is coached by Lonnie Hannah, a former member of the US Paralympic Sled Hockey Team that won a gold medal in Salt Lake City in 2002 and a bronze medal in 2006 in Torino. On June 3, 2009 he was recognized as USA Hockey’s Disabled Athlete of the Year. The San Antonio Rampage “adopted” this sled hockey team, and through the generosity of the AHL and the league’s equipment partner, Rbk/The Hockey Company, the Rampage have and will continue to provide all protective equipment (helmets, pads, jerseys, etc.) and other resources for the sled hockey team. |
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The Rampage Sled Hockey Team held it’s first ever practice on January 19, 2007. Operation Comfort presented the team with sleds donated from their organization and the Rampage outfitted the team with equipment and jerseys. The sled hockey idea was born three years ago in Sun Valley, Idaho, when San Angelo native Janis Roznowski watched nine wounded Iraq veterans work with Marc Mast, an instructor who specializes in adaptive skiing. In 2007 Roznowski’s sled hockey dream became reality when the Rampage Sled Hockey Team took to the ice following the February 27 Rampage game vs. the Chicago Wolves. Roznowski is the founder and director of Operation Comfort—a philanthropic organization that is focused on helping wounded soldiers who are rehabilitating at BAMC. |
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| The Rampage (AHL) continues to host various fundraising events, including their annual Military Appreciation Night, to raise money to support the Rampage Sled Hockey Team. The sled hockey team started with seven players and has quickly gained popularity in which the team now consists of more than 25 players. The team began playing in tournaments in 2008 and has since traveled to Illinois, Utah, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri and throughout Texas. | ||||
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