Noah Trulsen charity game seeking participants

The third annual Noah Trulsen Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser will take place this November, and the organizers are looking for donations for silent auction, as well as participants for the charity game.

The fundraiser, organized in the name of late Maple Ridge hockey player Noah Trulsen, who died while playing a game in Langley, will be held at Planet Ice on Nov. 13 at 4:30 p.m. The ice time for the game has been generously donated by the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association, said his mother and organizer, Lorraine Trulsen.

Trulsen said they are now looking for players to sign up for the game.

”We are still looking for some players to sign up for the game. It is free to participate to play in the game and there will also be a raffle and a silent auction on the day of the fundraiser,” she said.

This would have been the fourth year for the fundraiser but last year’s event was cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

“I am grateful we are able to open this up again this year. It is really important to us. He is very important to us and we love him very much,” she said.

Noah was 22, when he tripped head first into the boards during a game, and died, sending shockwaves through the community.

READ MORE: Young Maple Ridge man dies playing recreational hockey

“I feel like the more time goes by, the harder it gets,” said Lorraine.

Funds collected through the charity game and the silent auction, help give scholarships, one to a Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey player going into trades, and the other for a Juvenile C player through Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association. Last year, because there was no event, Lorraine organized a small fundraiser online and reached out to some of the regular sponsors and donors of the event. The small online event alone raised $2,500.

Braden Visocchi, of the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey team, was the recipient of the 2021 Noah Trulsen Memorial Scholarship.

“Each year just feels more important to keep his memory alive and we feel the need to keep getting better, because he was such a kind guy who would give the shirt off his back for someone in need,” said Lorraine.

This year, Noah’s younger brother Matthew, who is also a hockey player, and is playing through the Dakota College at Bottineau, has designed special Noah jerseys. Two Maple Ridge businesses, Bell Locksmith and Boileau Electric sponsored these jerseys for players, two each for home and away sets. There also will be some extra jerseys set aside for the silent auction.

To sign up for playing in this year’s game, people can visit: https://bit.ly/3AbfkQ7

“People’s lives carry on, they move on, and I understand that; that’s how it should be. But that means each year, it is that much harder to get people’s participation,” said Lorraine, adding that people still participated and supported the fundraiser every year.

“The Maple Ridge community has been so kind and supportive of us from day 1. We are truly blessed with an amazing community,” she said.

To make a donation for the silent auction, reach out to Lorraine at noahtrulsenmemorialscholarship@outlook.com.

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