Players from the Portland Firefighters Hockey Club, the Vancouver (B.C.) Firefighters Hockey Club and Boise Fire stood for a moment of silence in remembrance of Vancouver, B.C. firefighter Bruce Tebbutt and Hillsboro firefighter Ryan Grimaldi on Friday at Sherwood Ice Arena in Sherwood, Ore.
Tebbutt, who died March 27, worked for Vancouver (B.C.) Fire Rescue Services for 35 years and was a longtime player for Vancouver (B.C.) Firefighters Hockey Club. Grimaldi died in 2017, and the Ryan Grimaldi Memorial Firefighters Hockey Tournament is held in his honor. It’s the first time the tournament has been played since 2019, with a three-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vancouver (Wash.) Fire Department Special Operations Division Chief Tom O’Connor said these smaller tournaments with just three or four teams are more close knit than larger firefighter hockey tournaments with dozens of teams. “Firefighting is a brotherhood and sisterhood already, and then you add the hockey element to it,” O’Connor said.
