Rochester officers help benefit score bigtime for Children's Hospital at Dartmouth

Rochester K9 officer Keith MacKenzie, second from left, with fellow officers John Bourque, Jacob Benjamin, Frank Porfido, Geoff Moore, and Craig Forrest. (Facebook photo courtesy Shawn St. Hilaire/Foster's)

MANCHESTER, N.H. - The bottom line of this year's Battle of the Badges fund-raiser was a power play score for the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock with more than $210,000 raised Saturday at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.

The annual Good vs. Good battle, presented by AutoFair, featured teams of police officers and firefighters entertaining a crowd over 6,000 at Verizon Wireless Arena in downtown Manchester.

The total of $210,935, and counting, was raised through the generosity of sponsors, fans, and the police and firefighters who each committed to raising a minimum of $1,500 for the honor to play in this yearly New Hampshire sporting and charity event. With the contributions from Saturday night's game, the CHaD Battle of the Badges Hockey Championship has raised nearly $1.7 million to support the critical programs at CHaD.

"Every player, supporter, and volunteer in the Verizon Wireless Arena was critical in making this event possible," said Sharon Brown, CHaD, community relations director. "The money raised by the dedicated player efforts combined with corporate sponsorships, donations, and ticket purchases by fans goes directly back to provide care for kids throughout the region. Every kid is a CHaD kid, and money from events like this helps support our mission to not only care for the region's sick and injured children but keep all kids healthy and safe. Now, the planning begins for a blockbuster celebration for the tenth edition next year."

On the ice, Team Police regained the Battle of the Badges trophy with a rousing 12-5 victory over Team Fire. Police now lead the all-time series 5-3. Chris Plummer of the Dover Police Department led all point scorers with two goals and two assists. Team Police was the Top Team Fundraiser, generating more than $70,000 collectively. Officer Michael Dore of the Nashua Police Department was once again honored as the Top Individual Fundraiser by bringing in over $16,500. In seven years on Team Police, Dore has single-handedly brought in more than $100,000 to support CHaD.

Player introductions prior to the game were paired with a video highlighting a player and his "buddy" from the hospital.

Rochester Police Officers who played included Keith MacKenzie, who has played in the game since its inception, John Bourque, Jacob Benjamin, Frank Porfido, Geoff Moore, and Craig Forrest.

WMUR's Jamie Staton, the game's founder, oversaw the event's on-ice program. The teams were led by Badges veterans Micky Drouin of Team Fire and Pete Favreau of Team Police. World Series Champion Chris Carpenter and Greg Kretschmar of Rock 101's "Greg and the Morning Buzz" continued their long-time support of CHaD as celebrity coaches behind the benches.

Other corporate sponsors included Rock 101, WMUR, the Union Leader, CocaCola, Bauer and Bank of America.

For more information about the event, visit www.CHaDHockey.org.