Madison Square Garden
Courtesy IG: @thegarden

An especially poignant game days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11. 

ESPN will air the 47th “Hockey Heroes” game between the NYPD and FDNY hockey teams on ESPN2 on Thursday evening. The game is being played at Madison Square Garden and is sold out.

On the mic for ESPN will be John Buccigross, Kevin Weekes and Ryan Callahan with Linda Cohn reporting from between the glass. Callahan, of course, was the Rangers’ first NY-born captain and Cohn is also a New York native.

Proceeds from the game will benefit various charities including the Ray Pfeifer Foundation and the PBA Widows and Children’s Fund.

A pregame ceremony will honor the 20th anniversary of 9/11, those lost in the attacks and all the members who we have lost from 9/11 related illnesses as well as Firefighters and Police Officers lost in the line of duty over the course of the past two years. The ceremony will begin at 7:30 PM and can be viewed on ESPN3 and the ESPN App.

The FDNY currently leads the series with 25 wins to the NYPD’s 18.

Tab has written about MLB, the NHL and the NFL for more than a decade for publications including The Fourth Period, Bleacher Report and La Vida Baseball. He is the author of two books about the Chicago Blackhawks and has been credentialed for the MLB All-Star Game and postseason and multiple Stanley Cup Finals. He is the co-host of the Line Drive Radio podcast.