Wood Bowl returning to Norwood

The Wood Bowl, as it’s affectionately known, will be kicking off (figuratively speaking) at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 12 at the Skating Club of Boston (SCB).

Norwood Firefighter Stephen Chisholm said the hockey game, which has taken some time off for COVID-19, will be going to support both Westwood and Norwood riders in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), which supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

“They call it the Wood Cup because it’s West-Wood versus Nor-Wood,” he said. “They were doing it a couple years back – even before I got on the department – and then after COVID, it’s been on the shelf for a few years. But with a lot of the guys from Westwood riding in the PMC this year on the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts (PFFM) Team, and a lot of the firefighters from Norwood who have been doing it, we decided to look at a fundraiser for the PMC team.”

Chisholm said the group fundraiser is very important, because, nominally at least, each individual rider is supposed to raise thousands of dollars for their individual ride, but that can be extremely challenging, especially if riders have a lot of the same friends and/or family. But he said the group fundraisers can help fill those gaps.

“A lot of the guys have been wanting to bring back the hockey game and decided this would be the perfect time to do it,” he said. “We’ve had a good relationship with the SCB, too, and they’ve been very good to us and allow us to use the rinks so it’s kind of a no-brainer to do.”

The event will feature, hockey, of course, but raffles, prizes, an after-party, Chuck-A-Puck and more.

Chisholm said he will be playing in the game at the SCB, but that he will be, unfortunately, unable to pedal for the PMC in late summer because of a previous engagement. He said his wedding is just two weeks after the PMC, and he is worried after three PMCs with no falls, scraps, or trees falling on him (which is a serious concern) he didn’t want to risk damage to his person and, consequently, his wedding photo gallery, so close to the event.

“I’ll be out here raising money and all that, but I’m just not riding,” he said.

Chisholm will be, however, playing in the game on April 12.

“My wedding is in August, not in April, so a hockey stick might get me, but it will heal by then,” he said. “I’ll be wearing a cage too and hopefully I won’t get hit. But the PMC Challenge is two weeks before my wedding, and that’s cutting it a little too close for me to fall off a bike.”

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Chisholm said the SCB will be prepping on April 6 to train before the game, but he said many of the NFD firefighters have at least a passing familiarity with hockey.

“A lot of the guys in the station who don’t ride in the Pan Mass but love hockey will be playing,” he said. “They actually played for a different fundraiser called the Heroes Cup in June held up at the Marlboro rinks. That’s teams from all across the country with three different divisions. The guys played there last year and got the itch to play some more. Instead of that this year, they’re doing the Wood Bowl instead.”

The PFFM and the Norwood PMC team will be raising money for Dana-Farber generally, but also specifically for the Direct Connect for Firefighters Program from Dr. Betsy O’Donnell, which is a specialized cancer treatment program designed specifically for firefighters. Go to https://gvimes.link/directconnect for more information.

For more details on the Wood Bowl, go to https://gvimes.link/woodbowl