Story and Photos by Rhett Fleitz

Finally, the Firefighters have beaten the cops. In the past 5 meetings, the cops have won in a shootout after a tied score. Breaking the streak, and the notion that the game was fixed ending in a shootout each time, the firefighters were able to lead the game the entire three quarters.

The event started with Officer Bryan Lawrence dropping the first puck. Officer Lawrence, a Roanoke Police Officer, was severely injured on the job and is currently overcoming paralysis. Officer  Lawrence got on the ice to a standing ovation. His presence really got the crowd pumped up. Once the first puck was dropped, the firefighters and cops got warmed up.

The Firefighters were the first to score and maintained at least a point lead throughout the entire game. Everyone knew that the cops could come back at the last minute to tie, but the firefighters had a different plan. The firefighters extended the third period lead to 2 points ensuring the win, but they weren’t finished then. The firefighters decided to put a nail in the coffin with two more third period goals.

The Guns and Hoses game raised over $10,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and had 2117 people in attendance. The game is much anticipated for the Roanoke area since the Roanoke Vipers left town, the last professional hockey team in the region. The Guns and Hoses game and a couple other NCAA events are the only opportunity to watch hockey in Roanoke.

To read more and see past results, check out GunsandHosesHockey.com.