Star-Nosed Moles Win the Breakthru Winter Hockey Invitational for Second Consecutive Year

Feb. 5, 2020

As is tradition with the Breakthru Winter Hockey Invitational, our favorite company tradition, our associates take it upon themselves to help raise money for a charitable organization, and this year’s efforts again supported the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, an incredible organization that provides access to important programs for families in and around Chicago.

In total, we were able to raise more than $92,000 for the foundation, which will help fund a variety of initiatives, including:

Building Champions – an afterschool program where students learn about key life lessons gained from being a member of a team such as respect, leadership, perseverance and teamwork.

Hawks HeART – a brand new afterschool program that guides students through artistic and creative exercises to design a personal logo that reflects their individuality and future goals.

Healthy Hawks – a summer program that teaches children about making nutritious food choices and fueling their bodies for exercise.

“At Breakthru, it is our distinct passion to give back to all the communities we serve, and the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation is a true leader in supporting families in our city,” said Danny Wirtz, Vice-Chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group. “We couldn’t be prouder to partner with them every year to give back to the city we both call home.”

Thank you to all our associates for joining us in supporting the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation.


Back-to-Back Champs

Through all the years of the Breakthru Winter Hockey Invitational, there’s always been one team that skated into the tournament with sky high expectations of a title and a trophy.

That team is the incomparable Star-Nosed Moles. The reason for these perennial expectations—they win.

A lot.

This year’s edition was no exception as the favorites went undefeated in round-robin play to capture their second consecutive title, and their third in the last four years. The Star-Nosed Moles’ offensive attack was the difference during the two-day tourney, collectively outscoring the next closest team—the Sewer Rats—by seven goals.

The head coach of the winning team, David Lockie, who in his spare time also serves as Breakthru Illinois’ Executive Vice President, reflected on the victory as only he could.

head coach david lockie

“Against all odds, and to the dismay of all other participants, the dreaded Star-Nosed Moles secured another championship,” Lockie said. “All Moles appreciate the jeers and taunts from all the players and fans during the tournament.”

For the tournament overall, we were thrilled to have such an incredible turnout of players across our entire Breakthru footprint, as well as being joined by several of our supplier partners.

Congrats to all the teams—Star-Nosed Moles, Grinders, Finishers, Sewer Rats, Blackbirds and Aces—for another top shelf performance on the ice!


Star-Nosed Moles


moles

Grinders


grinders

Finishers


finishers

Sewer Rats


sewer rats

Blackbirds


blackbirds

Aces


aces

A Special Thank You


monica cheli dana erica kiersten

This event wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the outstanding efforts of a handful of our associates hard at work producing all the details of the Breakthru Winter Hockey Invitational. We want to give a big thank you to Dana Arciniegas, Cheli Pena, Erica Marks, Monica Gard and Kiersten Hogan!