Police vs. Fire charity hockey game in Surrey \u2018will get competitive\u2019 Oct. 10<\/p>\n
Published 7:30 pm Thursday, September 24, 2026<\/p>\n
Police officers and firefighters will face off in a Surrey Showdown charity hockey game Saturday, Oct. 10.<\/p>\n
At South Surrey Arena, the inaugural event will benefit charities connected to Surrey Fire and Surrey Police, \u201csupporting local programs, community initiatives and families in need,\u201d says the website where tickets are sold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the competition will be fierce, the real winners will be the people of Surrey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Event organizer Mike Essel is a hockey-playing firefighter. <\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the players are a lot better than me, fortunately,\u201d Essel said with a laugh, \u201cso it should be a pretty good level of hockey. We will have a couple ex-NHL players, hopefully, and higher-level junior players, college players. Denis Pederson (former Canuck), he\u2019s a firefighter and will play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last March, hockey fans in New York witnessed a massive brawl in a charity game involving police and firefighters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it will get competitive,\u201d Essel said of the Surrey Showdown, \u201cbut it is a community-forward event and we\u2019re raising money for the community. There\u2019s going to be some tough battles in the corner, but I don\u2019t expect it to get too heated \u2014 at least I hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n