10th annual JBT game smashes fundraising record with $62K

LACONIA — After a decade, the annual fundraising game held by the New England Wolves in memory of a local boy has lost none of its zip. The 10th Annual JBT Game raised $62,000, putting the cumulative total for the event over $300,000.

The game, which was held this year on Jan. 11, honors the legacy of John Bradley Thompson, a Gilford boy who died in 2014 at the age of 7, his life cut short by an inoperable brain tumor known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

John Bradley was a hockey fan, and the Wolves, a Laconia-based team that plays in the Eastern Hockey League, has held a game in his honor every year since the 2015-16 season. The purpose of the game is to raise money for The Cure Starts Now, a nonprofit that funds research aimed at finding a cure for the disease.

The bulk of the money raised comes through the “Not-so-Mini One-on-One Shootout,” held between periods, during which the ice was opened to challengers who thought they could get one past the keeper in a one-on-one situation. The shootout had a twist in that each contestant could earn themselves an advantage in the form of extra chances through fundraising.

The sharpest shooter in the competition was former Inter-Lakes player Tim Casey, who outlasted Chad Baron in the final round. The fundraising champion was Brycen Martin, who brought in more than $13,000 for the Cure Starts Now.

A ‘tough’ time

Jesse Thompson, John Bradley's father, said the annual hockey game brings a mix of emotions for his family.

“It can be tough,” Jesse said. The event brings forward some painful memories, but, “at the same time, it feels like something that we need to do, and we want to do in order to remember John, let his legacy have purpose and let him continue to bring people together.”

DIPG, the form of cancer from which his son died, is so difficult to treat that Thompson and The Cure Starts Now believe if a medication can be found to treat DIPG, that treatment will likely also be useful in treating many other types of cancers. Thompson called this possible outcome the “home run cure.”

“Someday, somebody’s going to stand up and announce that they’ve found a cure for cancer,” Thompson said. “It’s not just DIPG, it’s all tumors. It might not be tomorrow, it might not be next year, but it will happen.”

To date, The Cure Starts Now has funded more than $18 million in research, money which came from various community-based efforts similar to the Wolves’ annual JBT game. Thompson said in those other efforts, like the one locally, the fundraising is inspired by the ordeal of a local family who lost someone to DIPG.

John Bradley is also honored during warm weather through a regatta, which also raises funds. This year’s JBT Regatta is scheduled for Saturday, July 12, at the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club.

One of their own

Andrew Trimble, general manager for the Wolves, said the event is a high point in his team’s calendar.

“The players, they come from all over the world and all over the United States,” Trimble said. In order to connect the players to the tradition, Trimble invites Jesse to come in to meet with the team and talk to them about his son, about DIPG, and about how the game they all love has helped to give purpose to John Bradley’s life.

“For the players, it hits home to hear about a kid dying of a rare cancer,” Trimble said. “They get a real feeling and understanding, and carry that forward into the game.”

It’s also the biggest home crowd the Wolves will play for during the regular season, so the players have that hype factor, as well. The energy was visible on the scoreboard at the end of the game, with the Wolves netting 7, enough for a comfortable win over the Boston Dukes. The Wolves’ scoring was led by Harrison Kramer, who notched two goals, while Latvian goalkeeper Lukas Bukatovs held the Dukes to 3 goals. The win marked seven in a row for the Wolves.

Even a run of seven wins couldn’t steal the spotlight from the $62,000 fundraising total, though. Last year’s event collected $44,000, which was itself a record; this year’s total smashed that.

Trimble credits the Thompson family with providing such a lasting and productive fundraising tradition.

“The Thompson family is really involved in the community, everybody knows them.”

That, and it’s a good time.

“The event in itself is fun,” Trimble noted. “People like to get on the ice and participate in the shootout,” and some competitors will try to use costuming to make up for a lack of puck handling.

This year’s game was also especially notable, as it marks the year John Bradley would have been a senior in high school. The Belmont-Gilford Bulldogs, a cooperative high school team, played a game at the Merrill Fay Arena immediately prior to the Wolves game, and the local players all wore JBT patches on their jerseys. A strong contingent stayed afterward to attend the fundraiser.

Jesse said he and his family appreciated the gesture.

“This year has been pretty tough, to see what could have been,” Jesse said.

It’s also been a reminder that while the Thompson family’s grief might be the deepest and the longest, they haven’t had to grieve alone.

“All these kids had to go through that,” Thompson said.

“To see them come together and remember him, although they’re young, to still have the mindset to do something like that was pretty special.”