Off the Ice:

Aside from their 80-game regular season schedule, the Lake Erie Monsters were busy off the ice as well, getting involved on numerous occasions throughout the greater Northeastern Ohio community. Making nearly 30 appearances, the team participated in food drives, visited hospitals, schools, donated tickets and served as guest waiters, youth hockey coaches and even taught a few classes in local schools.

Some notable events:

Tour With the Monsters: Multiple times, the Monsters held open practices at local rinks around the area for the Tour With the Monsters, presented by Time Warner Cable and Zeppe’s Pizza. After the hour-long practice session, the team would return to the ice for another hour to skate with fans and sign autographs.

Monsters Respect Tour: Monsters players, broadcaster Ben Holden, in-arena host Olivier Sedra and team mascot Sully made various trips around Northeast Ohio to schools, talking to students about the value of respect and how respecting others allowed them to achieve their career goals. After speaking with the students, the players answered questions, signed autographs and passed out tickets to all in attendance on the Monsters Respect Tour, which was presented by the Ohio Lottery.

Mega Monsters: After taking orders from head coach David Quinn throughout the season, the Monsters were the ones blowing the whistles at various stages during the year, as the players traded in their equipment for a track suit, working as guest coaches in the area for local youth teams. On select nights throughout the season, the Monsters would give local youth hockey coaches a night off and run hockey practices for the future Lake Erie Monsters.

Take the Ice: A few times during the season, the Monsters would host underprivileged children from the area and have them come down to The Q and learn about hockey at their Take the Ice event, sponsored by Charter One Bank. The players and Sedra would answer any questions, sign autographs and take the ice with the youth, teaching the children how to maneuver around the slippery surface they call their work place.

Noodle Hockey: Everyone knows the Monsters are good at the game of hockey on the ice, but how would they fare playing the game in a non-traditional setting? In February, a few players traveled out to St. Mary of the Woods Assisted-Living Home in Avon, Ohio, to play a game of noodle hockey with the residents. Using swimming noodles in place of sticks, a beach ball instead of a puck and setting up walkers for goal nets, a team of Monsters fell to the more experienced St. Mary of the Woods Battling Beagles Noodle Hockey Team.

Tip-A-Monster: In late January, the entire Monsters team dropped the gloves and picked up the trays, acting as guest waiters at Local Heroes Grill & Bar in downtown Cleveland. Waiting on more than 250 patrons, the team served food and drinks, bussed tables and washed dishes for an evening, helping to raise more than $5,000 for The Boys & Girls Clubs of Lorain County.

Seasonal Charitable Events: Around the holiday season the team was extremely active in the northeastern Ohio community, handing out Thanksgiving dinners to underprivileged families, holding toy drives, passing out gifts to children and visiting ill children in the hospital. The team also stopped down to The Q and teamed up with the Cleveland Cavaliers to decorate cookies, serve hot chocolate, sign autographs, take pictures and skate with the families around Christmas at the Cavs Tree Giveaway presented by Charter One. The team helped the families in attendance select pre-lit and already-decorated Christmas trees at the end of the evening.

Parlez-vous au hockey? During the season, a few of the Monsters French-Canadian members traveled out to St. Joseph’s Academy to help teach their native tongue to students in French class. The players also spoke about how their ability to master two languages fluently helped them be successful and attain their career goals and objectives.

Click Here to read about all of the on the ice events that took place during the 2009-10 season.