NHL star helps local boy after equipment is stolen
When Jake Mattice’s goaltending equipment was stolen from his dad’s car trunk last week, the story caught the attention of National Hockey League player Steve Mason. The Philadelphia Flyers goalie offered to help 13-year-old Jake, who plays goal for Belleville’s Junior Bulls Bantam AE team. Photo via Facebook
BELLEVILLE – After his goalie equipment was stolen last week, 13-year-old Jake Mattice was pleasantly surprised to hear from a National Hockey League star who wanted to help.
Wayne Mattice, father of the goaltender on the Junior Bulls Bantam AE team, left his car unlocked outside the family home in Belleville overnight on Jan. 23. The next morning, Mattice realized that someone had gone through it.
“When I came out to the car, I saw that my door was left open a little bit. I wasn’t sure if I had left it open, until I walked over and saw that everything in the car was messed up,” he said.
But even after the father of three put things back in order, he said that something still wasn’t right.
“The door ajar light was on, so that’s when I go to check all the doors. But it was still on. That’s when I realized it was the trunk. I go take a look and all of Jake’s equipment is gone,” he said. Mattice estimates the equipment stolen was worth $3,000.
“I felt terrible. I was beating myself up,” he said.
A family friend who found out about Jake’s story after the parents posted about the incident on social media, started a GoFundMe page in efforts to buy Jake new equipment.
When Belleville sports photographer Joe Belanger saw Jake’s story, he wrote about it on his Facebook business page. Within 12 hours, the post had over 18,000 views, Belanger said in a phone interview Wednesday.
One of those views was by Steve Mason, a goaltender for the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers. Mason agreed to buy Jake new equipment – pads, trapper and blocker.
Belanger got the Mattice family in contact with Mason.
Jake said that getting the chance to speak with the NHL goalie was overwhelming.
“My brain stopped working. When I was texting him I didn’t know what to say,” he said.
The eighth-grade student at Park Dale School said that when his package came in from Mason this past Monday morning, he couldn’t wait to open it.
“I was in school and my dad sent me a picture, so I told him to come pick me up at recess,” he said.
The goalie’s mom said that their list of thank-yous is a mile long.
“We need to thank everyone – not just our Facebook friends. It’s the whole community,” said Tanya Mattice-Goodfellow.
Wayne and Jake Mattice help with a Belleville-based program called Build a Player, which allows children from low-income families to play hockey. They hope to use the money – more than $1,500 – and used equipment that came through the GoFundMe page to start their own program called Help A Goalie.
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