SIUE Ice Hockey Team Scores with Donation to K-9 Unit
Members of the Alton Police Department, both human and four-legged, paid a visit to the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars Hockey team for a very special check presentation and thank you. The newest K-9 officer, Odin, recently began his career with the department partially due to monies raised during a January 12 hockey match with Trine University. The Cougars fell to Trine in overtime, but the police department that patrols the area where the rink is located won big. SIUE Cougars Hockey presented the Alton PD K-9 Unit with a $1300 donation.
“We play on East Alton Ice Arena so that’s the connection we had,” said Connor Hinterser, the team’s forward and fourth-year SIUE student majoring in applied communication studies. Hinterser has been playing hockey since he was three years old. “It was a pretty close game, 3-2 in overtime, and now we get to see the fruits of our labor.”
“We auctioned off these special jerseys, with a starting bid at $80,” said Natalie Rosales-Hawkins, assistant director of campus recreational programs. “So there were about 30 jerseys that we auctioned off and once we covered all of our expenses, half the proceeds went to the team and half went to the Alton Police Department K-9 unit.”
Event sponsorship from Busch Refrigeration, Inc. And King Air Conditioning & Heating also funded the effort.
“Our teddy bear toss was an annual game that we promoted every single year, but this year we decided to get a little bit creative,” said Brendan Rasch, former team president and recent SIUE School of Business graduate in accounting, ‘24. “Our former coach had a connection within the (Alton) police department and knew that they were bringing in a new dog. We said we'd love to fund it and would love to bring in jerseys that are representing our community. And it was really one of those things that helped motivated us to coordinate this night and to give back to the community in a way that has future impact. So it was really special to us.”
K-9 Odin is being mentored by K-9 Jax, who turns 11 years old next month. Jax is a dual-purpose canine responsible for illegal drug detection and criminal apprehension.
“Odin’s brand new and just worked his first two shifts,” said Allen Averback, Alton PD patrol officer and Odin’s handler. “We're training him in everything that Jax is doing: tracking, narcotics, apprehension, everything.”
Allen and Odin just graduated from the Illinois State Police K9 Academy. As for the SIUE Cougar Hockey team, players are eager to get back on the ice in time for next season.
PHOTOS: Mike Morelli, Alton PD sergeant, K-9 Jax, Ethan Kuehnel, Tucker Jeffries, Nick Garafalo, Drew Parres, Kurtis McCray, Alton PD captain (holding check), Brendan Rasch, Blake Smith, Jakob Schreiber, Connor Hinterser, David Goodwin, Chief of SIUE PD, Natalie Rosales-Hawkins, assistant director of campus recreational programs, Allen Averback, Alton PD patrol officer and K-9 Odin.
K-9 Odin enjoys the celebration.
