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Guns N’ Hoses

Minot Fire and Police departments face off on the ice for charity

Submitted Photo The fire and police departments of Minot faced off on the ice last year, but will now be doing it again for charity March 30. All proceeds from the game starting at 7 p.m. at Maysa Arena will go to the Scarlett Schneider Medical Fund.

What’s better than watching local heroes battle on the ice? Watching local heroes battling on the ice for charity.

The Minot Fire Department has teamed up with the Minot Police Department to put on a charity ice hockey game Friday, March 30, at Maysa Arena. All proceeds from the game are going to the Schneider family of Minot to help with their daughter’s medical bills. Scarlett Schneider, 3-year-old daughter to Becky and Sheldon Schneider, was recently diagnosed with lupus and has been on life support for almost a month.

Though the fire department and police department have faced off before, this is the first time they will be hosting a charity hockey game. Because of this, fireman Mike Crisp is hoping to plan more than just this one game.

“That’s kind of my goal, to make this an annual event,” Crisp said.

The Schneider family has been a part of the Minot community for many years. Becky Schneider is from Minot originally, while Sheldon Schneider came to Minot in 1999 to play hockey for the Minot State team for four years and moved permanently back in 2006.

Submitted Photo Scarlett Schneider, shown wearing a Minot State hockey jersey, has been on life support for nearly a month. The Guns N’ Hoses charity hockey game has been organized to help Scarlett and her family.

“I play in a (recreational) league with Sheldon, the father,” Crisp explained. “We caught wind of (Scarlett) through a group text message and said ‘Might as well do something.'”

From there, Crisp talked to the local union and they were 100 percent on board with the idea. Since late February, both departments have been working hard alongside the Minot hockey community to make the game a reality.

Scarlett’s condition began with common cold-like symptoms about mid-February. Sheldon Schneider said they took Scarlett to a walk-in clinic where they gave her a strep test, which came back negative.

By Feb. 18, Scarlett’s condition hadn’t improved and she was still lethargic while celebrating her birthday. Feb. 19, the Schneiders took Scarlett to their pediatrician who immediately admitted Scarlett to Trinity Hospital because of extremely low amounts of oxygen in her blood.

While the family waited for answers, Scarlett began experiencing trouble breathing early Feb. 21. Scarlett was then flown to Sanford Hospital in Fargo, where the family remains, waiting for her condition to improve.

“Between the 21st and the 24th, they were doing a lot of tests to see what exactly was wrong,” Sheldon Schneider said. The initial thought was leukemia. They began treating Scarlett with chemotherapy, but stopped once a bone marrow biopsy came back free of cancer cells.

A rheumatologist was called for fear that Scarlett could have an autoimmune disease. Ultimately, the diagnosis was lupus.

“Right now, the main focus is getting the lungs healed to get her off the ventilator,” Schneider said. Scarlett has needed assistance breathing since her arrival in Fargo on Feb. 21.

While the family’s focus has been on getting Scarlett better, Schneider said he was amazed by the number of people in the background working to put events and fundraisers together in support of Scarlett.

The Schneiders have a 7-year-old daughter who attends South Prairie Elementary school, and though Scarlett doesn’t yet attend the school, South Prairie did a fundraiser for Scarlett.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with community support,” Schneider said. “It really shows how tight knit our community is.”

The Schneider family is touched by the fire department, police department and the entirety of the Minot hockey community for coming together to make the Guns N’ Hoses event possible.

Crisp wanted to organize the event to help with Scarlett’s medical bills, saying having someone on life support for almost a month can’t be cheap.

As far as the quality of hockey at the event, both the fire and police departments have about six guys who know how to play hockey, but that didn’t stop Crisp from organizing the event.

“We have a group of guys in our league that we’re going to put on both teams so we can even it out a little bit,” Crisp said. While there may be a little fumbling around here and there, the departments are working hard to make sure they can give the crowd a game that will be entertaining.

Tickets are $5 a piece and will be sold at the door. There will also be a silent auction held in the Minot Area Community Foundation room, and the winners will be announced during the third period of play. There will also be a 50/50 raffle and chuck-a-puck.

The game will have something for the whole family to enjoy while giving money to a good cause. The puck drops March 30 at 7 p.m.

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