The fifth annual event takes place in the Pepsi Rink at the Maysa Arena, starting at 7 p.m.

The cost is $5 per person, with children ages 5 and younger admitted free. There also will be a 50/50 raffle, silent auction and Chuck-a-Puck.

Funds raised will go to assist the Justin and Missy Beeter family, who have incurred significant work disruptions and expenses of travel and medical supplies and services not covered by health insurance.

The Beeters’ daughter and son, Autumn and Adrian “AJ” Beeter, were injured on their way home from Nedrose School last Dec. 12. They were ejected from their vehicle after it rolled on icy roads created by freezing rain. 

Autumn Beeter

Missy Beeter said Autumn, 17, who had been driving the vehicle, spent 11 days in Trinity Hospital, including three days in intensive care. Since then, she also has had two stays in a Bismarck hospital.

Her injuries included a severed artery behind a knee and torn muscle and tissue on her calf. She also had other lacerations, spinal micro-fractures and a concession. She received multiple blood transfusions because of loss of blood.

She has had multiple surgeries and procedures. She will go to Regions Hospital Burn Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on May 26 for the first of a series of at least six visits for laser surgery on her leg.

“She has a knee brace,” Missy Beeter said. “She has to wear braces day and night.”

However, Autumn recently started walking without her walker and continues to take physical therapy.

AJ, 16, was released from the emergency room after being treated following the crash. He sustained lacerations to his head, spleen and other parts of his body and cracked some ribs. Beeter said her son has returned to high school, where he is a freshman. Autumn is a junior doing distance learning and hopes to eventually rejoin her classmates and later go on to become a diesel mechanic.

There are emotional and physical challenges in recovering from the trauma, but both teens are getting better, Beeter said. 

Minot State University hockey fans, the Beeter family will be cheering on both the fire and police teams on May 20, but with a little extra appreciation for the fire department for selecting them for the fundraiser.

Beeter said she cried when she learned of their selection, overwhelmed by the community support.

“There’s such a huge community behind us and you don’t realize that until something like this happens. Honestly, it means a lot,” she said.

Senior firefighter Michael Crisp with the Minot Fire Department said the charity hockey games are typically fast-paced and competitive.

“Neither of the teams like to lose, and so it ends up being a pretty exciting game to watch from beginning to the end,” he said.

A silent auction runs from the start of the game into the third period, with a donations table set up at the rink entrance. The Chuck-A-Puck contest allows people to purchase pucks to throw onto the ice after the second intermission. The puck closest to or on the center ice dot earns the thrower a prize. 

In the past four years, Crisp said, the event has raised an average of $15,000 each year.

“The support shown from our community, year after year, has been amazing,” he said.