VOORHEES &mdash Area hockey players skated for local charities Sunday in the final day of a weekend-long tournament at the Virtua Flyers Skate Zone
in Voorhees. The tournament kicked off Friday with eight teams playing for a charity of choice and ended Sunday with a championship game, check presentations and a barbecue. “We love what we do but we wanted to take it to the next level and give back,” said Paul Caruso, who helped organize the first annual tournament dubbed “Checking for Charity.” Caruso, of Marlton, said the idea for the tournament was born through a group of local hockey enthusiasts who meet at the Voorhees rink on Sundays for a morning hockey game. Caruso said the plan is to begin holding the charity event annually and to even expand it out to other cities. Donation totals weren’t tallied after the match Sunday but Caruso estimated the weekend, which included an auction and donations from area businesses, would tally between $6,000 and $10,000. Charities included the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital and the American Heart Association. Ed Gorleski’s team, The Hawks, played for the Preeclampsia Foundation in honor of Gorleski’s newborn daughter who died in April.
“There was something more I was playing for this weekend,” Gorleski said.