Hockey Players Fight Heart Disease through 3rd Annual Shocks and Saves

Former Red Wings greats joining doctors and emergency medical personnel on the ice

(Saginaw, MI) The Michigan CardioVascular Institute Foundation (MCVI Foundation) in partnership with Detroit Red Wings Jiri Fischer’s Healthy Hope Foundation, Mobile Medical Response and the Saginaw Spirit are presenting the 3rd annual Shocks and Saves charity hockey game on Saturday, January 30, at The Dow Event Center to raise awareness about heart disease with special emphasis on sudden cardiac arrest.

The MCVI Foundation and the Saginaw Spirit are proud to offer a special ticket package for the event.  Tickets are $10.00 and include admission to both the Shocks and Saves game and the Spirit game (two games for the price of one).  All proceeds from Shocks and Saves and its auction of hockey memorabilia including autographed jerseys, sticks, pucks and more will be used to:

• Provide lifesaving CPR training through a school-based initiative targeting middle and high school students
• Expand public access to automated external defibrillators (AED)
• Educate the public about heart disease.

Local physicians will take on local emergency medical personnel in a fun-filled game that also features the skating talents of NHL celebrities such as Jiri Fischer, the former star defenseman of the Detroit Red Wings who is a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest.  Although no longer able to play in the NHL, Fischer remains with the Red Wings club as its director of player development. After his life-changing experience, Fischer became an advocate for CPR training, the placement of AEDs in ice arenas and other public places and for greater heart health awareness. He has founded the Jiri Fischer Healthy Hope Foundation to accomplish these objectives. 

Joining Fischer in the game are former Red Wing greats, including NHL Hall of Famers Larry Murphy and Igor Larionov, Dave Lewis and Jason Woolley.  Mickey Redmond, another NHL Hall of Fame member, is tentatively scheduled to play as well.  Following the Shocks and Saves game, attendees are invited to the Blue Line Club for a discussion with Jiri Fischer, MCVI cardiologist Dr. Peter Fattal, and local survivor David Schatzer and his wife Marian as they share their near-death experiences and what lead to their survival.

Shocks and Saves is about far more than hockey and some of the game’s greats. It is a celebration of the lives of local heart disease survivors.  Anyone who has survived a cardiac event is invited to take part in a special on-ice survivor’s presentation at the January 30th Saginaw Spirit game.  Please call Diane Fong, executive director of the MCVI Foundation, at (989) 754-3319 for more information.

Shocks and Saves is presented by BIOTRONIK.  As one of the world’s leading cardiovascular medical device companies, with several million implanted devices, BIOTRONIK is represented in over 100 countries with its global workforce of more than 4,000 employees. Known for having its finger on the pulse of the medical community, BIOTRONIK assesses the challenges physicians face, and provides the best solutions for all phases of patient care, ranging from diagnosis to treatment to patient management. Quality, innovation and reliability define BIOTRONIK and its growing success, and delivers confidence and peace of mind to physicians and their patients worldwide.

Also supporting the cause are Zoll, WNEM TV5, Covenant HealthCare, MCVI, MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland, St. Mary's of Michigan, Advanced Diagnostic Imaging, HealthPlus of Michigan, Hockey Has Heart, Mid-Michigan Surgical Specialists, Saginaw Valley Bone and Joint Center, Timberline Emergency Physicians, Chemical Bank , Michigan Sugar Company, Northeast Michigan Pulmonary Associates, Saginaw Bay Underwriters, Schaefer & Bierlein, TBF Graphics, Valley Cardiology and more.

For more information about the game or for tickets, contact the Saginaw Spirit’s group sales office at (989) 497-6506.

The Michigan CardioVascular Institute Foundation is a nonprofit organization striving to create a community that is healthy and vibrant by championing causes related to the education, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular-related disease.

Tickets are on sale now!  Contact the Spirit to get your special $10.00 Shocks and Saves ticket!  For more information, please contact the Official Saginaw Spirit Ticket and Merchandise Store located at 5789 State Street in Saginaw or call 989-497-7747.