T-Birds to show support for Maine Mariners fans

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The Springfield Thunderbirds will be showing their support for Maine Mariner fans at the MassMutual Center this weekend.

The team will be wearing Mariner’s jerseys during pregame warmups on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4. The effort is to express solidarity with the people of Maine after a shooting on October 25 in the town of Lewiston that took the lives of 18 people and left more with serious injuries.

Additionally, the jerseys will be auctioned online with proceeds to benefit the Maine Community Fund’s Lewiston-Auburn Area Response Fund. The jerseys will not have names or numbers. There will be an identification mark for each jersey, and every T-Birds player will autograph the Mariners’ crest on the sweater.

The team will also be donating proceeds from the 50-50 raffle on both Friday and Saturday to the fund.

“At the Thunderbirds, we take immense pride in being a community driver for good, and in that spirit, we found it important as a franchise to be there in a tangible way for our fellow New Englanders in Maine,” said Thunderbirds President Nathan Costa. “We may be in different leagues and different states, but Maine and Springfield are integral parts of our New England hockey family, and we want to do something that will raise money for the people who are experiencing unspeakable grief and heartache. We stand with Lewiston and extend our deepest condolences to the victims and their families.”

The T-Birds Foundation is accepting donations online, those donating via the T-Birds Foundation are asked to caption their donation #LewistonStrong. The jersey auction can be found online via the DASH platform.