The Batavia/Notre Dame United Hockey team has revealed their new jerseys for the 2024/25 season. 18 players from BND Hockey assisted at the Play Hockey for Free event at the McCarthy Arena on Evans Street in Batavia on Saturday morning, wearing the new look jerseys for the first time.
Head Coach Marc Staley says Seniors assisted in helping create the logo with “Just Dishin”, a business created by Notre Dame Alumni Matthew Keeler. Staley says the logo is similar to the Montreal Canadiens logo, but with a U instead of a C. He says Keeler has been creating the team jerseys since he created his business while attending St. John Fisher University in Rochester about 10 years ago.
“He started doing t-shirts and all kinds of stuff on campus, then I ran into him, and I said, hey, how about doing our hockey uniforms,” says Staley. “Now they’ve done some things with the Chicago Blackhawks, where their logo is on it, and they’re trying to get in with the Sabers with some things, and they deal with a lot of junior programs, a lot of college programs now, and it’s taken off.”
“Just Dishin” also has a patent on Skate Skins which have been out since 2022. They are located in Buffalo, NY. Link to Facebook page:(20+) Facebook
Staley says hockey equipment hasn’t changed much over the years.
“The sticks have changed a lot. The helmets have gotten slightly better.”
The whole kit comes complete with pants/shells, socks and home and away jerseys. Thanks to the BND Hockey Boosters, run by parents, the jerseys are paid for each year. The group raises about $20,000 a year to keep up with expenses.
“We raise money every year to offset the cost for the schools, because these hockey jerseys, the socks, the pants, they get torn up so much every year, we can’t possibly ask the school to pay for it every year, and then the kids also want it (their jersey). We fundraise throughout the summer, and then order the stuff and size the kids properly throughout the summer.”
Throughout the holiday season, the group will hold their Christmas Cash Raffle, which is one of their biggest fundraisers. The winners will be announced during the McCarthy Memorial Christmas Tournament. They also run a 50/50 during their games. Local businesses also donate.
During the summer there is a gift for gift campaign, where the players volunteer time.
“This year, we did that with Crossroads House. We’ve been with Crossroads House now for four years with their mammoth sale, unloading all those trucks, all that furniture for them to help set up. They’re a wonderful organization. We’re happy to work with them, we have families and friends that sponsor the kids that to go do that volunteer work and help in the community,” says Staley
The players also work with Parks Programs in Stafford and Batavia doing things like street hockey with kids.
“So, we try to make sure that if they want people to come into the building to watch them play, that we’re getting out in the community and becoming known as an entity and an organization. And then when you do good things, it comes back to you. We’ve had some very generous donors in the community that have helped us also, I think, with Varsity Media, broadcasting the games and things like that. It’s gotten the word out; people have become fans that aren’t normally fans that can watch the games.”