The Seattle Thunderbirds and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska present the 2013 Hockey Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the ShoWare Center.

The T-Birds will play the Everett Silvertips at 6:05 p.m., followed by the local Celebrity and T-Birds Alumni All-Star Game.

The local celebrities scheduled to appear in the All-Star game include: Bill Wixey (KCPQ 13 news anchor), Dennis Bounds (KING 5 news anchor), Ian Furness (KJR 950 AM Host), and Steve The Producer (BJ Shea Experience on 99.9 FM KISW).

T-Bird alumni playing in the All-Star game include Jamie Huscroft, Blake Knox, Brett Duncan, Regan Mueller, Danny Lorenz and Ryan Gibbons. Former professional player Doug Kirton and former Tacoma Rocket Tavis Hansen will also participate in the game.

There will be a 30-minute autograph session with the local celebrities, T-Birds alumni and select T-Birds players from the time doors open at the ShoWare Center until the beginning of warmups for the T-Birds vs. Silvertips game.

The Hockey Challenge began in 1998, when hockey-playing Microsoft employees, with the help of the Thunderbirds, took an in-house rivalry public and decided to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska (RMHC). Since the inception, the challenge has raised more than $4.2 million for RMHC, which provides a “home-away-from-home” for children and their families during medical treatment, making each day a little easier.

A ticket to Hockey Challenge gives fans access to all events, including the local Celebrity and T-Birds Alumni Celebrity Game, all other Challenge games and the T-Birds game that night.

The Celebrity autograph session starts at 5 p.m. and will go until 5:30. The T-Birds encourage fans to line up early for the autograph session. The Celebrity Game is scheduled to start after the T-Birds game ends.

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Hockey Challenge schedule
Saturday, Feb. 23

Game 1 – Manny’s Mayhems vs. Lucille’s Lightening (Georgetown Brewery Sponsored Microsoft Women’s teams), 8:55 a.m.

Game 2 – Microsoft Finance and LCA vs. Xbox Live, 10:35 a.m.

Game 3 – Windows vs. Exchange, 12:15 p.m.

Game 4 – Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) vs. Tiny Zamboni Hockey Club, 1:55 p.m.

Game 5 – MS IT vs. DevDiv, 3:35 p.m.

Game 6 – Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Everett Silvertips, 6:05 p.m.

Game 7 – Local Celebrity and T-Birds Alumni All-Star Game, immediately following T-Birds/Silvertips game

To purchase single game tickets to the Hockey Challenge, fans should go to the ShoWare Center box office or go to tickets.seattlethunderbirds.com.

T-Birds group tickets are also on sale. Group tickets can be purchased by calling the T-Birds office at 253-239-7825.