For Blackhawks fans scoring at home, Gurnee 49-year-old Dan Bockhaut recently earned himself an assist and Ingleside 11-year-old Bradley Berg secured the goal.
The game unfolded at a fundraiser in Gurnee, where an autographed Patrick Kane jersey was capturing a great deal of attention.
The red No. 88 sweater caught the eye of Bradley, a cancer survivor and Blackhawks fan who was selling raffle tickets at the event with his mom, Jennifer, and grandmother, Char Boesch of Gurnee.
Bockhaut, a fellow Blackhawks fan, was also drawn to the Kane memorabilia.
“I saw it and I said, ‘So what are we trying to cure?'” said Bockhaut, who bought two $10 raffle tickets.
That was the assist.
When raffle tickets were drawn, Bockhaut was the winner.
“I’m an avid, avid Hawks fan,” he said. “I thought it was really great, but I felt guilty I had only purchased two tickets.”
Instead of taking the Kane sweater, Bockhaut passed it over to Bradley for the goal.
“I was inspired by the British Open where they hand you the trophy for winning and then you have to give it back,” he said.
Bradley, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2008 and is now in remission, was shocked and left speechless.
“There’s still so many special people around, that he would think of me before himself,” Bradley said Friday, showing off his framed jersey.
Not only did he get the jersey, but the jersey raised money for Gurnee Relay for Life and Children’s Oncology Services, Inc., which offers programs and camps for kids with cancer.
“It’s cool to get together with other kids and we have one thing in common. It’s makes you feel everyone knows what I went through,” he said of his camping experiences when he was battling cancer.
“The donations will help a lot of people,” added Jennifer Berg, Bradley’s mom. “It makes me happy that people care.
“Dan is the man. I will never forget what he did. I am framing his winning ticket with the jersey to remind me that there are such good people in the world.”
Bradley and his family have been fundraising for cancer causes since he was in a stroller. That is because his grandmother’s sister, Cheryl, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2003. Like Bradley, she recovered as well.
As for the family’s commitment to the Blackhawks, that started with Bradley’s elders as well.
Bradley’s bedroom has a Blackhawks logo painted on the wall. There also is a border of four alternating stripes of black and white along the bottom, just like the Blackhawks sweater.
“He has bunk beds, and the top one has Plexiglas — we call it the ‘penalty box,'” Jennifer Berg said.
So where does Bradley sleep?
“The penalty box,” mother and son said, almost simultaneously.
Twitter @abderholden
