Fi eld fD r e am s

For four days,
Red Wings
fantasy
campers lived
and played
their
childhood
dreams.

STEVE STEIN

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ick Markowitz,
30, of Southfield
is a 5-foot-9'/2-
inch, 205-pound
police officer.
Leonard
Weiss,
40, of Bloom
fi el d
Hills is a 5-foot-
6-inch,
135-pound investment coun-
selor.
Allen Tuchklaper, 43, of
Novi is a 6-foot-l-inch, 205-
pound dentist.
Typical guys in typical jobs.
But for four days in August,
these three men lived out
their dreams and became
"professional" hockey players.
They were among 32 recre-
ational players ages 30 and
older who paid $1,595 apiece
to take part in the third an-
nual Detroit Red Wings Fan-
tasy Camp at Fraser Arena.
After practicing for three
days, the campers joined cur-
rent and former Wings to
play a benefit game in front

Leonard Weiss, Alan Tuchkiaper and Rick Markowitz: Fulfilling fantasies.

of a packed arena and cable
television cameras.
The current Wings who
took part in the regulation
50-minute game were Tim
Cheveldae, Sergei Fedorov,
Vladimir Konstantinov and
Bob Probert. Victor Fedorov,
Sergei's father, also played.
Cheveldae didn't actually
tend the nets during the con-
test, but he faced the campers
in a special shootout between

the second and third periods.
Former Wings on the ice
included Alex Delvecchio, Ted
Lindsay, Marty Pavelich and
Mickey Redmond.
The second largest crowd
ever to watch a hockey game
at Fraser Arena — an esti-
mated 2,400 fans — raised
more than $10,000 for the
Make-A-Wish Foundation of
Michigan, which grants va-
cation and celebrity requests

for terminally-ill children.
With campers and pros on
both teams, the White squad
beat the Red club 14-13, and
Weiss played a major role in
the victory.
A defenseman, he assisted
on the winning goal, which
came with about 2'/2 minutes
remaining. He also made a
fine defensive play in his own
goal crease with less than 10
seconds left to ice the win.

"I lifted the stick of the guy
who was getting ready to take
a pass, then I kicked the pass
into the corner, Weiss said,
recalling the details with
great pride.
Tuchklaper, who faced off
against the White team's
Delvecchio to start the game,
scored the first goal of the
contest during his first shift.
Playing center, Tuchklaper

FIELD OF DREAMS page 52

a)

CC
uJ

C_D

51