Stadium Series plays host to military Veterans Showcase

NASHVILLE --Dale Vogel looked pretty happy for someone whose team lost 3-2 on Saturday.

Sure, the defeat stung, but Vogel said he was still thrilled that his Fort Worth Patriots was one of four teams selected to participate in Navy Federal Credit Union's 2022 Veterans Showcase tournament.
"This was beautiful, the ice is great, the facility is great, just a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be out here," said Vogel, a retired Marine Corps corporal. "On the ice, it gets competitive, veterans are competitive. But off the ice, it's a brotherhood."
Fort Worth, the North Carolina Warriors, Veterans United Hockey and Guardians Ice Hockey of San Diego faced off at the Ford Ice Center Bellevue in West Nashville. The players then boarded buses and headed downtown to watch the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Nashville Predators 3-2 in the 2022 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Nissan Stadium, home to the Tennessee Titans of the NFL.
Their Nashville weekend is being capped off Sunday with a Veterans Showcase skills competition on the Nissan Stadium ice.
"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to skate on the same rink as the pros that we all kind of dreamed of being at one point in our lives," Vogel said.

The teams for the tournament, in its second year, were selected by Navy Federal, the United Heroes League and Bespoke from among veteran's teams nationwide.
"While military hockey tournaments exist, we wanted to create a national platform for veteran hockey teams to share their talent and their stories," said Keith Hoskins, executive vice president of branch operations at Navy Federal. "Through the Veterans Showcase game, Navy Federal is doing just that. Now in its second year, we've seen teams from across the country show interest in playing and look forward to continuing this program for those who have served and love the game of hockey and their communities."
The Veterans Showcase is more than about goals, wins and losses for the players. For many of them, being on veteran and warrior hockey teams is an outlet to get together and bond over shared experiences with fellow former U.S. military members.
RELATED: [More 2022 NHL Stadium Series coverage]
Most of the players have service-related disabilities or are adjusting to civilian life. Hockey provides a respite and a haven from the challenges. It also provides them a purpose.
The four programs in the showcase this year hold fundraisers for themselves and charities in the communities.

Travis Harris, the captain of the North Carolina Warriors who retired from the Navy in 2014 after 5 1/2 years of service, said the program provides the opportunity for former service members to stay close.
"A lot of people who haven't served don't realize the bonds that you build while you're in," Harris said. "When you get out…you move to different parts of the country and they don't have those bonds. They feel like something's missing. So they come across a program like ours and they see that the brotherhood is here."
Marv Floer, co-founder of Veterans Hockey United, said the Veterans Showcase reflects the growing importance and impact of veteran's hockey.
"To see some of the fruits of our labor come together in growing this community of veteran hockey players to the point where Navy Federal Credit Union and Bespoke team up with the NHL to fly players out there and take care of them? That's great," said Floer, an active-duty Navy corpsman.