Over $7,000 raised for families of slain York County detectives at Battle of the Badges hockey game

• By Nathan Willison / LNP | LancasterOnline

On Saturday, firefighters and police officers from across Lancaster County traded their uniforms and badges for jerseys and hockey sticks for the second annual Battle of the Badges game.

The annual charity event originated out of some friendly rivalry between Manheim Township police Corporal Marc Wiczkowski and Manheim Township Fire Rescue firefighter Ryan Gardill. Like many first responders in Lancaster County, Gardill and Wiczkowski are active hockey players and regularly faced each other in local leagues. Seeing that love of the game among their local departments, the two decided to apply their competitiveness to a good cause.

“A lot of us play hockey through local teams, and we got together and thought why not do this while raising money for a good cause,” Gardill said. “And what better teams to do that than cops and fire. That’s the two biggest rivals there are.”

So last year the two departments created the Battle of the Badges, an annual hockey game that would raise money for The Yard Foundation, a nonprofit that provides assistance to first responders and their families during times of crisis, illness or line-of-duty deaths.

For the teams made up of players from nine different fire departments and 12 different law enforcement agencies, even if it is for a good cause, the competition isn’t diminished.

“We all work with each other, but we realized last year the rivalry is real,” Wiczkowski said, laughing. “There was a lot of bumping and gritty hockey. That was a fun little surprise.”

After last year’s match proved successful, raising around $7,800, Wiczkowski and Gardill said they wanted to make the game an annual tradition. This year’s event hit close to home when The Yard Foundation informed organizers that all of the money raised Saturday would go to the families of Northern York County Regional detectives Mark Baker and Isaiah Emenheiser and Detective Sgt. Cody Becker, who were killed in the line of duty last month.

“We are always looking to take care of our first-responder families through these events, whether it’s local or national,” Gardill said. “With it happening so close to home, just shows why we need to do this.”

On the ice, after a moment of silence to honor the fallen York County officers, the two teams began a spirited and physical game. The first body check would occur within the first 90 seconds, and neither team would let up over the 45-minute match.

“It’s a love-hate relationship,” said Ryan Gardill’s father, Jim Gardill, who was serving as an honorary coach for the Lancaster County Fire Team. “They love to hate each other out on the ice.”

Jim Gardill served as an officer for the West Lampeter Police Department for 32 years and retired in 2022. With connections to both Lancaster County police and fire departments, Jim Gardill said he was always glad to see them come together for a good cause.

“I’m a bit of a turncoat tonight,” Jim Gardill said. “They might hold it against me if we keep scoring points.”

And Lancaster Fire did keep scoring points, winning 8 to 5, thanks to an aggressive offense and a number of third-period saves from goalie, Chief Kevin Keiser of the Columbia Borough Fire Department.

At the end of the game, after both teams shook hands, organizers announced they had raised $7,466 for the families of the York County detectives.

Having won last year, Lancaster Fire is now 2-0 all time. However, players on both sides plan to keep the rivalry alive and keep raising money for first-responder families in need.