News release
“Twenty-seven alumni. One night. A whole lot of heart.”
So read the social media post from the West Ranch Wildcats high school hockey team after its fourth annual alumni game, which featured former players including one NCAA national championship winner, seven players from the club’s inaugural 2015-16 season and nine current varsity players.
The alumni game at The Cube in Valencia brought together former teammates and families not just for the hockey game but for “dinner, laughs, tears” along with fundraising efforts including a “chuck-a-puck” and raffle sales to benefit the Bash Gallegos and Trevor Sunday Memorial West Ranch Hockey Assist Fund.
The event raised $2,000 for the fund, which was established in memory of Gallegos and Sunday, two West Ranch players who both died in 2019.
“Saturday night (July 25) we held our fourth alumni game and dinner with 27 alumni returning to face off in what turned out to be a very fun and competitive game,” said the program’s Facebook post. “Stick taps to our current varsity players who came out to join our alumni on the ice.”
“In 2019, we tragically lost two members of the West Ranch Hockey family, Bash Gallegos and Trevor Sunday,” said a statement from the club. “Both Bash and Trevor played hockey for many years at our local rink and played for West Ranch as seniors during the 2018-19 season. We think about Bash and Trevor and their families often as they both made an unforgettable impact on so many of us. Bash and Trevor were taken from their friends and family far too soon and we are so thankful we had the opportunity to get to know them throughout their youth hockey careers and during their time with West Ranch Hockey, and we cherish those memories.”
To honor Gallegos and Sunday, the team established a scholarship fund in their names to help West Ranch hockey seniors with college or trade school expenses.
“This scholarship fund helps to perpetuate the endearing qualities of Bash and Trevor, both clever and resilient hockey players who never backed down from a challenge, as well as caring and fun-loving young men,” the statement said. “Bash and Trevor made this world a better place and the scholarship fund honors the positive impact they made on the West Ranch Hockey family as well as our local ice hockey community.”
Awards presented to the alumni that night included some fun categories, like Best Hockey Flow, Coolest Moves, Best Chirps, MVP and Oldest Alumni.
Among the alumni participating was Ethan Wolthers, who was a member of the 2025 Western Michigan team that won the NCAA Division 1 men’s ice hockey championship.
