Steve Moria is back – and he will be competing for ice hockey success during the Uk All Stars tournament at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay this weekend.
‘Mo’ is playing for the Breast Cancer Care team in an event which has become a major charity fundraiser, donating almost £650,000 to good causes since the first event in 2008.
Canadian forward Moria is playing in the All Stars tournament for a third successive season – and above his head at the Viola will be his number 19 shirt number which was retired in honour of his Devils achievements.
He played more than 600 matches for Devils, scoring 778 goals with 877 assists (1,655 points). He gave 10 years service to Devils during a remarkable 27-year playing career.
Moria captained Devils during their historic league and cup winning Premier League debut season in 1989-90, which culminated in the ‘that’ live on BBC Grandstand penalty shootout win against the Murrayfield Racers which put the Devils firmly on the map of British ice hockey.
“I categorise my career in three stages,” says Mo. “The early years where there were three or four imports. They were probably the most fun and most memorable for me.
“The Superleague stage where the standard was extremely high. The quality of hockey was as good as any other countries top leagues.
“Finally the EPL which was not the highest in Europe, but a strong second level.”
Moria was inducted into the British Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016 and his number 19 jersey will never be worn again in Cardiff,.
“My best memories were when I was in Cardiff,” he says. “We had a lot of success on the ice and off the ice there were so many exciting memories.
“It’s great to see the success achieved by Devils. I try to see a couple of Devils games every season. The club have been fantastic inviting my family to watch the Devils play.
“I used to say as a hockey player it isn’t fun to watch a game. But my mindset has changed and I really enjoy watching the Devils win hockey games. I wish I could travel with them when they play in Europe.”
Moria is still playing, still competitive, and says: “I am honoured and excited to be part of the Breast Cancer Care hockey team in the UK Charity Allstars weekend,” said Moria. “This will be my third year playing and fundraising for the BCC team.”
Breast Cancer Care are one of eight teams in the All Stars tournament, facing the challenge from Blue Cross, Help for Heroes, British Heart Foundation, Prostate Cancer, Dream Team, MIND Mental Health Charity and Ty Hafan.
UK Charity Allstars organisers are ecstatic they have already raised £100,000-plus before the 2019 event has even started and Allstars chairman Paul Sullivan said: “We are blown away by the hard work and dedication of our Allstars.
“We have seen more plans than ever before to take the fundraising out of the weekend with quizzes, walks, climbs and many other events going toward the final totals of our amazing teams.
“We cannot thank all of our on and off-ice fundraisers enough and a particular special thank you must go to the 2019 captains who have been driving harder than ever to generate this amazing amount with the support of their players and off-ice ambassadors.”
More news about the 2019 Allstars event, to be held in the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay, will be unveiled shortly and details of our jerseys for 2019,
One of the pre-tournament fundraising events, among many, saw Paul Packer and Janu Micallef, from the Ty Hafan and Breast Cancer Care teams, cycling 52.6 miles in full ice hockey kit! (No skates, though!)
They started in Brecon and made their way down the Taff trail to the finish line at Viola Arena in Cardiff, the venue for the 2019 Allstars tournament.
The tournament is played on Saturday and Sunday with tickets costing £3 per day or £5 for both days. There will be virtually non-stop ice hockey over 48 hours.