Eastern Pennsylvania Hockey Rivals Introduce New Partnership and Drop Puck in Schuylkill County

Two eastern Pennsylvania hockey teams, who are rivals on the ice, formed a new partnership with M&T Bank to introduce youth to the sport and unveiled it in Schuylkill County.

On Monday morning, mascots from the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, along with M&T Bank representatives met at Mahanoy Area to announce their new "Rivals" initiative.

The initiative aims to extend the outreach of the Rivals Program, an in-school endeavor tailored for grades 3-6. Through this collaboration, the Penguins and Phantoms will work together to benefit students across multiple counties.

The Rivals Program is designed to blend physical activity with education, offering engaging lessons and hands-on activities. Aimed at promoting teamwork, coordination, and a healthy lifestyle, the program also instills fundamental hockey skills in its young participants.

On Monday morning, Mahanoy Area Elementary students had the opportunity to immerse themselves in hockey fundamentals, including stick handling, passing, and shooting.  The Penguin's Tux and Phantom's Melvin mascots were on-hand to help with the event.  The Mahanoy Area mascot joined in on the fun as well.

Prior to the assembly, M&T officials held a press conference with both mascots and representatives of both teams to present a $20,000 check to the Penguins Goals Foundation and to hold a ceremonial puck drop for the Rivals program.

"These rivals on the ice are really sportsman off the field.  When you work together with children, it can really help with competitive sportsmanship in a positive manner to really build a healthy lifestyle and build team work. " John Jablowski, Jr., M&T Bank Senior Vice President said.

"It's programs like this that really drive a better community" Jablowski added.

For the program, Mahanoy Area has been loaned the hockey equipment for the next 2 weeks to incorporate it in their physical education curriculum.