Drop the Gloves Hockey Tourney & parking lot party at GF Rec Center to help Marcus Noble & fight ALS

Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: The fourth annual Drop the Gloves with ALS charity hockey tournament is Friday to Sunday, March 27-29, including a community-wide parking lot party fund-raiser Saturday noon to 4 p.m.

Everything takes place at the Glens Falls Recreation Center Ice Rink.

Proceeds benefit Marcus Noble, to help with costs in his continued fight against ALS — Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease — and support the St. Peter’s Hospital ALS Center.

Marcus, a Queensbury grad, played varsity hockey for four years, continued in adult hockey and was running his family’s Noble Ace Hardware store in South Glens Falls when he was diagnosed with ALS, says event organizer Dan Snyder.

“We went to Pre-K together at A Child’s World, and we’ve been friends ever since. We played together at Queensbury High School” and in the adult league.

The tournament has raised $115,000 over its first three years, Mr. Snyder said.

He emphasized that “the parking lot party is open to all.”

Weekend events include hockey games, raffle baskets, a beer tent, puck accuracy contest, raffle, face painting, food trucks, live music, silent anctions, and a raffle for a 2026 CForce 500 ATV.

“It’s nice. It’s a lot of local people supporting local people,” Mr. Snyder said. “Like our team, Snyder’s Drywall, and then Mark Stewart at Northern Builders, Sports Zone Hockey Shop, they have a team. The Bullpen has a team.

“We have a full tournament this year, 10 teams. Eight of them are local. Then we have a team from the Westchester area, and a team from (Shenendehowa), and then we have a few people flying in. I think there’s three players coming from Utah.”

Utah? “So, Marcus played in this thing called the Fantasy Camp, where you play with the 1980 (U.S.A. Hockey) players.

“A couple years before he had ALS, he did that and met a lot of these people in their very tight knit community. So they put a team in, and they come from, honestly, all over the country.

“It’s pretty cool. Rumor has it we have a couple guys that played in the NHL that are playing this year. Mark Johnson was one of the players on the 1980 team; his son is playing in the tournament.”

No promises, Mr. Snyder adds, but “we might be lucky, and we might end up with a couple of the guys from 1980 Olympic team at least come and support it.”

Mr. Snyder says, “It’s a lot of fun for a great cause. We split the money between St Peter’s program that helps anybody with ALS locally, and then some of the money goes directly to Marcus to help with the incredibly expensive care and medical bills. I did hear it just referred to as ‘the bankruptcy disease.’

He said, “We really want to have the community come out to show their support, and also watch a lot of pretty good hockey at the same time.”

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