By Ward Peck

Editor

    The sudden snowstorm that hit the Portland area was
not the only unexpected event on Monday night as the Cape Elizabeth
boys ice hockey team upset the Scarborough Red Storm 3-2 in the opening
round of the inaugural Fix Cup Tournament.

With the win, the Capers are in position to make history. On Monday,
Jan. 29 they will play Falmouth at the Cumberland Country Civic Center
to see who will be the first team ever to take home the Fix, named in
honor of the late Frank Fixaris, the long-time sportscaster who was
killed in a fire at his Falmouth home one year ago.

Scarborough will also be back on the ice on Monday in a consolation
match when they play Cheverus, who lost to Falmouth 3-1 earlier in the
evening.

    Gary Prolman, a former Kennebunk hockey coach who
met Fixaris 15 years ago, organized the event to help raise funds for
the Frank Fixaris Memorial Endowment at Saint Joseph’s College. The
fund, established in July of 2006, seeks to fund opportunities for
students interested in sports, journalism and education. Among the
projects the endowment will fund are the establishment of academic
scholarships and internships in the field of broadcast journalism;
attracting prominent national sports figures to an annual lecture
event; providing stipends to enable middle school and high school
students to attend sports camps at St. Joseph’s and enhance the
college’s radio station in the area of broadcast journalism.

    Fixaris was a fixture in southern Maine sports
broadcasting community for decades. He began a long stint as a
sportscaster for WGME-TV in 1967, where he worked until 1992, retiring
as the station’s sports director. At the time of his death he was the
co-host of a sports talk show on WJAB radio. Fire marshals at the time
theorized the blaze may have been caused when Fixaris fell asleep with
a lit cigarette, according to the Associated Press.

“He [Fixaris] did so much for high school hockey,” Prolman said. “When
I started as a coach, there was not a lot of exposure for high school
hockey, but his involvement opened a lot of doors.”

Prolman said he hopes the tournament, which was conceived “in the last
couple months,” will develop into a local high school version of the
annual “Boston Beanpot” tournament between Boston College, Boston
University, Harvard and Northeastern.

    “We picked four traditionally strong teams that are
perennial contenders,” Prolman said. “These communities also have a
history of supporting their teams.”

    While the Capers have been contenders in the recent
past– winning back-to-back Class B Championships last year and the year
before, they have struggled this season, posting a losing 4-9 record as
of Jan. 20. Cape is the only Class B team in the tournament.

    But their upset win over Class A Scarborough (8-3)
may suggest a new momentum. The Capers shut down a ferocious offensive
assault by Scarborough, stopping 29 of 31 shots on goal and efficiently
using their few scoring opportunities (16 shots on goal) to put the
puck in the net three times.

    They will need that momentum as they face Falmouth
(9-2) on Jan. 29. Falmouth easily contained the faltering Cheverus
Stags (4-7) in the first round.

    While the Fix Cup games do not count toward the
team’s official records, pride and bragging rights are still on the
line.

    In addition to proceeds of ticket sales ($7 adults,
$4 students for both games), a silent auction will be taking place on
Monday night. Fans can bid on a number of items including: tickets to
the Comedy Connection, a “meet and greet” with Bob Marley and an
autographed Marley CD; catered Super Bowl appetizers for 10 people; an
autographed Philadelphia Flyers hockey jersey; an autographed Boston
Bruins Legends hockey jersey; a half-hour guest host spot on WJAB 1440
Sports Radio; an hour spot to be a guest commentator for one period at
a Portland Pirates home game with Greg Glynn and more. Prolman said 100
percent of the tournament and auction proceeds will go to the
endowment. More information about the Frank Fixaris Memorial Endowment
Fund can be found on the St. Joseph’s website at: www.stcme.edu/fixaris.

    The Scarborough-Cheverus consolation game begins at
6 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center, with the Cape
Elizabeth-Falmouth Championship game following at 8 p.m.

(Update– Cape Elizabeth lost to Falmouth 10-1)