NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Until the day Liam Lescarbeau can rejoin them on the ice, the Berkshire County hockey community has his back.

 

Liam, a member of the Northern Berkshire Youth Hockey League Black Bears program, this spring was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

 

While he is battling cancer, hockey players from throughout the region will be battling at the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink at the Summer Bash Hockey Tournament that gets underway on Friday evening.

 

Running through Sunday evening, the event brings together 10 teams who will compete in hour-long contests throughout the weekend, leading to two championship games starting at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday.

 

The event and all its proceeds benefit the Lescarbeau family, which has given its heart and soul to the sport since Liam stepped on the ice at age 4.

 

"He is the kid that is at the rink first," said Liam's coach, Kaitlyn Sanchez, who will be playing in at least five games while helping out at the concession stand and raffle table. "He goes to any stick sessions, any available practice. Wendy and Jon [Liam's parents] basically lived at the rink. Wendy worked the concession stand a lot for MCLA games and public skating because Liam wanted to be there.

 

"It's crazy to think that something like this could happen to such a healthy, outgoing kid that's ready to play all the time."

 

Nearly $18,000 has been raised by a Gofundme page established to help the Lescarbeaus with travel expenses, insurance co-pays, prescription medicines and other costs associated with fighting cancer.

 

"In the middle of this devastating news, Liam's first question was whether he would still be able to play on the new hockey team he had worked so hard to make," the Gofundme page reads, in part. "Telling him that he would have to step away from the sport he loves for at least a year was absolutely heartbreaking.

 

"Thankfully, Liam's cancer was caught early, but his fight is far from over. His treatment plan will last approximately 3.5 to 4 years, with the first 6 months being the most aggressive and demanding."

 

While his immediate family supports him in his daily battle, his hockey family did what it could.

 

In May, the NBYHL established an online store to sell gear carrying "Team Liam" gear, carrying a logo in the orange hue associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the motto, "Dropping gloves against cancer."

 

Under the leadership of local hockey player Amy Ward, the non-profit Berkshire Hockey Club helped organize the tournament that gets underway on Friday.

 

"The hockey portion [of the weekend] is 100 percent Amy, who runs the adult leagues around here," Sanchez said.

 

Ward said the league she has run for years made a connection to the Lescarbeau family through Liam's brother Gabe, who participated in adult league games while still a high school student-athlete.

 

"I've been running charity draft tournaments for nine years now," she said. "We usually do it for the humane society or No Paws Left Behind. But we decided to add this in because we heard about Gabe's little brother.

 

"All his coaches have put in a team. They're very excited to support him. Everyone is really on board. I had planned on a four-team tournament. Now, we have a 10-team tournament."

 

The teams will be split A and B/C divisions with championships in each group. One of the A level teams, the Ducks, will include Gabe Lescarbeau wearing his brother's No. 16.

 

In addition to the local hockey community, Summer Bash is drawing on contributions from Liam's hometown of Florida, where residents and members of the school community are getting involved in the event.

 

Ward's Amy's Cottage of Williamstown is one of more than a dozen local businesses (including the Wigwam Summit, Balderdash Cellars, Tunnel City Coffee and Barrington Stage Company, to name a few) who contributed 30 prizes up for grabs in a weekend-long raffle at the rink, and rink manager Guy Cariddi is donating the ice time to make the tournament happen.

 

"This is going to be a fantastic event which is going to bring the whole Berkshire County hockey family together for a very good and super important cause," NBYHL President Aaron Girgenti said. "It's very exciting."

 

Spectators buy tickets to the raffle or purchase food from the concession booth, where all money received goes to Team Liam.

 

They also can see some really good action on the ice.

 

"The 'A' level games will be some great hockey," Ward said. "We want to encourage everyone to come down. It should be fun to watch, for sure."

 

It promises to be the kind of weekend that a hockey junkie like Liam Lescarbeau would love.

 

"Liam is a riot," said Sanchez, who coached Liam last year on the NBYHL's 8-and-under mites team. "He's just a funny kid. He's kind of like the team clown."

 

Visit the Lescarbeau family's Gofundme page here.