“ICE GUARDIANS”: ALAN JOHNSON AND FIRST RESPONDER HOCKEY

By Mark Binetti, Senior Director of Communications & Team Services/Broadcaster

“Ice Guardians” was a 2016 hockey documentary showcasing the fiercest enforcers the sport of hockey has ever seen. Highlighting the exploits of the likes of Bob Probert, Derek Boogard, Kevin Westgarth, and their fists, the film takes a deeper dive into these pugilists that “police the game”, if you will, and protect their teammates and the logo on their chest alike.

Much like hockey has its guardians in many ways, so do we in our community, especially through local law enforcement. Police in our communities have pledged themselves to our safety on a daily basis, putting their lives on the line to ensure the law is upheld and its citizens are protected. 

Alan Johnson, a retired Greenville Police Lieutenant that is currently with Furman University as a Lieutenant over patrol, has been in law enforcement for over 30 years. An avid hockey fan hailing from Connecticut, he decided to marry his career in law enforcement and first response with his passion of the greatest game there is (in our humble, but biased opinion).

To this effect, Johnson created the Greenville Guardians hockey team, made up of entirely first responders in the Upstate region. On Sunday’s “First Responders Day”, presented by Carolina Handling, the Guardians squared off against the Richland County Blueliners from Columbia, South Carolina, in the first-ever first responder exhibition game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

“I thought about this a year ago, trying to get myself back into playing hockey,” Johnson said of creating the Guardians. “People were telling me to get involved in local men’s league, so I thought it would be fun to join one and play with my son. As I started playing again, the idea of a first responder team came up. 

“I did some research and saw that there were five other teams in the entire state made up of just first responders,” he continued, “so I started putting some feelers out on social media pages for adult hockey in the area. Many people don’t know this, but in the Upstate, there’s about 700 players that play adult league hockey. I started to put out my feelers, and within 24 hours, I had about 20 people willing to play, so it kind of exploded.”

The exponential growth was unexpected, but warmly welcomed by Johnson. His team is made up of all first responders: firefighters, police, emergency medical, search and rescue, and even military veterans. Shortly after the emphatic roll call, he called a team meeting together to determine what this team was going to be with respect to its mission. As a group, Johnson and his team decided they would play for local charities. If there wasn’t a charity wherever they were playing, then they’d raise money for the families of first responders that tragically lost their lives in the line of duty.

“I chose law enforcement because, as much as it sounds like a cliché, I wanted to give back to my community,” Johnson explained. “This hockey team is just another vehicle to accomplish that. What started out as just me wanting to get back to playing the game turned into a way to bring people together from backgrounds like mine to help others in need. 

“We’re still working out how we’ll benefit these groups and these families, but as we continue to play, we want to find a way to give back to these people. Families that have lost first responders need lots of help in several different ways, so as we grow, we’ll try to perfect that so we can assist as best as we can.”

Johnson’s Guardians program continues to grow, explaining that now it’s a team of roughly 30+ on the depth chart. Because of the numbers on his squad, there is a plan in motion to create a second team, made strictly of military personnel and retired veterans, in conjunction with the Guardians that holds the same mission, with logistics still being shaped for the future.

On Sunday morning, prior to the Swamp Rabbits “First Responders Day”, presented by Carolina Handling, the Greenville Guardians played the first-ever first responder exhibition game at Bon Secours Wellness Arena against the Richland County Blueliners, another of the now-six first responder teams in the state hailing from the capitol in Columbia, South Carolina. While the Blueliners may have won the game, hockey, our community, and first responders were the true winners.

To say this was more than just a game is an understatement to Johnson and his team.

“The guys all had a great time, and talking with Richland County, they had a great time as well,” Johnson said of Sunday. “It was kind of hectic leading up to all of this, but it was an amazing day. The emotions in game were very real. It was a very emotional time knowing what we were here for and what we’re trying to build.

“I don’t have the words to explain what this means. I really don’t,” Johnson emotionally said. “I’m grateful to the Swamp Rabbits for wanting to team up with us for ‘First Responders Day’ and allow our game to be a part of it. It means so much because, again, we go back to our mission of wanting to help our community. To have played in the first-ever first responder game in the arena is equally exciting as it is humbling.”

He concluded: “Eventually, we want to become a 501(c)(3) organization, we want to open up an opportunity where people can donate both to those in need and also cover some costs for team operation, and we’ll continue to identify charities we can help along the way and families we can impact as well. We’re excited for this team and its future. We have an expectation of growing this team and growing this program, especially how quickly it grew, so the sky is the limit for us.”

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About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have been providing family friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's LA Kings and the AHL's Ontario Reign. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.