Red Brick Winter Classic hits the ice in Oxford in late December

Red Brick Winter Classic, a 3-on-3 youth hockey tournament, is hitting the ice Dec. 26 and 27, with the goal of raising money for youth hockey players.

Tournament games will take place at Goggin Ice Center from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, with two games being played simultaneously. 

Over 150 players have signed up to participate in the tournament so far, with 17 teams, consisting of four for ages eight and under (8U), five for ages 10 and under (10U), four for ages 12 and under (12U) and four for ages 14 and under(14U), competing in the yearly tournament. Each individual team has a goalie and 6 to 7 players. 

The tournament is hosted by the Taylor Metcalf Fund, and donations from the event will be used to support hockey players through scholarships and financial aid. 

The Taylor Metcalf Fund started in the late 1990s by a group of Oxford youth hockey coaches, in honor of Taylor Metcalf, a Talawanda High School student and athlete who died in a car accident in 1995 at age 15. 

Emily Greenberg, Taylor Metcalf Fund board member and Talawanda High School graduate, was friends with Taylor as a student.

“It’s easy for me to talk about Taylor, because he was such an amazing kid and such a close friend,” Greenberg said. 

For the past three years, Greenberg has worked heavily to raise money for the fund’s yearly events, like the Taylor Metcalf Fund Adult Tournament, Miami Youth Hockey Dipalo Tournament, Dan Sens Memorial Golf Outing and Kroger Community Rewards.

According to Greenberg, the goal for this year’s event is to raise money to pay operational expenses for the tournament, which includes ice time, custom jerseys, advertisement and printing fees, holiday ornaments given to tournament winners and a new stipend for referees of the tournament. Remaining funds will go towards scholarships and airfare and travel costs for local teams during the hockey season.

In the 2023-24 season, the fund granted $24,000 in scholarships; in the 2024-25 season, over $47,000 was granted in scholarships. This year, $23,000 in scholarships have already been awarded. 

Greenberg spoke about the importance of helping young athletes participating in this event.

“As these kids get older, they understand the importance of raising this money,” she said. “Many of them know that there is a kid on their team that wouldn’t be playing if this money wasn’t here.”

“It’s not just about getting the puck into the goal,” Greenberg said, “it’s helping out those (kids) – because we are all, at some point, going to need assistance. 

More information about registration and the tournament can be found on the Miami Youth Hockey website.