BRADFORD BULLDOGS are bringing their past and present together as they take to the ice to raise money for the charity Breast Cancer Now.

Ahead of the new season, a number former Bulldogs players will line up alongside members from the 2022-23 roster as a curtain raiser to the new campaign.

The game will take place at Bradford Ice Arena on Saturday, August 27, with face-off being at 4.45pm.

Selection for both line-ups has more or less been finalised, although a number of former players are yet to be announced and will be revealed in the next week or so.

Head coach Andy Brown – who will himself come out of ‘retirement’ to line up for one of the teams – said the club hoped to get as many people through the door as possible to raise money for a cause that is close to the hearts of several members of the Bulldogs’ organisation whose friends and families have been affected by the illness in recent years.

Speaking to the Bradford Bulldogs media team, Brown said: “It’s a very worthy cause that we are trying to raise money for, a number of people at the club have been personally affected by this terrible illness recently, some very recently.

“As a club we wanted to do something to raise the profile of Breast Cancer Now, but also try and help make some kind of meaningful financial contribution, too.

“We thought it best to stick to what we know best, so we’ve come up with the idea to invite some of our former players back to battle it out with our current crop.

“It’s going to be a great opportunity for hockey fans – and not just followers of the Bulldogs – to come down and see some of the best players we have produced in recent years, as well as some of the young talent we have emerging at our club.

“Most of all, though, it is about raising money and awareness for an extremely worthy cause and we hope as many people as possible come down and show their support for Breast Cancer Now.”

The club are currently finalising plans on how fans can purchase game-worn jerseys and the process for auctioning off selected jerseys.

The players confirmed as playing on August 27 are as follows – Bulldogs ‘A’: Matty Cross, Andy Brown, Matt Viney, Gavin Penn, Josh Richardson, Sam Bolwell, James Gledhill, Hannah Gibson, Alex Lutwyche, Jack Wooding, Dean Boothroyd, Abbie Culshaw

Bulldogs ‘B’: Chris Butler, Dave Williams, Josh Stockton, Mark Higson, Lucas Vince, Reece Cairney-Witters, Ben Darbyshire, Kacper Andrukianiec, Connor Medley, Matty Barlow, Alex Mitchell 

Tickets for the events are priced at £5 adults while Under-16s can get in for just £1. Report: Bulldogs Media