By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
While they have been friendly legal rivals for nearly a century, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Wayne State University Law School will take that rivalry to an altogether different level in January at a venue that has undergone a rebirth of its own.
Clark Park, a venerable city park that received a $3.3 million refresh in 2023, will be the site on January 20 of a charity hockey game pitting teams representing Detroit’s two law schools. The game, which is the brainchild of Detroit Mercy Law student Luca Quenneville, will be for a worthy cause – the Michigan State Bar Foundation Access to Justice Campaign, a fund-raising effort in support of civil legal aid programs benefitting low-income families across Michigan.
“We are calling it the ‘Woodward Classic,’ a play on words from the NHL’s ‘Winter Classic,’” Quenneville said of the inaugural event to be played on the only regulation-sized outdoor ice hockey rink in Metro Detroit. “We have just started to fund-raise and we are off to a very good start. This is something that I am hoping to make an annual tradition.”
Several prominent law firms in Michigan are among the early sponsors of the event, which will showcase the hockey talents of players from the respective law schools, according to Quenneville.
A 2L student at Detroit Mercy Law, Quenneville grew up in nearby Windsor, where he played hockey throughout his youth.
“Since I’m from Canada, the sport of hockey is ingrained in us,” proclaimed Quenneville, who holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Windsor. “For the past couple of years, some of us wished we had a hockey team at the law school.”
That desire grew after some old hockey jerseys were uncovered in storage at the law school, Quenneville indicated.
“After talking with some alums, we discovered that there was a hockey team here for a number of years until it got disbanded during COVID,” Quenneville noted. “Wayne State, on the other hand, still has a team that regularly plays in local leagues and in charity events.”
Quenneville, who is enrolled in the Joint JD-MBA Program at University of Detroit Mercy, said the “idea (for the hockey game) came together in the middle of October, so my team and I have been hustling to put this together.”
Assisting Quenneville with preparations for the January 20 event, which will run from 6-8 p.m. at the Clark Park rink on Detroit’s southwest side near Mexicantown, is Detroit Mercy Law classmate Alec Evans and Wayne State’s Sergei Nosovich and Cole Luken.
“Having their help in organizing this has been great, especially since this is the first time we’ve done anything like this,” said Quenneville, who believes the outdoor setting will only add to the appeal of the winter event.
“Hockey is meant to be played outdoors, and the Clark Park rink will be a perfect setting for a fun event like this,” he declared.
For those who would like to lend a hand or are interested in contributing to the fund-raiser, Quenneville can be reached at quennelr@udmercy.edu.
Legal News
While they have been friendly legal rivals for nearly a century, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and Wayne State University Law School will take that rivalry to an altogether different level in January at a venue that has undergone a rebirth of its own.
Clark Park, a venerable city park that received a $3.3 million refresh in 2023, will be the site on January 20 of a charity hockey game pitting teams representing Detroit’s two law schools. The game, which is the brainchild of Detroit Mercy Law student Luca Quenneville, will be for a worthy cause – the Michigan State Bar Foundation Access to Justice Campaign, a fund-raising effort in support of civil legal aid programs benefitting low-income families across Michigan.
“We are calling it the ‘Woodward Classic,’ a play on words from the NHL’s ‘Winter Classic,’” Quenneville said of the inaugural event to be played on the only regulation-sized outdoor ice hockey rink in Metro Detroit. “We have just started to fund-raise and we are off to a very good start. This is something that I am hoping to make an annual tradition.”
Several prominent law firms in Michigan are among the early sponsors of the event, which will showcase the hockey talents of players from the respective law schools, according to Quenneville.
A 2L student at Detroit Mercy Law, Quenneville grew up in nearby Windsor, where he played hockey throughout his youth.
“Since I’m from Canada, the sport of hockey is ingrained in us,” proclaimed Quenneville, who holds a degree in civil engineering from the University of Windsor. “For the past couple of years, some of us wished we had a hockey team at the law school.”
That desire grew after some old hockey jerseys were uncovered in storage at the law school, Quenneville indicated.
“After talking with some alums, we discovered that there was a hockey team here for a number of years until it got disbanded during COVID,” Quenneville noted. “Wayne State, on the other hand, still has a team that regularly plays in local leagues and in charity events.”
Quenneville, who is enrolled in the Joint JD-MBA Program at University of Detroit Mercy, said the “idea (for the hockey game) came together in the middle of October, so my team and I have been hustling to put this together.”
Assisting Quenneville with preparations for the January 20 event, which will run from 6-8 p.m. at the Clark Park rink on Detroit’s southwest side near Mexicantown, is Detroit Mercy Law classmate Alec Evans and Wayne State’s Sergei Nosovich and Cole Luken.
“Having their help in organizing this has been great, especially since this is the first time we’ve done anything like this,” said Quenneville, who believes the outdoor setting will only add to the appeal of the winter event.
“Hockey is meant to be played outdoors, and the Clark Park rink will be a perfect setting for a fun event like this,” he declared.
For those who would like to lend a hand or are interested in contributing to the fund-raiser, Quenneville can be reached at quennelr@udmercy.edu.
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