TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's hockey team hosted their first annual Kids Hockey Day on Sunday, December 9th at the outdoor rink at Regent Park, connecting with community members and providing opportunities for youth.

The Rams held a short practice for the community to watch, then held a free skate with refreshments and snacks available before an autograph session closed the afternoon.

Sixteen Rams players were out on the ice engaging with nearly 50 community kids throughout the day.

"Our student-athletes do a lot of work in the neighbourhood schools tutoring a select group of kids," said assistant coach Nathaniel Brooks who helped organize the day. "This event was driven by our student-athletes who wanted to reach out to the entire community. Yesterday gave them the opportunity to do that, and we are thrilled that we could make this happen and look forward to doing it again."

The event would not have been made possible without the support from Paramount Fine Foods, Uncle Betty's Diner, Tim Horton's, and the Toronto Police, led by Ed Parks. The Rams would also like to thank the City of Toronto for the ice availability.

The Rams, ranked No. 5 in the country, will be back on the ice on January 4 when they visit the Brock Badgers to open the second half of the season. The first home game of 2019 will be the next night when the Rams host the Guelph Gryphons at the Mattamy Athletic Centre on January 5 at 7:15 p.m.