BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Westfield, Mass. – The 104th Fighter Wing “Barnestormers” hockey team faced off against the 103rd Airlift Wing’s “Flying Yankees” for the fourth time on Saturday, February 28, 2026, where the Barnestormers fell to the Flying Yankees by a score of 5-1. This year also marks the 50th year since the creation of the team, and to celebrate the anniversary, the wing invited former Barnerstormer’s Chief John DeVecchi (ret.) and Chief Gene Theroux (ret.) to give a pre-game speech, who both helped form the original hockey team in 1976.
DeVecchi, a retired Chief from the 104th Fighter Wing and former base education training manager, emphasized the importance of battling through adversity by describing the grueling schedule the Barnestormer hockey team used to have during their early seasons.
“We used to play upwards of thirty games every season, and then have to go to work the next day as usual,” DeVecchi said with a smile. “But every game, we went out there trying to win.”
Motivated by DeVecchi’s speech, the team rallied together and cheered as they exited the locker room, honored to carry on the Barnestormer hockey legacy and traditions that DeVecchi and Theroux helped build.
The energy in MassMutual Center was palpable as the 104th Fighter Wing Barnestormer hockey team took the ice. As the two teams lined up during the opening ceremony, the players and everyone in attendance observed a moment of silence for a 104FW member that had recently passed away, Master Sgt. Norman H. Storer. In honor of Storer, the Barnestormer hockey team wore special F-15 stickers on their helmets with Storer’s initials “NHS.”
In less than a minute from the opening puck-drop, the Barnestormers took an immediate 1-0 lead against the Flying Yankees when Master Sgt. Michael Poudrier, a 104FW crew chief and Captain of the hockey team, executed a nifty deke past a would-be defender, allowing him to slip a wrist shot just underneath the glove of the Flying Yankees’ goalie.
“I was just able to slide it past him,” said Poudrier after the game. “It was nice to get out ahead early.” The Barnestormer lead would prove to be short-lived, however, as the Flying Yankees came roaring back, scoring two goals of their own, coming at twelve minutes and nine minutes left to go in the first period.
At the start of the second period, Barnestormers goalie CJ Ouimette made a couple of impressive glove-saves as the Flying Yankees continued to break through the Barnestormer defense, getting multiple shots on net. After two more goals from the 103AW in the middle of the second period, the Barnestormers fought back and had a spark of offense, as Senior Airman Tiernan Ashe, a maintenance technician with the 104FW, fired an impressive slap-shot that sailed just inches away from giving the Barnestormers their second goal of the match. At the end of the second period, the Flying Yankees were leading the Barnestormers 3-1.
During the third period, the Barnestormers continued to find opportunities to close the gap. The closest the Barnestormers came to getting a second goal came when Technical Sgt. Zane Collier, a heavy mobile equipment mechanic at the 104th logistics readiness squadron, fired a wrist-shot on target during a break-away with ten minutes left the 103rd goalie was barely able to get a stick on to deflect.
The score read 5-1 in favor of the Flying Yankees at the sound of the final horn, giving the 103rd Airlift Wing their fourth consecutive victory in the fun-spirited “Battle of the Bases” matchup. Despite the loss, however, MSgt Poudrier emphasized that the event was overall a great success, and helps continue to foster camaraderie between the two bases.
“These games are ultimately for fun and to raise money for ANG members and families,” said Poudrier. “We work closely with this unit for airlift and combat exercises, along with other off base functions, so really helps build the comradery between us - because after we leave all the competitive aggression on the ice, these guys are our “brothers in arms” and really are a great group of people.”
After the game, DeVecchi reflected on being able to see the 104th Fighter Wing hockey team continue to compete after starting the team fifty years ago.
“After fifty years of launching hockey at the 104th, it was a great experience to see the 104th Fighter Wing keeping the hockey tradition alive,” DeVecchi said. “Myself and retired Chief Theroux were thrilled to address the Barnestormers prior to their game.”
In the week leading up to the game, DeVecchi also visited the wing to meet the current team, and received a special 104th hockey jersey. This also marked the final year of the current Barnestormer hockey jersey, as the wing converts to the F-35A Lightning II in Summer, 2026.
Following the Battle of the Bases game was the Springfield Thunderbirds special military appreciation night, where Col. Christopher Holland, the Commander of the 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base, performed a special oath of enlistment ceremony for six recruits and future 104th Fighter Wing members.
As the 104th Fighter Wing hockey team skates into the future, they continue to embody the spirit of tradition, camaraderie, and fierce competition that has defined the team for fifty years. With the transition to the next-generation F-35 aircraft, the Barnestormer hockey team not only preserves their rich legacy but also inspires a new generation of Airmen to embrace the same values both on and off the ice.