KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Scott Matzka retired from a decorated professional hockey career to work in Kalamazoo with his wife and two young children, but he says it was when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS, that his life's purpose was revealed.
A 38-year-old husband and father of two young kids, Scott says its his turn to stand up for others and raise money to find a cure for this debilitating disease.
Scott Matzka is a former University of Michigan hockey player who - in his first of four seasons - assisted with the game-winning overtime goal to help the Wolverines skate to their '98 NCAA championship. An NHL prospect, Scott went on to play professional hockey for the ECHL and AHL for two years, then another nine seasons in Europe.
“In a way I was sort of destined to play hockey," Scott smiled, recalling his early years skating with his older brother while growing up in Port Huron.
It was sometime in fall of 2013 that he says he noticed something changed; abstract symptoms he almost couldn't put into words.
“I would reach into the middle console to grab something, and I would get cramping in my wrist or my forearm," he said. "If I made a fist it was really difficult sometimes to release the fist.”...READ MORE