Wounded veteran Brandon Rumbaugh (USMC) drops the puck during the honorary face-off alongside Paul Mango (U.S. Army/West Point) and before team captains (18) Steve Monteleone ofg the Pittsburgh Warriors and (9) K.D. Walker of the Pa. State Police before the teams' Saturday charity game benefitting the It's All About The Warrior Foundation at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township.

CRANBERRY TWP — After working with Olde Stonewall Golf Course on a charity golf tournament benefitting veterans six years ago, Steve Monteleone decided to make a career change.

A former high school football and hockey coach, Monteleone began channeling his time into the It's All About the Warrior Foundation, which he founded.

IAWF has raised $1.5 million for wounded veterans in the tri-state area since 2012. Another $18,000 was added Saturday when the Pittsburgh Warriors — a hockey team of all veterans created through IAWF in December of 2017 — took on the Pennsylvania State Police in a charity game at the UPMC Lemieux Complex.

The Pittsburgh Warriors have two teams and 40 total players.

“Just another way to get the word out as to what we're all about,” said Monteleone, 52, himself a wounded veteran who served in the Air Force for seven years.

Monteleone serves as coach and general manager of the teams.

Four players on the Pittsburgh Warriors' roster are from Butler County — David Thompson of Cranberry Township, Travis Uhl, John Krill and Phil Elko of Butler.

The police won the game, 7-5.

Ultimately, veterans in this region won more.

“I'm sure we'll be playing charity games like this again,” Monteleone said. Since we got this (IATW) thing started, it's just blown up ... the bigger, the better.”

A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.