Charity tournament a fun time for Islanders

Golf has a unique ability to span generations and reunite families, including the family that bleeds blue and orange. Once a year, at the McMahon Family Golf Outing, the Islanders eras come together in one best-ball, best-of-times tournament.

So there, at Middle Island Country Club Saturday, was Jean Potvin, who joined the Islanders in 1973, speaking in French with Claude Lapointe, who was playing for them 30 years later. Islanders icon Bob Nystrom was there. So were Hall of Famers Denis Potvin and Pat LaFontaine and role players Gord Dineen and Mick Vukota.

"I was always proud to be an Islander and I always will be proud," said Vukota, who married a Hofstra graduate he met while he was playing at Nassau Coliseum and has three hockey-playing sons. "I'm still indebted to them. All the great things I have in my life, I owe to them."

The turnout is a tribute to Joe McMahon, the former equipment manager who worked for the team for 19 years. He established the charity tournament 11 years ago in honor of his mother, Lee, who died in 1999 of brain cancer. The outing became more poignant and urgent in 2002 when Joe and Dorothy's 1-year-old son Aidan died of liver disease.

Proceeds (www.lam-foundation.com) go to the American Liver Foundation, Hospice Care Network and Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. And proceeds are plenty. The tournament and memorabilia auction raised about $100,000 this year, McMahon said.

"It's so rewarding that we were able to turn our tragedy into something that can help other people, families that we don't know," he said. It is a bonus that he gets to share stories with people he does know. He and Denis Potvin recalled cramped training camp at Cantiague Park, where the Islanders put on those familiar uniforms in the women's locker room.

"I really care about that logo," McMahon said.

"This outing makes a great reunion. Joe does great work, he really takes care of everybody," said Benoit Hogue, who lives and works on Long Island. "We don't get to do much together. We don't have events like say, the Yankees do. This is the only time we get to see the guys.''

McMahon's outing is the de facto Islanders Oldtimers Game. It is the chance, especially for players who were not around for the Stanley Cup years, to recall how much fun it was here. It felt like 1993 again when Hogue was needling Patrick Flatley about being in the winning foursome. "I told him, 'It wasn't because of anything you did,''' the former forward said.

"It's funny that it doesn't seem that long ago, but when we're sitting next to each other, we realize it has been 15 years," said Vukota, who lives in Martha's Vineyard, having retired from the police department and now is a manager for a waste management firm.

Derek King, now an assistant coach for the minor league Toronto Marlies, was the cornerstone of the winning foursome, which also included Flatley and Dineen. Former defenseman and current Islanders assistant coach Dean Chynoweth also played, as did Brian Mullen and Mike Hordy.

"It's a good, good crew," McMahon said, adding that spirits were so high at the auction afterward that a signed Denis Potvin jersey went for $1,500 - from a Rangers fan.

Former Islanders say that showing up is the least they can do for McMahon. "When you're a fourth-line winger, you don't get the stick representatives and skate representatives coming to you," Vukota said. "So Joey always took care of his guys, he made sure we had good sticks and skates."

On Saturday, the golf was as good as the mood. "We're all competitive," Hogue said. They're just not pros. McMahon diplomatically said Vukota's hands aren't soft because of his many fights. "That's my excuse," Vukota said, "when I'm around the green."