MONTREAL — They dug deep from across the land, and last Thursday they assembled at a Brossard restaurant to claim their winnings, signed by Canadiens goaltender Carey Price.

An auction ending mid-December of 31 full-sized Price helmet masks, themed to his association with the Ubisoft Canada-created video game Assassin’s Creed III, raised $27,398 for charities coast to coast.

Last week, 26 of the winners came from as far away as Price’s native British Columbia to meet the netminder — and teammates Josh Gorges and Brendan Gallagher — at an intimate event at Brossard’s Le Skratch, having their masks numbered and signed by Price.

Nine of the 31 masks, produced by Swedish mask painter Dave Gunnarsson from Ubisoft artwork, raised funds for local causes: the children’s foundations of the Canadiens, Montreal General Hospital and Hôpital Ste-Justine, Quebec Society for Disabled Children, Mile-End Mission, Centraide, Club des petits déjeuners, Make-A-Wish Québec, and Opération Enfant Soleil (part of the Children’s Miracle Network).

The auction and special evening was organized by Wess Perisa, principal of Hockey Helps, which assembles beneath one roof the charitable efforts of every player he represents for benevolent and marketing endeavours. His Canadiens stable includes Price, Gorges, Brian Gionta, Travis Moen, Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais, Brandon Prust, Colby Armstrong and the rookie Gallagher.

“When my agent (Gerry Johansson) and Wess put it to me, and they told me 31 charities would benefit, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Price said in December as the auction got underway. “It was an opportunity to promote the (Assassin’s Creed III) game and for me to support 31 charities.”

Calvin Adams, a Tim Hortons restaurant franchisee in Mission, B.C., wrote the largest cheque, spending $2,012 for a mask. Adams and his son, Curtis, flew to Montreal to meet Price and have their mask signed.

“Tim Hortons gave us a lot of support with their own efforts to raise awareness of the auction,” said Perisa, who invited a company representative to last week’s event.

The same Le Skratch, and an adjacent location, will be the site of a Feb. 15 charity fundraiser billed as a welcome-to-the-Canadiens event for Prust, the popular, rough-edged addition to this year’s club.

The evening will feature Prust and a few teammates to be confirmed meeting young fans from 6-7 p.m., before the 18-and-over crowd adjourns to Le Skratch for another couple of hours.

Benefiting a charity to be named, Perisa is organizing a modest-cost autograph signing and perhaps a small souvenir sale and auction.

Details on the Prust event will be posted in the next few days at hockeyhelps.com.

dstubbs@montrealgazette.com

Twitter: @Dave_Stubbs