RELEASE COURTESY OF SAINT ANSELM ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's and women's ice hockey teams presented a check to Joseph Pepe, MD, President & CEO of Catholic Medical Center, in April at Sullivan Arena with the proceeds from the team's ninth annual Pink in the Rink Weekend.
The Hawks held the event on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2 at Sullivan Arena and raised over $3,300, bringing the event's total to over $28,000 through the years. During the week leading up to the event, the men's and women's teams sold t-shirts and ribbons to support the fight against breast cancer.
Women's ice hockey head coach Kerstin Matthews, who just completed her 11th season at the helm with a New England Women's Ice Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) Championship and brought in NEWHA Coach of the Year honors, always looks forward to the annual event.
"Pink in the Rink is a weekend we look forward to every year," she began. "The programs have been raising money for over 11 years. It is great to have partnered up with Catholic Medical Center and that we can do this fundraising weekend for our local community," Matthews concluded.
The women's team wore their pink alternate uniforms during their home games against Saint Michael's. The men's team donned pink jerseys for warmups prior to their games against the Purple Knights to raise awareness for the cause.
Men's ice hockey head coach Larry Rocha '79, who just completed his first season behind the bench, brought the team back to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship game for the second year in a row. He shared his thoughts on the event as well.
"The Pink the Rink event is a tribute to the student-athletes on the men's and women's ice hockey teams' willingness to spread awareness of breast cancer and raise money for the Catholic Medical Center," Rocha stated. "The efforts of both teams and the generosity of the Saint Anselm community to support such a worthy cause is gratifying."