Although the Peterborough Petes lost to the Oshawa Generals at the 14th annual Pink In The Rink fundraising campaign at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday night (February 4), cancer patients and survivors were the ultimate winners.
The campaign, which raised a preliminary total of $62,600 for cancer care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), also celebrated and honoured local hockey moms who have been affected by cancer.
Before a record crowd of 3,912, five local hockey moms and campaign ambassadors — Jennie Ireland, Dara Gosselin, Elke Rye, Karen Tarkington, and Dana Thorn — joined campaign ambassador and PRHC oncologist Dr. Neera Jeyabalan and PRHC Foundation president and CEO Leslie Heighway on the ice before the game for a ceremony recognizing the moms’ cancer journeys.
Pre-game funds were raised through the five hockey mom ambassadors’ fundraising pages and Chuck-a-Puck and T-shirt sales, along with the auction of game-worn Pink In The Rink jerseys, with the single highest bid $3,000 for the jersey worn by Petes left-winger Brennan Othmann. One fan attending the game also won a record $9,360 in a 50/50 draw.
Despite the fundraising success, the Generals beat the Petes by a score of 7-5. Tommy Purdeller led the scoring for the Petes with two goals, while Jonathan Melee added a goal and two assists. J.R. Avon and Sam Mayer also each had a goal, and Owen Beck had two assists. Brian Zanetti, Gavin White, Chase Stillman, and Jax Dubois also each had an assist.
The Petes and the Generals will face off again at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night (February 9) for the Indigenous Heritage Night game.
