Friday night is the annual Pink the Rink game at SUNY Fredonia, as the Fredonia Blue Devils host the Potsdam Bears. The event is traditionally Fredonia’s most exciting and well-attended contest of the season, regardless of sport.

“It brings an emotion to the arena that’s absolutely off the charts,” said Fredonia Blue Devils head coach Jeff Meredith.

Doors to Steele Hall open at 5:30 p.m., Friday, with the puck drop at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office at the event, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for students and $2 for Fredonia State students with identification.

“It will be packed, so get there early,” Meredith said.

The annual Pink the Rink men’s hockey game at SUNY Fredonia is typically the most attended event of the year for Fredonia State Athletics.

This year’s event is the 17th “Pink the Rink” game in 18 years. To date, roughly $125,000 has been raised by the Fredonia State hockey program in the fight against cancer. All proceeds from the event benefit the American Cancer Society.

The tradition began in 2008 with former assistant coach Greg Heffernan, who was teaching a sports management course at the time. Heffernan pitched the idea as a night where guests would wear pink clothing in the stands, and over the years, the team ran with it. The following year, Meredith suggested pink socks and game-worn jerseys for the night to be auctioned off. Eventually, the presale process was established to customize the jerseys.

The team sells the game-worn custom jerseys of players in advance for $250. A unique part of Fredonia’s event is that the jerseys can have the name of a loved one on the back, rather than the player wearing the jersey. Meredith said fans often purchase a jersey as a tribute to a loved one who is battling cancer or succumbed to cancer. Doing so gives fans a way to be even more engaged in the game, while serving as a tribute to the loved one they choose to honor.

“It brought a whole different level to the benefit,” Meredith said of the change to put custom names on the backs of the jerseys. “… If that whole family is in the arena Friday night, every time that player steps over the boards or makes a save, that family is right there. They watch them race up and down and battle for 60 minutes.”

After the game concludes, a pink carpet is rolled out to center ice, while the guests who purchased the jerseys are welcomed on the ice to meet the players, receive the jersey, and take a photo together.

As meaningful as the Pink the Rink tradition is, the game itself is still meaningful for the Blue Devils, as well. Meredith acknowledged “it’s really hard” to keep his team focused on the task at hand at Pink the Rink each year because of the emotions of the event and typically the largest crowd of the year each season. His team’s leadership group prepares for the added significance of the event all week long leading up to puck drop.

“We’re battling for the playoffs with both of these teams this weekend,” Meredith said. “We can’t waste one second of that game fooling around with a lack of focus from playing in front of a big crowd. We can’t change our game at all. We’ll pay the Piper and it won’t be good.”

Fredonia leads the all-time series against Potsdam 15-14-4, but Potsdam has won the last four contests, including a 1-0 victory at Potsdam on Jan. 10. Fredonia is 10-5-1 against Potsdam all-time at Steele Hall. This weekend is the final weekend of home games for the Blue Devils in the regular season, with Potsdam on Friday followed by Canton on Saturday.

“We’ve really got to make sure that we lock in and play within ourselves, and play our game,” Meredith said. “It’s a challenge, but we’ll have conversations and hopefully we can sort some of it out.”

Fans who do not attend the game can still donate to the cause by visiting the American Cancer Society website, donate.cancer.org. Search for Fredonia State Hockey — Pink the Rink or follow the link: https://donate.cancer.org/g/jliynyxylwvyjuznyeijvtlc/directed