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Fredonia's Pink The Rink '14 Raised Record $10K

FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The final tally for Pink The Rink 2014 resulted in a $10,000 donation from Fredonia State men's hockey to the American Cancer Society.

Mike Porpiglia, a representative for the Eastern Division of the American Cancer Society, came to campus Monday afternoon to personally thank Blue Devil head coach Jeff Meredith, and to accept a check for the final $1,900 in donations.

The team previously presented ACS with a check for $8,100.

The final $10,000 donation is a new Pink The Rink record.

"This is wonderful, how amazing!," Mr. Porpiglia wrote to Coach Meredith last week as they were making arrangements for Monday's visit.

Coach Meredith also received an e-mail from Dr. JoAnna Jacobs, ACS regional senior representative for community engagement, based out of Amherst.

"Congratulations, Coach Meredith," Dr. Jacobs wrote, "and the SUNY Fredonia community — what an accomplishment! Thank you for all of your efforts and dedication! I don't believe that we can thank you enough for so wholeheartedly supporting the mission of the American Cancer Society in Western New York."

The Blue Devils raised the money through the sale of game-worn pink jerseys -- personalized with the names of loved ones who have fought cancer -- for $250 each. The players wore the jerseys, plus pink socks, for the Feb. 1 home game vs. the Morrisville State Mustangs.

This year's ante was higher than in previous years due in part to one jersey, dedicated to Fredonia resident Alice Moore, eliciting over $1,100 in donations. Ms. Moore -- the daughter of former Blue Devil men's basketball coach Kevin Moore -- received the jersey as part of the annual post-game ceremony.

In addition, all four on-ice officials wore pink-and-black striped shirts for the game for the first time. All four jerseys were either sold or auctioned off and the receipts added to the final tally.

Since Pink The Rink began in 2007, the Fredonia State men's hockey team has raised nearly $52,000 for breast cancer research. That figure does not include all the gate receipts collected by the athletic department and donated to the American Cancer Society over the years. This year's gate brought in approximately $3,000.