By Bruce Berlet
Though this space is usually filled with information and features on the Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale and New York Rangers, special occasions bring special consideration.
The two games for the Yale women’s hockey team this weekend have special meaning, so they’re receiving special mention here.
When the Bulldogs host RPI on Friday night at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, it will be “White Out of Mandi,” a fundraiser for their teammate Mandi Schwartz, who is battling cancer. No admission will be charged, and fans are asked to come wearing white or buy one of the “White Out” t-shirts that will be on sale at the game.
Friday’s event is the latest long-distance show of support for Mandi and her family, as she is currently in Seattle recovering from a life-saving stem cell transplant. She has been battling acute myeloid leukemia for nearly two years now. Last Saturday, the Yale Club of New Haven partnered with the Yale Athletics Department and the Quinnipiac Athletics Department for “Mandi’s March,” a 7.5-mile trek from Hamden to New Haven before the Yale-Quinnipiac men’s game that raised $4,000 for Mandi and her family.
Friday’s “White Out for Mandi” is designed to make it as easy as possible for fans to help. In addition to accepting donations in place of an admission charge, Mandi’s teammates are lining up pledges from donors based on the attendance total. The goal is to get as many people as possible into Ingalls (capacity 3,500), with all of them wearing white, as a show of support for Mandi and her family. There will also be an auction of sports memorabilia to raise funds.
There could be a few tears shed before the game when Mandi’s former hockey classmates Alyssa Clarke and Berit Johnson will address the crowd. Freshman forward Patricia McGauley, Mandi’s fellow native of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, and Notre Dame graduate will sing the national anthem.
The Bulldogs also play Saturday night against Union. Both games will be live on www.yalebulldogs.com.
Rangers’ Heritage Week Starts Friday
This season is the Rangers’ 85th anniversary and in honor of that milestone, the team is unveiling Heritage Week, a weeklong schedule of activities and programming from Friday through Nov. 17 that will provide fans with many opportunities to help celebrate the team’s history.
The celebration begins Friday, when the Rangers unveil a new third jersey that the team will wear during select regular-season games. The jersey is a contemporized throwback that will pay homage to Rangers’ rich history and iconic alumni. A special version of the jersey featuring unique embellishments will be available only at Madison Square Garden.
Also on Friday, there will two grand launch events at the Rink at Rockefeller Center and the NHL Powered by Reebok store on Sixth Avenue. Both events will feature top current Rangers players and alumni, including Hockey Hall of Famer and Cheshire native Brian Leetch, former Whalers enforcer Nick Fotiu, Eddie Giacomin, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Vic Hadfield, Brian Mullen, Gilles Villemure and Pete Stemkowski.
The event at Rockefeller Center will feature the unveiling of the third jersey at 7 p.m., followed by a free public skate for fans from 8 p.m. to midnight. At the same time, the NHL Store will offer Rangers fans the opportunity to be the first to don the new jersey from 6 to 10 p.m. The lucky customer who makes the first purchase of the anniversary jersey will win a package that includes tickets to the home game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 17, when the Rangers will skate in their heritage jerseys for the first time. Rangers past and present will visit the NHL Store throughout the night, stepping into the radio booth for interviews for Sirius/XM’s NHL Live! show. Fans will have the opportunity to submit questions for the radio interviews and win raffle prizes and giveaways.
On Saturday, Rangers partner community rinks will host free public skating sessions to celebrate the anniversary. The sessions will feature appearances by Rangers alumni, raffles and fan giveaways at Floyd Hall Arena, 1:15-3:15 p.m. with Duguay; Danbury Arena, 1:30-2:30 p.m. with Hadfield; Brewster Arena, 3:30-4:30 p.m. with Hadfield; World Ice Arena, noon-1:30 p.m. with Giacomin; Staten Island Skating Pavilion, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Fotiu; and Stergiopoulos Rink, 2:30-4:30 p.m. with Giacomin.
Throughout the week, Rangers fans will be treated to a special Hockey Hall of Fame exhibit located at the mall area in front of MSG. Featured items will include Conn Smyth, Norris, Calder and Vezina Trophies, game-used equipment from Rangers greats, as well as a one-of-a-kind display area highlighting the evolution of the Rangers jersey ranging from the original 1926 jersey to the 85th anniversary heritage jersey.
The weeklong celebration will end Feb. 17 with a special Heritage Night when the Rangers play the Bruins wearing the jersey for the first time.
All-Wolf Pack Team To Be Announced Saturday
The All-Time Wolf Pack Team, selected by a vote of the fans, will be announced Saturday night before a game against the Springfield Falcons, the last for the Wolf Pack at the XL Center. The night is presented by Xfinity, and the first 3,000 fans will receive a free Wolf Pack commemorative poster. There will also be video highlights of the 13-plus years of the team, which will be re-branded as the Connecticut Whale on Nov. 27 against the Sound Tigers.
Fans voted for one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards. The candidates were goaltenders Jason LaBarbera, J.F. Labbe and Steve Valiquette, defensemen Dan Girardi, Mike Mottau, Thomas Pock, Corey Potter, Dale Purinton and Terry Virtue and forwards Ken Gernander, Dane Byers, Derek Armstrong, Nigel Dawes, Alex Giroux, Todd Hall, Greg Moore, P.A. Parenteau, Richard Scott, Brad Smyth, P.J. Stock and Craig Weller.
Wolf Pack Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday
The Wolf Pack will host their annual Bowl-a-Thon on Sunday at the AMF Silver Lanes, 748 Silver Lane, East Hartford. There will be sessions at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
All Wolf Pack players will be bowling with teams of four bowlers, who have collected pledges to benefit Special Olympics Connecticut Eastern Region. A minimum pledge of $200 is required for a team to enter, and the top fund-raising teams will win prizes, including the use of luxury suites at Wolf Pack home games.
Register online at www.soct.org. For more information, call 877-660-6667.
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