Saturday night at Wessman Arena, something is going to look dramatically different when the ‘Jackets take the ice.  Different players?  No.  New seats in the arena?  Nope – but the change does have to do with color.  Rather than seeing black and gold everywhere, pink will be the prevalent color, as Saturday night the ‘Jackets will host “Pink the Rink,” to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.

It isn’t something new, and isn’t something original, but it is something that is extremely important and UW-Superior, in conjunction with the Superior Jaycees wanted to do their part.

“A lot of schools and professional teams have done this and we all felt it was our turn to get involved and try to do something,” said Steve Kirk, assistant director of campus recreation at UW-Superior.  “We’re a part of a growing trend of athletic teams that are doing our part for awareness of breast cancer.  It should be a great night and hopefully we can raise some good money for cancer research with ‘Pink the Rink.’”

Pink the Rink is a campaign designed to help the public become more informed about breast cancer, while raising money for a cure. The Yellowjacket hockey players will wear pink collector’s edition jerseys, which will then be auctioned off to benefit breast cancer research at SMDC.

“The jerseys are going to look strange for the first few minutes, believe me,” said Yellowjacket Head Coach Dan Stauber.  “But it is all for such a great cause that we’re happy to do it and wear something we’re not used to for one night.”

Bidding for the jerseys will begin at $100 and will commence at 5:00 p.m. on February 7 and end one hour after the game.  In addition to the jerseys being auctioned off there is apparel for sale at www.uwsuper.edu/athletics.

Additionally, the Superior Jaycees and the Yellowjackets are encouraging fans to wear pink attire to support the cause when attending the games. There will be a limited supply of merchandise available at the game for purchase.  All proceeds from the sale of clothing will go to SMDC.

“We had some good success with the auctioning of the jerseys at the women’s game last week, and I think the men’s league will be even better,” Kirk said.  “The bottom line is we just want to do everything we can to raise awareness of breast cancer and raise money to benefit those in need right here in our community.”

And it isn’t going to be just limited to breast cancer.

“There are a lot of other cancers out there that don’t get the publicity or the research monies that breast cancer does,” Kirk said.  “This is something that I’d like to keep working with and I’d like to see us do a benefit for a different kind of cancer each year. 

“No matter the cancer, the cause is so great that people are going to rally around it.”

Community Businesses are also supporting the event by sponsoring the cause.  SMDC, Play It Again Sports, Murphy Oil, National Bank of Commerce, and Great Clips have also teamed up with the Superior Jaycees to support this incredible cause.

For more information about Pink the Rink at UW-Superior, contact Steve Kirk at skirk@uwsuper.edu or 715-394-8361.