Royals Thank Fans for Support in Pink in the Rink Celebration

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL extend a sincere 'thank you' to all fans and participants in the team’s Ninth Annual Pink in the Rink Celebration at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania on Saturday, February 13. Not only did the Royals improve the team’s record in PIR games to 8-1-0-0 with a 4-1 victory over the Adirondack Thunder on the pink-tinged ice that night, the organization, along with the energetic assistance of a season high crowd of 7,125, raised over $14,000 for the American Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County.

The total fund-raising effort was comprised of the several elements, including proceeds generated from (iii) a portion of ticket proceeds to the game; (ii) two successful (if somewhat improbable) shots in the Diamond Credit Union ‘Shoot for Comm-younity’ Initiative; and (iii) the post-game jersey auction of the special pink-inspired jerseys worn by the Royals in the team’s victory that night.

“It never ceases to amaze us how generous Royals’ fans are with their time and financial support for the causes that are important to our community,” said Royals’ Team President Drew Bell. “We want to express our sincere thanks to everyone who came out to the game and provided this outpouring of support for the American Cancer Society and Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County—as well as our hockey team. We also want to thank the representatives of ACS and BCSS for all of their efforts in making our ninth Pink in the Rink game another truly special event.”

“The annual Pink in the Rink game is a chance for the rough and tumble hockey world to show their tender, caring side,” said Robin Shilling, a member of the Board of Directors for Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County. “We want to thank everyone in the Royals’ hockey community for sharing their energy, excitement and positive emotional support for our cancer patients and survivors, who couldn’t help but have their collective spirits raised in this fun and productive night.”

“The American Cancer Society is so grateful to have been chosen as a beneficiary of this year’s Pink in the Rink game,” said Amy Miller, Senior Community Manager, East Central Division, of the American Cancer Society. “We are absolutely thrilled by the number of Royals fans and members of the community who came out on that cold, blustery night to support the work we do to help those facing cancer.”

“Two years ago, Diamond Credit Union partnered with the Royals in our ‘Saturday Shoot For Comm-younity’ initiative with the intent of helping various local charitable organizations throughout the year,” said Todd Rothenberger, Senior Vice President of Diamond Credit Union. “But, the Pink in the Rink game is particularly important to us because Diamond CU is also a huge supporter of the American Cancer Society, with a very active team in the ACS Relay for Life activities. The PIR event was particularly exciting for us because our employee, Brooke Haughney, who was shooting on behalf of her mother, a proud cancer survivor, and who has absolutely no hockey experience whatsoever—at least that she’s admitted to us—made both long-range shots in the intermission event to earn the full $1,000 donation from Diamond Credit Union to the American Cancer Society, which is the first time this has happened in the two year history of our initiative.”

The Royals return to action on Friday (February 26 @ 7:05 pm) when the team travels to First Arena in Elmira, New York, to face the Elmira Jackals. That game can be heard on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games, Friday’s game in Elmira will be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

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