Pink rink makes fans think, raises money to fight cancer

NORFOLK

Just about everything at the Norfolk Admirals hockey game was turned pink Saturday night. Even the ice.

The “Pink in the Rink” game was a fundraiser for the Tidewater affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which fights breast cancer.

“You normally wouldn’t equate hockey players with breast cancer,” said Ilona Webb-Bruner, the local executive director for Komen. “Every year it’s gotten bigger and bigger.”

Cassi Fritzius, a five-year breast cancer survivor from Gloucester County, dropped a ceremonial puck on the ice at Scope after riding out in a pink Hummer limo.

So how is pink ice made?

After an Admirals game Friday night, workers shaved down the ice. About midnight, they began spraying a special pink paint.

Throughout the night, they added layers of water. Everything was frozen and ready when the Admirals practiced at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“It’s a partnership that just makes sense,” said Joe Gregory, vice president of the Admirals of the American Hockey League.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded by Nancy Brinker in 1982 after her sister, Susan G. Komen of Peoria, Ill., died of breast cancer in 1980 at age 36.

Patrick Wilson, (757) 446-2957, patrick.wilson@pilotonline.com

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