When the puck drops next Monday at the new Crookston Sports Center, the U of M, Crookston Club Hockey team won't be donning their usual maroon and gold. In a special fund raising effort to fight breast cancer, Club Hockey players will face off wearing brand new pink jerseys in their first ever "Pink the Rink" game at 7 p.m. in the new Crookston Sports Center. The game is free for U of M, Crookston students, faculty, and staff.

Club Hockey will take on the Lumberjacks from Dakota College at Bottineau, a team that has won the last three National Junior College Athletic Association national hockey titles. The pink jerseys will become part of a silent auction to raise money for Susan G. Komen Foundation over the final 8 home games left in the team's season. Senior Brent Swanson, Mason City, Iowa, is president of Club Hockey, captain of the team, and helped organize the event. They are coached by Senior Brett Saari, Green Bay, Wis.

"The combination of the first "Pink the Rink" night and the first ever game played by UMC players in the new hockey arena is going to make this game one to remember, says Swanson, "We are looking forward to playing hockey in this outstanding venue in support of a great cause, and we encourage our fans to come out and support us."

After "Pink the Rink," the Club Hockey team will face Minnesota State University Mankato on Friday and Saturday, February 5-6.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is the global leader of the breast cancer movement having invested nearly $1.5 billion since inception in 1982. As the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists, they work together to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. To learn more visit, www.komen.org.

Today the University of Minnesota, Crookston delivers more than 25 bachelor's degree programs and 50 concentrations, including several online degrees, in agriculture and natural resources; arts, humanities and social sciences; business; and math, science and technology.  With an enrollment of about 1,300 undergraduates, the Crookston campus offers a supportive, close-knit atmosphere that leads to a prestigious University of Minnesota degree.  "Small Campus. Big Degree."  To learn more, visit www.umcrookston.edu.