CHS boys and girls hockey participated again in the second annual Crookston Pirate Hockey Fights Cancer games through the Minnesota Hockey Fights Cancer Organization. They raised the most money out of all the participating hockey programs statewide.
“This is an organization that started in Rosemount, Minnesota,” said CHS boys hockey coach Josh Hardy, “They run this every year for mini-mites all the way up to high school, and typically there’s a lot of teams. Last year was the first year we did it, and we raised about $14,000 for the Northwest Minnesota Cancer Crusaders. This year, we decided to raise money for one of our own with Dani Sylvester, who’s fighting breast cancer. She’s a huge part of our hockey community.” Sylvester has run the Mini-Mite 1-2 and Learn to Skate programs for multiple years, and under her leadership, the community has seen explosive growth in participants.Â
Crookston raised a staggering $30,980 for Sylvester through Minnesota Hockey Fights Cancer, which is a massive jump from the $14,000 raised a year ago. The fundraising efforts this year boasted Crookston hockey as the number one fundraising program in the state through the Minnesota Fights Hockey Organization. The top five in the program included-
-Crookston High School raising $30,980
-Waconia High School raising $18,974
-Rosemount High School raising $13,709
-Chaska Chanhassen raising $13,315
-Rosemount Area Schools raising $10,657
Many community members came together during a doubleheader in January, where the boys took on Warroad, and the girls played East Grand Forks at the Crookston Sports Center. Minnesota Hockey Fights Cancer was highlighted during the day along with Dani Sylvester, who dropped the puck for the girls’ game—the day also included a silent auction with all proceeds and donations going toward Sylvester and the Minnesota Hockey Fights Cancer Organization.
“It was pretty cool that we were able to help somebody out like that,” said Hardy, “Obviously, the goal with things like this is we want to help out a family member to show how important it is that if you can help out do so. That’s the message we wanted to send to both of our teams: the importance of community, and this was the most significant thing we did this year. It’s not the wins and losses, but to come together and help out someone was pretty cool, and hopefully, they can take the rest of their lives with them.”
Hardy explained that this year’s donations and efforts speak volumes about what kind of community Crookston is and that it should send a positive message to upcoming and returning hockey players. “This community has been amazing,” said Hardy, “My family and I have lived here for eight years now, and it just says a lot about what Crookston is as a community and how they’re willing to fight for their own.”
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