UNC Hosts Second Annual Pink The Rink Exhibition for Breast Cancer Awareness
By: Brian D’aguanno
Hillsborough, NC- UNC hosted Duke for the second annual Pink the Rink exhibition on Wednesday, Oct. 10. Both teams partnered with the Theta Tua chapter of Zeta Tua Alpha to raise money for breast cancer education and awareness.
“I think it’s important because it’s much bigger than the sport,” said UNC forward Mekhi
Ashford. “We really have to come together and fight for causes bigger than all of us.”
Fans packed the stands, wearing pink to show their support for the cause and to cheer on the Tar Heels as they took on Duke in a rivalry exhibition. Just over 2 minutes into the game, UNC’s Matt Grady got the scoring starting when he made no mistake in a great individual effort to give the Tar Heels a 1-0 lead. The scoring continued when Nic Gingras made an excellent cross ice pass to Tommy
Gilligan who found the back of the net at the 7:02 mark, giving UNC a 2-0 lead. The Tar Heels added two more goals in the first, giving them a 4-0 lead heading into intermission.
A shot by Michael Vaglia went off the goaltender’s pad and found the stick of Mekhi Ashford, who buried the first goal of the second period at the 2:29 mark. Only 11 seconds later, Captain, Patrick O’Shaughnessy extended Carolina’s lead to 6-0. Duke would answer with a goal of their own at the 6:55 mark of the second to make the game 6-1.
Tommy Gilligan would record his second goal of the night when he dangled around Duke defenders and finished five hole with 6:18 remaining in the second period. After two periods, the Tar Heels led 7-1.
The Tar Heel were firing on all cylinders in the third period, starting with three goals in the first three minutes of the period. Goals by Adam Zukowski, Daniel Kauber, and Will Hilton extended UNC’s lead to 10-1 early in the third period.
Duke would add two quick goals, closing the gap to 10-3 halfway through the third period. The scoring didn’t stop when Carolina’s Nic Gingras found the back of the net on a breakaway, making the game 11-1.
Duke would respond with 4:33 left to give them their third goal of the game. The last four minutes of the period was all Carolina, as the Tar Heels added five more goals.
UNC went on to win the second annual Pink the Rink exhibition by a score of 17-5. The game was a massive success with both teams coming together to support breast cancer education and research.
“It’s always awesome to be a part of a good cause,” said forward Tommy Gilligan. “You want to be able to contribute any way you can.”
UNC goes on the road to take on NC State in another rivalry game Friday, Oct. 11 at Wake Competition Center as they look to extend their winning streak to five.