"Skate With The Pros" next Wednesday

MSU Press Release

As a fundraiser for MSU hockey's Shoot for a Cure initiative to raise money for the fight against children's cancer, fans will be invited to take part in the second annual "Skate with the Pros," featuring several former Michigan State players now playing professional hockey.

The event will be held on Wednesday, August 18, at Munn Ice Arena. Admission will be $10 per person, with every dollar collected going to Sparrow Hospital’s “Cure Kids Cancer” and to Brandon’s Defense Foundation.

"Skate with the Pros" is being held during Michigan State's annual Pro Camp, which brings former Spartans still playing professional hockey back to East Lansing to begin intensive training for upcoming professional team camps. After Wednesday's Pro Camp session, fans will have the opportunity to skate with several of the professional players, followed by an autograph session on the north concourse. Posters with pictures of participating players will be provided to all attendees for autographs.

Admission bracelets will be sold for $10 per person starting at 4:15 p.m. at the East and West entrances of Munn Ice Arena (on Chestnut and Birch Roads). Bracelets will be required to be on the ice or to participate in the post-skate autograph session. Skate rental will also be available for $2 per pair. Fans can skate from 5 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., then will line up for autographs with the professional players, which will begin at 6 p.m.

For the safety of everyone involved, pens/markers for autographs will NOT be allowed on the ice, and fans are asked to refrain from requesting autographs until the session on the concourse after the skate. To ensure that all participants can get through the player autograph line, each bracelet-holder will be able to obtain one autograph per participating pro player.

Skate with the Pros is being spearheaded by Justin Abdelkader and his Detroit Red Wings teammate Drew Miller, who started the Spartan Buddies program, bringing MSU student athletes to Sparrow Hospital to visit with pediatric patients. Abdelkader began "Shoot for a Cure" in January of 2008 as an offshoot of the Spartan Buddies program,. As Abdelkader and several of his teammates developed friendships with several children battling cancer and their families, the then-junior wanted to do more - and the Shoot for a Cure initative was born. Since its inception in January 2008. Shoot for a Cure has raised more than $30,000 through chuck-a-puck at MSU home games, silent auctions, and a visit from the Stanley Cup in Sept. 2008.

PRO CAMP PARTICIPANTS (Attendees still confirming; Participation will vary day-to-day):
Goaltenders: Jeff Lerg, Bobby Jarosz
Defensemen: John-Michael Liles, Andrew Hutchinson, Mike Weaver, Ethan Graham, Jared Nightingale, Brandon Warner, Mike Ratchuk, Corey Potter, Jeff Petry, Brandon Gentile
Forwards: Shawn Horcoff, David Booth, Justin Abdelkader, Tim Kennedy, Jim Slater, Drew Miller, Tim Crowder, Chris Mueller, Jim McKenzie, Corey Tropp, Nick Sucharski, Zak McClellan, Adam Hall, Mike York, Jay Sprague, Steve Guolla

Complete Press Release