QUEENSBURY — The Spartans boys ice hockey team will hold the 12th annual Pink the Rink event tonight, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 at the Glens Falls Recreation Center Ice Rink on Fire Road. The ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m., and the game starts at 6:15 p.m.
This year’s recipient will be coach John VanHatten, 42, who lives in Queensbury with his wife, Amanda, and their two children Sophie, 12, and Jensen, 10. VanHatten is a lifelong hockey player, fan and devoted hockey dad, who coaches both Sophie’s 12U team and Jensen’s 10U team.
During Sophie’s Northstars practice on Dec. 12, VanHatten experienced pain and numbness in his arm, leading to an emergency room visit, where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He was immediately taken to Albany Medical Center for surgery to remove the tumor. A recent full body scan showed lesions on VanHatten’s lungs and liver as well. The cancer began with a melanoma that had been removed back in September 2020.
VanHatten will have to endure a series of radiation treatments every other day for weeks to come. The tumor also applied too much pressure to the part of the brain responsible for motor skills, leaving VanHatten with the additional challenge of having to regain full mobility.
Doctors have attributed VanHatten’s mental and physical fitness, his overall strength and general toughness to his time spent at the hockey rink.
VanHatten will speak to the Spartans tonight at 5:20 p.m. in the locker room.
During a 5:30 p.m. ceremony, all 31 Queensbury-Lake George players will wear pink jerseys. The backs of the jerseys will bear the name of a person the student is honoring. The last presentation will be to the VanHatten family.
The opposing team Saranac Central — also called the Spartans — will take part in the ceremony to honor the memory of Aimee McLane, the late mother of Saranac goaltender Shawn McLane. Aimee McLane, 50, died on New Year’s Day after a battle with glioblastoma.
All players from both teams will wear on their helmets a sticker bearing the name Aimee McLane.
Since its inception, Pink the Rink has raised more than $200,000 to assist families impacted by cancer. The first Pink the Rink benefited Emily Ziegler, a high school junior who was battling leukemia. The team has donated to students, teachers and organizations like Double H Hole in the Woods over the years. During the pandemic, the team walked a donation over to the C.R. Wood Cancer Center at Glens Falls Hospital.
The event teaches the student-athletes empathy, said head coach Dean Williams.
“Life is a lot more than hockey,” Williams said. “It’s your connections with community and family and trying to make a difference. You can use hockey as a vehicle for doing well in your community and your job and your family.”