The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team is set to host its sixth annual Pink the Rink Weekend on Friday and Saturday against Williams College. The event carries an extra bit of importance to the program, especially for head coach Diane Dillon.

Dillon, in her 10th season coaching the Lakers, sees her job as more than running a hockey team, winning and getting the women on her team to graduation. Her players are adults, but still just starting off in the world on their own. She believes she has a responsibility to be an educator to the young women who can at times see her as a mother away from home.

“I have found in my time of coaching young women this age that they lag behind in taking care of their own personal health, taking personal responsibility for their own health, meaning being proactive about getting checkups and doing the things you’re supposed to do, and taking care of yourself and being responsible, especially in college, where people are sexually active,” Dillon said.

Each year, Dillon has a member of the community who has battled or is currently battling breast cancer be honored on the night of the first game and do the ceremonial puck drop. The woman also speaks to the team before the game. This year, Theresa Gilliard-Cook, the senior instructional designer in Oswego State’s Division of Extended Learning, will be honored.

In a community that has given so much to women’s ice hockey at the college over the past decade, the program also sees promoting awareness as a way to give back. Games are attended by many little children, especially girls. The team takes part in a Little Sister program with the local youth league. This weekend offers an opportunity for those young kids in attendance to gain exposure to the disease and its impact.

“I’m very proud that we have this platform to share and that we’re allowed to do so,” Dillon said. “I love that our athletic department and our [athletic director] support this and we work together to make this happen.”

The weekend also carries a personal piece for members of the Laker women’s ice hockey program. Dillon lost a cousin to the disease and some players have been affected as well. Senior captain Tori Trovato has an aunt who is a four-year survivor.

“Obviously, women promoting it and spreading awareness stands for something more important that women are kind of taking control and taking it upon themselves to spread awareness and say, ‘This is something that’s important to be aware of,’” Trovato said.

Freshman defenseman Amy Templeman lost a family friend to breast cancer and also thinks the team promoting awareness sends a special message.

“I think it’s cool though that we do it as young women and it gets us thinking about it and what we need to do to be proactive about it,” Templeman said.

Templeman also pointed out the importance of supporting the cause year-round.

“I just think it’s good not just in October to spread it all the time and keep it on everyone’s mind,” Templeman said. One in eight women in the United States have a risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society’s Breast Cancer.“As the guidelines state with this awful disease, you certainly want to get a baseline at a certain point,” Dillon said. “But, right now, what I really want to get across to them is know your family history, so you know some of the things to look for and what’s been going on.”

The arena will have spots of people wearing the pink jerseys from years past and the store in the Marano Campus Center is also auctioning off a No. 16 jersey this season to commemorate this year’s event, along with T-shirts for fans to purchase.

The bidding for this year’s pink jersey closes on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 9 p.m. Those interested in bidding can find a link to the website on the women’s ice hockey page on oswegolakers.com.