On March 21st, 2009, the Lake Erie Monsters held their first ever “Pink the Rink” night at Quicken Loans Arena. On this evening, the Monsters teamed up with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help promote breast cancer awareness to all those in attendance.

The entire hockey rink was painted pink, the team wore one-of-a-kind pink jerseys, which were auctioned off at the end of the game, and fans were given pink ribbons to show their support for the cause. Proceeds from the jersey auction and ticket sales went back to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Northeast Ohio affiliate, raising more than $10,000 in just one night.

Recently, Cleveland Business Connects Magazine recognized the Monsters at the 3rd Annual Connectors Choice Awards. For their efforts in the “Pink the Rink” event, the Monsters received the award for Best Non-Profit Fundraiser. CBC readers cast 1,948 total ballots between November 15th and December 31st, 2009 and the Magazine took the top three vote-getters in each category and chose the winner for various awards. Some of the other awards included Best Signage Company, Best Networking Event, Best Networking Organization, among many others.

Cleveland Business Connects Magazine is Cleveland’s premier business-to-business publication featuring corporate events, networking and business trends in Northeast Ohio. It is distributed monthly to 20,000 businesses in Northeast Ohio.

“Pink the Rink” is a truly memorable and unique event that the Lake Erie Monsters intend on continuing for many years to come. This season's Pink the Rink Night, presented by Huntington Bank, will take place on Friday, March 19th, 2010 when the Monsters take on their North Division rival, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Buy Tickets