From Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Antonio Rossetti
Evgeni Malkin has taken part in thousands of faceoffs during his decorated career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
On Friday night, he stood at center ice with a different role in the faceoff circle.
Malkin took part in the ceremonial puck drop as Robert Morris’ men’s club hockey team hosted Mercyhurst in a charity game to benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and Morgantown.
“It’s amazing,” said Malkin, who was joined at center ice by Ronald McDonald House Charities CEO Eleanor Reigel. “I’m excited. It was my first drop puck ceremony. I’ve never done that before. It’s amazing to experience and I hope it’s helped kids to charity and helped families. I hope it’s not the last time, but maybe we’ll do it again next year.”
Malkin began working with the Ronald McDonald House during the covid-19 pandemic and relaunched the “I’m score for kids” initiative this year. Malkin was thrilled to see a sold out crowd at RMU’s Island Sports Center on Neville Island.
Fans packed the arena an hour before the game began, helping to raise $10,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities.
In 2020, Malkin and Reigel partnered up to provide catered meals to those in need at the Ronald McDonald House. They are now continuing their partnership with the charity game and his new initiative.
“He was a huge supporter of that initiative, so it started there, and then just before the season started, he reached out again and wanted to do more,” Reigel said. “That’s how the ‘I’m score for kids’ (started). And I’m saying it’s specifically how he would say it and that has been phenomenal.”
Every time Malkin tallies a point, he donates $710 to RMHC. Malkin is 17th all-time in points per game, posting a 1.16 in his career. So far in the 2022-23 season, Malkin has 47 points in 48 games, generating more than $33,000 for the charity.
“He believes in what we do, he believes that it’s important,” Reigel said. “What we try to do is put our hands and arms around the family unit; we believe that keeping the family close is critical. We have wonderful medical care locally, and the medical team focuses on the child, the patient. We try to focus on the family so that they are all together and we feel that helps with the whole process and helps with parents not being so stressed.”
At the charity game, the Colonials defeated Mercyhurst, 7-2. Robert Morris donned yellow and red Ronald McDonald jerseys with red and white candy cane socks.
Nathan Mickey, a grad student forward for the Colonials, helped plan the event and is grateful for those who offered a helping hand.
“It was a lot to put together: the jerseys, the different sponsors and the different baskets,” Mickey said. “We also wanted to thank the parents. They did a great job helping out behind the scenes getting some of the stuff during the game put together. As a club program, we don’t get the funding that the NCAA team does, but I thought we did a good job of filling that rink and ultimately raising a lot of money.”
Funds were raised through ticket sales, a 50/50 raffle, auction baskets and chuck-a-puck games.
Mickey got connected with the RMHC a month and a half ago through his job at KPMG for tech assurance. He began working with Reigel, Heather Hibala, Tara McHenry and Amy Rayman.
“They bounce out some ideas off of each other, but working with them has gone very well,” he said. “It was a very positive experience the whole time. The end goal: trying to raise as much money as we could for the charities. When that’s your top priority, I thought everything else kind of fell in line.”
Mickey believes in RMHC and is glad the community supported the cause.
“It benefits the families of those who need a place to stay, who need a bed to sleep at night, need some clothes, or food,” he said. “… It keeps them close to their family and helps them go through those hard times because when that kid’s in the hospital, they make sure that their whole family can be there with them.”
Mickey is proud of the team, RMU, and the people who showed up at the game.
“President (Michelle) Patrick really has helped us out this past year, supporting us in a lot of our team ventures,” Mickey said. “I think that it was awesome to see the rink blow up like that. The line was out the door at 7 o’clock for tickets, and we didn’t even take the ice for warm-ups until 8. That was something special, you don’t see too often. A ton of people mentioned that was the busiest they’ve seen the rink in multiple years.”
Reigel said Patrick went “way beyond” expectations and added that every person she met at the event was incredible. Reigel was also glad to see a packed rink on Neville Island.
“Tonight, it’s so wonderful to see the families and the younger generation getting involved and getting back and truly understanding this makes a difference,” Reigel said. “That is what is amazing to me, and I’m so excited to see it tonight.”
Mickey added that it was great to see a sold-out crowd support the same cause.
“I think to have that community support was awesome,” Mickey said. “There were all different types of people in the crowd, younger and older, and from different backgrounds. At the end of the day, I think bringing everyone together to support a cause that impacts not only the children, but the families that are going through a tough time, I think was really special.”
Reigel commended Mickey on his commitment to the charity and was grateful for his and the team’s support.
“He wanted to do more and tonight is the charity night for the hockey team here at RMU and so it was a great fit,” Reigel said “He did research. He knows a lot about what we do and the history. … Nathan is just a phenomenal individual. I cannot say enough about him, his teammates, and the coaches; they’re just awesome.”
Mickey made sure Reigel’s number on her charity game jersey for the puck drop was 79, indicating when the RMHC was launched.
Reigel mentioned that in 2022, the House provided more than 21,000-night stays. The House is far-reaching and she said that from a business standpoint, having partners like Malkin, Robert Morris and PNC Bank help leverage the charity.
“Leveraging those relationships are key to what we do and what we do is we keep family safe, comfortable and share our compassion with them,” Reigel said. “That’s what he’s (Malkin) supporting. It’s a lot more than just a few dollars. He’s doing more than a few dollars, but it takes a community to make a difference. It really does.”
Jeff Jimerson, who sings the national anthem at numerous Penguins home games, performed the anthem beforehand.
“It’s an honor for me,” Jimerson said. “I know the work that they do for the Ronald McDonald House, and just to be asked to come here, I’m just glad I was available, being on a Friday night and not working. So I was happy to be here, and just such great people and it’s a lot of fun. Good cause.”
Jimerson was thankful for the opportunity, but he was also blown away by the community support.
“I wasn’t expecting anywhere near this many people; they’re really into it,” Jimerson said. “It’s nice that they contribute and give to the cause and not only the community, but the building, and the league and the teams putting this on, the extra effort that it takes to do this, besides playing the game. They’ve got a game to play too, so it’s very nice. It’s encouraging.”
(Originally published at https://triblive.com/sports/robert-morris-evgeni-malkin-host-hockey-game-to-support-ronald-mcdonald-house-charities/)
