The Sea of Red transformed into the Sea of Pink Wednesday afternoon at the Saddledome.
The Calgary Hitmen downed the Brandon Wheat Kings 4-3 in a shootout during the inaugural Be Brave anti-bullying game.
Over 8,000 Calgary and area students packed the Dome and were given pink shirts in honour of Pink Shirt Day, in an effort to rally against bullying.
READ MORE: Alberta raising awareness of bullying impact on Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day was an idea originated by a pair of high school students from Nova Scotia back in 2007. They witnessed a fellow student being bullied for wearing a pink shirt, so they decided to take a stand.
And so did the Hitmen.
Matt Gennaro buried his 35th of the season, stretching the Hitmen’s lead to 3-0 at the 1:02 mark of the second period, as the Dome rocked out.
“Any time you bring a large group of kids together where you can have a large common goal and common message of simply being kind, it’s going to be a great event,” said Lisa Dixon-Wells, founder of Dare to Care.
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“If we’re going to change the way people treat one another, we need to start young and we need to start with the kids.
“When they’re hearing this universal message together and they feel the energy in this room and in the Saddledome, it’s going to carry out further than just this game. Hopefully they take this message with them tomorrow and the next day.”
READ MORE: Stand up against bullying: Today is Pink Shirt Day
With so many kids using athletes as role models, the Hitmen (23-26-8-2) thought it would be a great idea for students to learn about the importance of acceptance and bullying prevention from guest speakers, concourse displays and in-game activities.
“So many people get bullied and we want to show them that people have been bullied before and that we’re with them,” Grade 6 student Zara Virk said.
“(We) don’t want bullying anymore because I went through it when I was younger and it was awful,” Grade 9 student Harry Purcell said.
The Hitmen blew the three-goal lead when projected No. 1 overall pick in the NHL player entry draft, Nolan Patrick, took over with a goal and an assist in the middle stanza.
READ MORE: #pinkshirtday anti-bullying awareness day in Alberta
The Wheat Kings (28-23-6-3) added another at the 6:41 mark of the third, tying the game and eventually sending it to overtime, where the exuberance from the young fans allowed the Hitmen to find an extra gear.
“It was really loud. The kids were screaming all game,” Gennaro said.
“Even though they’re young kids, it’s still fun when there’s energy in the building. It’s loud when there was a big hit or a big play.”
The Hitmen outlasted the Wheaties in the shootout, scoring on their first two attempts from Jakob Stukel and Jake Kryski.
Trevor Martin stopped both Brandon shooters and turned away 29 shots in what was a significant win in the standings. Calgary moves into sole possession of the final wildcard playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
With files from Gil Tucker, Global News
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