HAMDEN, Conn. – Quinnipiac University Men’s Ice Hockey Head Coach Rand Pecknold today announced that his Blades & Shaves event, a head-shaving fundraiser to be held on Saturday, Oct. 4, has already raised more than $13,000. All proceeds from the event go to support medical research in the fight against children’s cancer.

Pecknold and most of his team will have their heads shaved beginning at 2:30 p.m. in front of the TD Banknorth Sports Center following the team’s annual Blue & Gold game. The intrasquad scrimmage, which starts at noon, is free and open to the public. There will also be a free autograph session with the Bobcats following Blades & Shaves, with team photos being given away.

“I’m thrilled to have already met an initial fundraising goal for Blades & Shaves and I look forward to seeing how high we can reach with a few days left,” said Pecknold. “I’m also very proud of my student-athletes for their support and participation in helping battle this disease. I want to personally invite everyone from Quinnipiac and the local community to come to the TD Banknorth Sports Center on Saturday to catch our new team on the ice and make a donation – or even have their own head shaved.”

For more information about the event, to make an online donation or to sign-up to have your head shaved, please visit www.stbaldricks.org or click here for the Blades & Shaves event page. Walk-up donations and shavees on Saturday are welcome.

Blades & Shaves is an officially sanctioned event of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. St. Baldrick's is the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for childhood cancer research. To date, thousands of volunteers have shaved their heads in solidarity of children with cancer, while requesting donations of support from friends and family. A representative from the St. Baldrick’s national office, based in Pasadena, Calif., will also be on hand to present a grant check for more than $100,000 to Dr. Nina Kadan-Lottick of Yale-New Haven Hospital for cooperative research.

Deb Kaufman, a television sports reporter who covers the New York Islanders and New York Rangers for Fox Sports Net New York (FSNY) and the Madison Square Garden (MSG), will serve as the emcee.

Former longtime National Hockey League referee and current ECAC Hockey Director of Officiating Paul Stewart will also be on hand during the first intermission of the Blue & Gold Game to sign free photo cards for fans. Stewart, a cancer survivor, is an official spokesperson for the NHL’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” campaign.

The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team will play the second game of its home-opening series against St. Cloud State University on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. Tickets will be reduced to $1 each for those who make a donation to Blades and Shaves.