Penguins Proud to Host Second Joint Pride Game

When the Penguins and Sabres teamed up for the NHL's first-ever joint Pride Game back in April, it was nothing short of historic.
The game, which took place at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, was just the first step in a concerted effort to fight against inequality.

"It was such a powerful moment to see the two organizations unite in support of the LGBTQ+ community," said Amanda Susko, Senior Director of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. "The game created new allies, showed that our sport is welcoming and maybe even helped someone feel that they belong and that they can be their true self."
The momentum from the first game helped both organizations connect further with the LGBTQ+ community, and resulting in them coming together again to co-host the NHL's second-ever joint Pride Game, this time on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena. The contest was presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.
"The Pride Game in April was just the beginning," Susko said. "It has given our organization new relationships with local groups in Pittsburgh and even expanded our connections nationally. We felt the eyes of our city, Buffalo, and the hockey world on us tonight. We are honored - and proud - to host this Pride Game in Pittsburgh."
When the players took the ice for warmups in what would be an eventual 2-1 win for Buffalo, their commemorative jerseys featured the Pride Progress Flag on one shoulder and a Pride Game patch on the second shoulder.
The jerseys will be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting six organizations, including You Can Play - which was founded by Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke in honor of his late son Brendan, who died in a car accident shortly after coming out as gay. To view the auction and bid on items, click
here
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"The message is, 'If you can play, you can play,'" Burke said. "If you're good enough to help our team win, you're welcome here. You're welcome in our building. We want inclusiveness in our arena. Anyone from the LGBTQ community is welcome. I think it's a real big statement on behalf of and in support of that community, and I think it's critical that we acknowledge that.
"So the first joint Pride Game was really cool, with everyone wearing the sweaters and rainbow tape on the sticks. And it's great we're doing the same thing again this year. We're very excited about the entire Pride support that this team and this league has given the LGBTQ-plus community. It's a wonderful celebration, and it's great that the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres are working together for their second annual Pride Game."
Adam Knoerzer, who co-founded the Pittsburgh Tigers as an LGBTQ+ friendly team back in 2011, was at the first Pride game back in the spring. Although he loved the experience, it couldn't compare to attending a crowded Pride game in his hometown, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin providing their suites to the Tigers.
"It's obviously always beneficial to have more of a crowd and see more people," Knoerzer said. "It's so much nicer to be able to celebrate this with people in our community. With last year, you're talking about 1,000 people at a game where it feels a little bit like an exhibition match because of COVID-19."
He also noted that the Tigers have picked up many members since the start of last year, and that a lot of them could not travel to Buffalo because of COVID restrictions. Now that almost all of his teammates were alongside him, Knoerzer was able to reflect on just how special it was for everyone to come together on such a memorable night.
"Unprecedented I think is probably a good word to describe it," he said. "When I started this team 10 years ago when we moved here, it was a rag-tag bunch. We were just hoping to have some sort of impact.
"It's a testament to what happens when an organization puts their weight behind something. Even in the past couple years before this, there have been attempts to do something of this nature, but there's never been this much of a concerted effort. And it's just mind-blowing and really touching. I mean, look at this. I never thought years ago, I would see this on the surface, and it makes such a difference."
River Ward was one of the few players who also made the trip to KeyBank Center in April. Ward, who has played hockey his whole life, marveled at the support he's received as a member of the Tigers.
"It's absolutely incredible," he said. "I played competitive hockey growing up. I played juniors. Talking about any of these topics was completely frowned upon."
When Predators prospect Luke Prokop shared that he was gay back in July, Ward reached out to Prokop via Instagram to offer his support.
"I messaged him on Instagram and I said, 'I wish you were around when I was playing. Because you would have made my life a million times easier, just knowing that there was somebody that was representing us at such a high level of hockey,'" Ward said.
Jesse Loffler was one of the Tigers players in attendance tonight after missing the first Pride game in April. Loffler, who played hockey in New York for several years, joined the team in 2016 after moving to Pittsburgh. Although he misses New York, he's come to appreciate how open the Penguins and the city, in general, has been to him and his teammates.
"It's great to see," he said. "I think it's been great, just the growth year after year, and the support from big companies like the Penguins and PNC. I sit on the suit of the President of the Board of the National LGBT Bar Association, and the corporate allies are just so incredibly important. To see every major corporation in Pittsburgh just going all-in on it is really impressive."