The girls have teamed up with the Columbia Valley Rockies to raise money and awareness about this form of cancer throughout the month of November.

The idea to get involved stemmed from a hockey game that Kristen went to in Golden.

“In September I went down to Golden to watch a Rockets’ game because one of my good friends was playing against them,” recalled Kirsten. “That game just happened to be their awareness game for breast cancer and coincidentally my friend’s mom died of breast cancer last October, so it all hit pretty close to home. The drive home got me thinking how good it would be to do something like that here with the Rockies so I pitched the idea to Braydi and everything went from there.”

Braydi thought it was a great idea and went to her father, Rockies head coach Rob Rice for advice. The girls made the decision to try and support prostate cancer. This illness has a very personal connection for Braydi because earlier this year her grandfather was diagnosed with the disease.

“My grandfather had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in April of this year. The aggressive state that the cancer was at when my grandfather’s was found could have been less extreme had he been tested earlier. Unfortunately, even after treatment the cancer had already begun to spread into his bones. My grandfather is the main reason for why I believe prostate cancer needs awareness,” Braydi said.

This is when the girls approached the Rockies to help them with their campaign with the hope of raising funds at November Rockies home games.

“We are doing two things: bringing about awareness to the surrounding area in hopes to spread the word, as well as raise money to help support future research and financially help those facing the difficulties of it,” Braydi said.

The girls “have joined in on the Movember campaign, which is the biggest fundraiser for men across the world; our coaches will be sporting the ‘mo’ (moustache/beard),” according to Braydi.

The Rockies are also going to wear blue on their equipment in November to show their support in the effort.

“During the Rockies’ games they will be wearing the colour blue through laces, stick tape, sock tape and jerseys – this is to promote the official colour of prostate cancer (light blue). Dealing with the colour of light blue, we wanted to encourage people who are attending the five home games in November to wear the colour in support of the cause, or buy one of the t-shirts that will be arriving during the month,” said Braydi.

Rob feels these types of events are very important for his players to be involved with.

“I think it is a priority that the players learn about helping out in society and also that the organization gives back to the community,” and added “I feel it is important that these young hockey players learn the importance of volunteering and supporting a worthy organization.”

Raising money for the cause is not as important to Rob as getting the word out to people about the disease.

“Men over 40 should be getting the PSA test done yearly,” Rob said, referring to the Prostate Specific Antigen test. “The one thing I learned from getting my PSA test done was if you do not show symptoms you will get charged for getting the test done.” Of course, with a cost of $35, it is better to be safe than sorry.

To raise money for the Prostate Cancer Canada fund there is a variety of different ways people can donate.

The girls are trying to put together as many ways as possible to have fun while at the same time helping the cause.

“For donations we have a profile page on www.movember.com, where our team is called Columbia Valley Rockies, and online donations can be made. At the front doors we will also have a jar for each coach where people can put money in the jar for the coach that they feel has the best ‘mo’. We will also be selling prostate cancer t-shirts in the month of November.

"We are looking at doing a puck toss between periods two and three where there will be a prize, donated through a local business, for the winner. Lastly we will be having a silent auction throughout the month at every home game. The final give-away will be at the last game of the month,” Braydi said. The girls have high hopes for the month and are hoping the community gets behind them.

“Just by going to the game people will be helping to make that difference. We are encouraging spectators to wear light blue to the games as it is the colour for prostate cancer,” Kirsten said.

Rob also talked about how he feels personally about what the two girls are trying to do.

“I am very proud of Braydi and Kirsten. Prostate cancer for Braydi is a personal situation due to her grandfather having prostate cancer,” he said.

Anyone interested in being involved or making a donation for the silent auction can contact Kirsten at 250-688-0527.