Don Heupel / AP

Fredonia (N.Y.) State College forward Matt McKeown displays the pink jersey his team will wear in their game Division III game Saturday. The NCAA-sponsored promotion is to help raise money for the American Cancer Society.

updated 6:52 p.m. ET Feb. 5, 2009

FREDONIA, N.Y. - Don’t tell Matt McKeown hockey players don’t wear pink.

For the second straight year, the Fredonia State College junior forward will join his teammates in wearing a pink jersey and socks in a game this weekend as part of the Blue Devils’ — perhaps, for a day, the Pink Devils? — colorful promotion to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society.

For McKeown, it’s more personal.

Growing up in Niagara Falls, Ontario, McKeown spent much of his childhood being treated for rhabdomyosarcomas, a soft-tissue cancer that predominantly affects youngsters.

“I grew up pretty much in the hospital,” said McKeown, who is cancer-free. “I’m 24 now, and as I look back on it, I definitely feel lucky to be here now.”

So, by comparison, McKeown doesn’t mind wearing pink.

“It wasn’t really that bad,” McKeown said of last year’s Pink the Rink experience. “We were all excited to wear them. It’s pink, but it’s for a good cause.”

Building on the attention the Blue Devils gained across the U.S. and Canada for debuting their pink look a year ago, they’ll be at it again Saturday in a home game against Division III rival Buffalo State.

Aside from making headlines and being featured on several national television broadcasts for their pink attire, the Blue Devils raised more than $3,800 by auctioning the jerseys.

The American Cancer Society was so impressed that it paid to have the team’s special pink jerseys made this year after the Blue Devils picked up the cost last season. The jerseys again will be auctioned following the game.

Though almost every college program takes part in the NCAA-sponsored pink awareness campaign this month, the Blue Devils were among the first college men’s hockey teams to go this far.

The pink idea was first prompted by assistant coach Greg Heffernan, who is also a sports management professor at the school and whose mother, Jane, is a breast cancer survivor. He’s impressed to see other schools, including Utica College’s men’s and women’s teams, following suit by going pink this season.

“I think imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,” Heffernan said. “God bless them for doing it. This is not something that we’re calling exclusive.”

What he didn’t anticipate was how close it would hit home to his players, or spur them to get more involved.

Before the start of this season, McKeown approached Heffernan with a pitch to organize a season-long “Power Plays for Cancer” campaign, in which pledges would be gathered for each power-play goal the Blue Devils score.

“Men wearing pink is a very loud and very big statement,” Heffernan said. “Matt took that one step further and said, ‘Hey, listen, having been there, this is my opportunity to give back.’ I thought it was tremendous.”

There’s been only one small drawback. The Blue Devils (4-12-4) have managed just 17 goals on 116 power-play chances, and the campaign ends Saturday.

Perhaps the pink uniforms can motivate Fredonia State as they did last year, when the Blue Devils matched a season-high for goals in an 8-2 win over Cortland State.

“I think we’ll come out flying Saturday night,” McKeown said. “We know how much this mean to the community and how much it means to us.”

And to him.

“I always knew growing up that I wanted to do something like this, to give back or contribute to cancer research,” McKeown said. I don’t want anyone else going through what I went through.”

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