CALGARY – Inspired by a teammate battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Dinos women's hockey team is leading a fundraising initiative for student-athletes at the University of Calgary.

The 'Dinos Hockey: Making Cuts' event will be held in conjunction with the annual KICKOFF football game on Friday, Sept. 10, with several students shaving their heads in support of Sinead Tracey, a third-year forward with the women's hockey team.

Tracey, a native of St. Albert, Alta., was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma this spring after an injury-riddled 2009-10 season where she broke her collarbone twice and tore her ACL. She appeared in just eight games with the Dinos last year, recording six points.

“We want to show Sinead that our team, our fellow Dinos, and our university are behind her,” said Dinos assistant captain Shannon Davidson, who is spearheading the fundraising effort. “She has been incredibly strong for her friends, teammates, and family, and now it's our turn to be strong for her.”

Following her cancer treatments this summer, Tracey will undergo surgery to repair her torn knee ligament – the rehab from which is expected to keep her sidelined for another six months.

“They say she'll be out for six months, but she'll be back in three,” said Davidson. “She's extraordinary, she's a fighter, and our team has no doubt she'll be on the ice sooner rather than later.”

Despite missing much of the season, Tracey was a vocal leader in the locker room and sparked a significant turnaround on the ice when she returned. On Jan. 15, Tracey assisted on the Dinos' first goal, scored the game-tying goal in the third period, and iced the game with a shootout marker as Calgary snapped a 13-game winless streak with a 3-2 overtime win over Regina. The Dinos went on to record a 6-2-2 record in their final 10 games of the season, their first back in CIS play after a seven-year absence.

“We used her wisdom, her words of advice, and her dedication to break out of that losing streak,” said Davidson. “She was a rallying point for our team last season, and we hope she's a rallying point for all Dinos teams and the entire university this year.”

Hodgkin's lymphoma is one of the most curable forms of cancer, with a survival rate well above 90 per cent when diagnosis is made in the early stages of the disease. One of the most well-known survivors of Hodgkin's in Canada is Mario Lemieux, who made a successful return to the ice after two months of radiation therapy in 1993. Lemieux went on to win the NHL scoring title and the league's most valuable player award that season, scoring 160 points in just 60 games.

In addition to the head-shaving event, Making Cuts will also be accepting hair donations to create wigs for cancer patients.

All fundraising activities will be coordinated through the Canadian Cancer Society's 'Reach for a Cure' program, and all proceeds will be directed to the Alberta/N.W.T. branch of the Society.

Donations to the Making Cuts fundraiser can be made online HERE. Fans can also join the Facebook event HERE.

For more information, please visit the Canadian Cancer Society at www.cancer.ca.

-UC-