BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Sabres will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League's first joint Pride Game, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community on Saturday, April 17 at 3 p.m., with the game broadcast available on NBC/Channel 2, locally.
According to a press release from the Sabres, the joint Pride Game "aims to bring together two cities to celebrate LGBTQ+ communities by sharing stories of inclusion, hope and allyship," as a part of the NHL's "Hockey Is For Everyone" campaign.
The Sabres vice president of community relations Rich Jureller said "Together with the Penguins, we hope this joint Pride Game will represent the spirit of inclusion that we know exists in our organization and our community... This will be a special day and we’re thrilled that fans will be in KeyBank Center to celebrate with us. Hockey truly is for everyone and we encourage all of our fans to join us in our support of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Players will use rainbow tape on their sticks for pregame warmups with Official Pride Game warmup pucks. They will also wear pride warmup jerseys, featuring the Progress Pride Flag, according to the Sabres.
The teams will auction off the tape sticks, jerseys and pucks between April 17 and April 24, with proceeds benefitting the Pride Center of Western New York and Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western New York.
The teams will also donate 100 tickets to LGBTQ+ organizations. Fans will also get a Pride Game rally towel with admission.