On Saturday afternoon it was more than just a hockey game at Coca Cola Coliseum, it was night for the women of the PWHL to unite around a peer, teammate and friend, Erica Howe.
“Erica is a tremendous teammate, a tremendous person, and the strength that she’s showing, it’s inspiring. We are all behind her,” said former Toronto teammate Jocelyne Larocque. “We care so much about her, and it was great to see her and to have her speak, it brought me chills.”
Howe, who was a goalie for Toronto during their inaugural season, was diagnosed this summer with breast cancer after feeling a lump.
Since the diagnosis, the 32-year-old has been hard at work, campaigning to raise $27,000 for the Cancer Society of Canada, the same number she wore in the PWHL.
Both the Montreal Victoire and the Toronto Sceptres added special touches to show their support for Howe during a game between the teams, which also served as Cancer Awareness Night.
It started well before the game as the Victoire sported pink Erica Howe t-shirts as they walked off the bus, donning them with pride and for everyone to see.
“Us as the Montreal Victoire, we wanted to support Toronto, but we also wanted to support Erica and her fight,” said former teammate Laura Stacey. “When Erin (Ambrose) came across those shirts, I think it was a no-brainer for everybody on our team to jump on board, wear it and support her, because sometimes there’s bigger things than hockey.”
Once the game commenced, the arena took a moment in a first period break to watch a video on the jumbotron. The video featured Toronto players giving words of encouragement to their former teammate. Afterward Howe waved to the crowd as she was shown on the screen and was met with a standing ovation from every single person in the building.
“It was hard to even focus on the game after that, that’s all I was thinking about,” said Larocque about the tribute video. “We love her, and we’re just so proud of her fight and she’s just incredibly inspiring.”
Despite finishing a hard fought 4-3 game, both teams met at the zamboni door to the North end of the rink where they circled around the blue carpet that was rolled out for Howe. She addressed the crowd and the teams, giving an inspiring speech that didn’t leave a dry eye in the arena.
Afterward Laura Stacey skated over to give a big hug to her former teammate as the teams met on either side of her for a photo.
“To see her in that vulnerable state, it’s pretty tough to see, so it’s emotional,” said Stacey. “I think being that young and fighting something like that is something you never want to see. She has an amazing support group behind her. I know that Toronto, their whole team, the whole organization, the fan base is behind her and so are every single one of us who are a little further away.”
Howe has surpassed her fundraising goal gathering over $27,000 and will continue to fight through her chemo treatments.
