Pink isn't a color normally associated with the rough and tumble sport of ice hockey.

Black and blue is more like it.

Yet a feisty bunch of Macomb County peewee hockey players have adopted the color pink as a rallying point in support of a teammate's mom who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The 14-member Mt. Clemens Lightning squad proudly sport pink on their sticks, helmets and wristbands during games and practice this season.

It's all for the benefit of Kristine Korpal, 44, the mother of the team's goalie, 12-year-old Sean Korpal. In December, her world as a hockey and multisport mom turned topsy-turvy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Harrison Township resident divides her time between a full-time job as a registered nurse at Beaumont Hospital in Grosse Pointe and shuttling her three kids to their myriad activities. Nine-year-old daughter Lauren competes in softball, indoor soccer and swimming, while 13-year old son Ryan plays on a travel hockey team in Fraser.

"I was in a complete state of shock," Korpal recalled when learning from her doctor she had cancer. "My first thoughts were, 'How do I tell my kids and husband?' I remember thinking that I just had to stay focused and help everyone cope, including myself."

Moving quickly and uncertain about the stage the cancer was in, Korpal began making the necessary arrangements with her doctors before undergoing surgery for a double mastectomy with reconstruction three days before Christmas.

As family members struggled to cope while comforting her, Korpal kept the mood lighthearted: "I told my kids that for Christmas I wanted the biggest pair of boxing gloves they could find, because I was determined to keep fighting to the end."

On the day of her operation, the Mt. Clemens team was scheduled to play that night. As players dressed for the game, one of Sean's teammates, Nico Gambaro, surprised everyone by bringing 14 rolls of pink tape that his mom had purchased for the players to tape their sticks.

"Seeing the support from my coaches and teammates made me feel really good," said Sean, a sixth-grader at L'Anse Creuse Middle School Central who idolizes Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood. "It felt good knowing that we were all in this together."

When Korpal awoke in her hospital bed after the four-hour surgery, she said her husband , Jim, had good news for her. The cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes -- and the Lightning had won 5-0.

"When I found out what the kids had done, it brought tears to my eyes," Korpal said after hearing from coach Fred Schrock about the teams' pink gesture. "It still gives me goose bumps. These kids are amazing."

With news that doctors got the cancer in time and now able to attend Sean's games again, Korpal said it's heartwarming to see the players wearing pink. Even the parents have joined in, sporting pink ribbons as a show of encouragement.

"The funny thing is, I never really cared for the color pink before," Korpal said. "But thanks to the support of family and friends, it has a totally new meaning."

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