Honoring Capalbo, marrow registry drive Saturday in Bridgeport
Fairfield’s Charlie Capalbo is still changing lives almost two years after he died at the end of four long battles with cancer. Saturday night, his family hopes to help save others’ lives.
NMDP (formerly National Marrow Donor Program) and the Bridgeport Islanders will host a registry drive at Total Mortgage Arena on Saturday as the Islanders face the Hartford Wolf Pack. The drive, swabbing cheeks, will be in the arena’s Harbor Club on the main concourse.
“All fans 18-35 years old are welcome and encouraged to participate with the help of the National Marrow Donor Program,” the team said in an online post. The drive starts at 6 p.m., one hour before the AHL game begins, and runs through the second intermission.
Capalbo’s brother, Will, donated marrow to Charlie three times in his fight. The brothers both played goalie for the Fairfield coop high school boys hockey team, which retired their No. 30 last year.
The Islanders are selling $24.24 ticket packages available through the arena box office and online, or contact Sam Provost at 203-345-4825 for more information. The package includes a seat, a parking pass, a hat and a concessions discount, and a portion of each ticket sale will go to the Jimmy Fund.
Team employees got swabbed Thursday at the arena to promote the event.
Capalbo’s story, battling lymphoma and leukemia while spending 745 nights in hospitals, inspired the hockey world here and beyond, up to and past his death on April 24, 2022. His family has worked since to raise money and awareness for cancer patients and research.
HARTFORD WOLF PACK AT BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS
When: Saturday, 7 p.m. Where (both days): Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport
Webcast (both days): mixlr.com/bridgeport-islanders (free audio), watchtheahl.com (subscription video)
Records through Thursday:
Hartford 28-176-1; Bridgeport 18-29-6-1 Promotions: The team is holding a bone marrow
donor drive in conjunction with Capalbo Strong, honoring late goalie Charlie Capalbo. If you’re 18-35, get your cheek swabbed by the second intermission. The popular “Hockey and Hops” pregame beer-tasting session sold out by Thursday, but the first 2,500 fans receive a Storm bobblehead doll.
What to Watch For: The NHL trade deadline passes Friday afternoon, so these teams could have lost or gained a few names by the time they meet. It’s not a day to make roster predictions, but if the New York Rangers pick up enough veterans, some of their younger players could be back in Hartford. They sent veteran Alex Belzile, who’d been up since Valentine’s Day but remained the Pack’s leading scorer, back to Hartford this week. It’s especially not a day to make Islanders roster predictions, as GM Lou Lamoriello runs a famously tightlipped ship. The Pack was set to be home for Providence on Friday; Bridgeport was set to be in Springfield one last time Friday night.
LEHIGH VALLEY PHANTOMS AT BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS
When: Sunday, 3 p.m. Record through Thursday: Lehigh Valley 23-22-5-2
Promotions: Tickets for kids under 12 are $10; the first 2,500 kids receive a youth jersey.
What to Watch For: Bridgeport beat the Phantoms 2-1 in Allentown last weekend on a Matt Maggio third-period goal. The win in Springfield the next day gave Bridgeport its third two-game winning streak of the season. The Islanders were going for their first three-game streak of the year on Friday. Reiterating all those trade-deadline caveats — the Phantoms received former all-star Ryan Johansen on Thursday after the Philadelphia Flyers acquired him in a trade with Colorado, but Flyers GM Daniel Briere told reporters they’d try to find him a better fit by Friday afternoon — Lehigh Valley comes in off a home-andhome with Wilkes-Barre/ Scranton. Ridgefield’s Adam Karashik had played 16 Phantoms games going into the weekend.
Up next: A five-game road trip. Bridgeport returns home Friday, March 29, vs. Charlotte.