Fight Cancer Night Coming This Saturday

Wichita, KS (March 18th) - The Wichita Thunder, proud member of the ECHL and powered by Toyota, are excited to partner with RACE Charities for the second year in a row for Fight Cancer Night this coming Saturday night when the Missouri Mavericks visit INTRUST Bank Arena. "Partnering with the Wichita Thunder is a wonderful opportunity to spread much needed awareness about the importance of colon cancer screening," commented Jeromy Gensch, President of RACE Charities. "There are brand new FDA approved screening tests now available that are non-invasive, easy, and affordable. There are also some new bio-technologies in research right now which RACE Charities helps fund that will someday soon allow easy testing and early detection of pre-cancer polyps and small tumors. Awareness created by the Thunder and RACE Charities together can help save lives!"

Special jerseys will be worn and auctioned off immediately following the game. March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, which is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the US, with over 50,000 Americans dying from it every year. An alarming number of young people in the US are diagnosed with cancer, and last year alone over 13,000 people under the age of 50 were diagnosed, with a large percentage of those ending up in death because it was discovered at a late stage. The disease has around a 95% cure rate, if discovered early enough.

RACE Charities, a Wichita-based nonprofit foundation honors the life of Wichita native, Glory Gensch and her wish to save lives from colon cancer by early detection. All donations during the night will be sent to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Visit www.racecharities.org to learn more about RACE Charities and colon cancer awareness.

Andy Huff has generously stepped up to the plate and offered to shave his head if the team reaches $10K that night in donations. Staff members from Great Clips will be on hand to help this great cause. If the team reaches that goal, Huff will have his head shaved immediately after the game.

Wichita has a few days off before hosting the Missouri Mavericks on Saturday night.

Individual tickets for all games are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased at the INTRUST Arena Box office, by calling 855-755-SEAT or go online at www.selectaseat.com.

Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.

About the ECHLThe ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province for its 27th season in 2014-15. There have been 541 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2013-14 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

-Thunder-