Third Annual PUCCS Charity Hockey Tournament November 29 – December 1

Buffalo Sabres Alumni Playing Exhibition Match, Holding Autograph Session

Buffalo, NY –November 29, 2013—The third annual PUCCS (Program for Understanding Childhood Concussion and Stroke) Charity Hockey Tournament began today and will run through Sunday, December 1, 2013 at Holiday Twin Rinks (3465 Broadway Street, Cheektowaga), with net proceeds funding childhood concussion and stroke research.

The youth and adult tournament will culminate with one adult team getting the opportunity to skate against the Buffalo Sabres Alumni in a fun-filled hockey game on Sunday at 5pm.

At the event, we will be raffling off signed hockey memorabilia and we will also be hosting a Chinese auction. Memorabilia include a signed Ryan Miller jersey, a signed Steve Ott jersey, a team-signed Buffalo Sabres hockey stick and Sabres jerseys signed by Sabres Alumni. An autograph session with the Sabres Alumni will take place during the middle of the Alumni game on Sunday at about 5:30pm.

Elad Levy, MD, MBA, FACS, FAHA, founder and president of PUCCS, said, “We want to make parents, coaches and the community aware of the devastating effects a major concussion can have on our children.”

Thanks to its generous sponsors, PUCCS has raised $270,000 since its inception. PUCCS has awarded $35,000 to two University at Buffalo departments to further study concussions. PUCCS funded $15,000 toward UB’s Department of Orthopaedics’ study, which involves evaluating the overall lifestyle, cognitive strengths, behavior patterns and physical health of former professional athletes. PUCCS also awarded UB’s Department of Neurosurgery two grants in the amount of $10,000 each that will be used to research biomarkers to help with the process of diagnosing concussions and using CT perfusion scanning for predicting post-concussive deficits.

In addition to funding advanced concussion research, PUCCS has visited Western New York Schools to educate students about concussions and co-developed a concussion education video with the Buffalo Sabres. PUCCS is also proud to announce that it received the 2013 James Patterson Advocacy Award at the Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference in March of this year.

Tournament sponsors to date include Northtown Lexus, Cellino & Barnes, the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, among others. For more information on the PUCCS charity hockey event, please visit www.puccs.org.

Sunday’s Schedule of Events: 6:00 AM Tournament Begins 11:45 AM Tournament Championship Game 4:45 PM Awards Ceremony 5:00 PM Buffalo Sabres Alumni Exhibition Game 5:45 PM Buffalo Sabres Alumni Autograph Session.

For information contact Amber Lindke at alindke@ubns.com or 716.628.7676.