About the Author

Neal Goulet

Neal is the editor and publisher of Pennsylvania Puck.

It’s easy to say that you live or die with your favorite hockey team.

But the Reading Royals’ Pink in the Rink promotion on Saturday helps to put hockey and other sports into perspective. Breast cancer, now that’s a life and death matter.

The ECHL Royals will don special pink jerseys for their 7:05 p.m. face-off against the first-place Wheeling Nailers. The jerseys will be auctioned after the game, with proceeds benefiting Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County.

The first 3,000 females ages 12 and older will receive a pink tote bag courtesy of Sweet Street Desserts.

On Monday, staying in their Atlantic Division, the third-place Royals will play host to second-place Elmira. The Presidents’ Day face-off is at 1 p.m.

We cannot tell a lie: The first 1,000 children ages 12 and younger will receive a toothbrush holder featuring Royals mascot Slapshot, courtesy of Deibler Dental. All children can participate in a post-game skate with the players, presented by Body Zone.

There are other intriguing match-ups during the Pennsylvania hockey weekend ahead:

College Hockey America showdown

For the first time ever, Robert Morris’s women’s team will take on Mercyhurst College with a winning streak against the Lakers. When the College Hockey America foes last met, the Colonials pulled out a 3-2 win to end a 29-game losing streak against the Lakers.

They play at 7 p.m. Friday at Mercyhurst Ice Center and 7 p.m. Saturday at RMU Island Sports Center.

First-place Mercyhurst (7-1-2) has 16 points, two ahead of Robert Morris (6-2-2) in the CHA. Each team is 3-1-1 in its past five games.

These are the final regular-season games for each team prior to the CHA championships, which Robert Morris will host March 2-3.

Flyers play host to Sabres (7 tonight) and Pens (1 p.m. Saturday)

A loser of five of its past six games, Philadelphia returns to Wells Fargo Center to take on Buffalo at 7 p.m. tonight and in-state rival Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. Saturday. There’s an ice scraper giveaway on Saturday, courtesy of GMC.

As for the Penguins, they will be coming off Wednesday’s 2-1 home loss against Anaheim. Evgeni Malkin was held scoreless but still leads the NHL in scoring with 69 points in 50 games.

The Flyers and Penguins are tied for second place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points, 10 behind the first place New York Rangers. The Flyers have one game in hand on the Penguins.

Penn State Icers vs. Duquesne: 7 p.m. Friday

The Icers (25-3-1) ride an 11-game winning streak into their second-to-last game of the season at the Ice Pavilion, where they have won 17 straight.

Lady Icers welcome Vermont: 7 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday

Penn State, 4-3-1 since knocking off Division I Sacred Heart, wraps up its schedule at home.

Rubber Meets the Road is a weekly guide to the promotions and matchups for your next hockey road trip.