Central STL News

The Edwardsville Tigers Hockey Club has announced a partnership with the St. Louis Blues and their charitable trust, Blues for Kids, to continue the Hockey Fights Cancer Challenge for a third year. The 2025-26 event will feature nine exhibition games between the Tigers and other Mid-States teams from the St. Louis area, with proceeds going to support cancer research.

The series begins on Friday, October 10, with the “Clash of the Cats” game against Oakville at RP Lumber Center in Edwardsville. All games in the challenge will be held at this venue, and funds raised will benefit Blues for Kids' Hockey Fights Cancer efforts.

Last season’s challenge generated more than $50,000 and honored over 25 people affected by cancer through personal experience or loss. This year, organizers aim to raise more than $100,000 to support a cancer research grant at Siteman Cancer Center via the V Foundation.

“The response to this challenge has been incredible,” said Tigers Assistant Coach and challenge organizer Rob Wiemers. “Our entire club and the whole hockey community, from players to coaches to parents, are so excited to be involved. Almost every team that played last year, and new teams, are playing this year including other Illinois High Schools and wanting to do more, and the Blues are ramping up promotions again for us as well.”

At Friday’s opening game, 11-year-old Tigers superfan Brody Sedlacek and his Twin Bridges teammates will lead the team onto the ice during pregame ceremonies. Brody completed a two-year battle with cancer last June by ringing the bell at center ice at RP Lumber Center.

Hockey Fights Cancer is an initiative led by the National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), powered by the V Foundation. The program aims to accelerate cancer research worldwide.