Golden Knights’ Alex Tuch hosts kids for ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ night

Alex Tuch saw how cancer affected his godfather and his former roommate.

So he’s doing what he can to fight back. The Golden Knights winger hosted a group of 12 children from the Candelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada on Thursday at the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer night at T-Mobile Arena.

“To be able to just to for five seconds put a smile on one of those kids faces, that’s my goal,” Tuch said. “Honestly. It always has been.”

It’s not the first time Tuch has supported childhood cancer organizations. In the summer of 2018, he hosted a charity hockey camp and 3-on-3 tournament that he said raised $50,000 for Maureen’s Hope Foundation, a charity based near his native Syracuse, New York.

Tuch also has participated in “Movember” for three straight seasons, growing out his mustache to raise awareness for men’s health initiatives. His godfather has battled prostate cancer, and teammate Shea Theodore, whom Tuch lived with his first two seasons with the Knights, had a brush with testicular cancer this summer.

Theodore’s grandmother Kay Darlington, who is battling cancer and about to start chemotherapy, took part in a ceremonial puck drop Thursday as part of Hockey Fights Cancer night. Theodore took the draw with San Jose Sharks captain Logan Couture.

Shea Theodore’s grandma, who is currently battling cancer, drops the puck to her grandson on #HockeyFightsCancer night. #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/iPsoDHKfU2

— Ben Gotz (@BenSGotz) November 22, 2019

“It hits a little bit closer to home (with Theodore),” Tuch said. “We had a pretty long phone conversation when he found out. He called me, and we talked about it. It wasn’t easy. It never is. It’s a scary feeling. To see him now back and playing and playing so well, that’s an inspiration to a lot of people.”

Game 7 ref returns

Dan O’Halloran, one of the two referees in Game 7 of a Western Conference quarterfinals series between the Knights and Sharks in April, was one of the two refs for Thursday’s game between the teams.

Game 7 was notable for the controversial major penalty call on Knights center Cody Eakin that led to a Sharks comeback victory in overtime. The NHL expanded video review to include major penalties as the result of the call.

O’Halloran did not move on to the second round of the playoffs after the controversy. He previously had not missed a conference final round in more than a decade, according to Scouting the Refs, and has officiated the Stanley Cup Final 10 times.

Roy sits

Knights center Nicolas Roy, called up on “an emergency basis” Wednesday, was a healthy scratch Thursday.

Coach Gerard Gallant said Roy was recalled because another player had a minor health issue. Ultimately, though, the lineup was unchanged from Tuesday.

Gallant did not say which player had the health issue.

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Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.