- Foligno Face-Off wraps on Mother’s Day with over $200K raised for breast cancer research
- Nick and Marcus honor late mom Janis, who died of breast cancer in July 2009
- Read below for what Marcus said about a fan named Jackie that shook him up
The Foligno brothers turned Mother’s Day into something bigger than a game.
Nick and Marcus Foligno’s season-long Foligno Face-Off wrapped up Sunday with more than $200,000 raised for breast cancer research, all in honor of their mom Janis, who they lost to breast cancer in July 2009. Every penny is going to a new research grant in Minnesota through the V Foundation and Hockey Fights Cancer.
Last fall, when Nick was still captain in Chicago and Marcus was in Minnesota, fans were asked to pick Team Nick or Team Marcus and throw in $17 or $71 to match the brothers’ jersey numbers. The plot twist came at the trade deadline, when the Wild acquired Nick and the sibling rivalry turned into a partnership.
Marcus told NHL.com the cause hits different now that he’s seeing the impact in person. He pointed to a woman named Jackie he met walking into a Wild game against Chicago this season, a five-year breast cancer survivor with four kids and a husband.
He described the moment that stopped him cold:
“She was walking into the game, our first game here in Minnesota against Chicago, and she had a family of four, four kids with her and her husband. That just kind of shook us a little bit. It was kind of like looking in the mirror.”
Earlier this spring, the brothers sat down to talk about the campaign and life as teammates in Minnesota. Watch the full conversation:
Sunday’s wrap meant even more to Nick with the Wild still chasing a Cup.
“We’re together in this fight and on the ice right now fighting to realize our dream, which is something our mother would want for us so much,” Nick said. “It never stops, and I think Marcus and I both understand that just because this campaign is over we’re going to continue to fight just like everybody else is.”
Minnesota trails Colorado 2-1 in the second round after a 5-1 Game 3 win on Saturday. Jesper Wallstedt got the start in net and the Wild leaned on their depth. Game 4 goes Monday at Grand Casino Arena.
