EAST MEADOW, N.Y. – When the New York Islanders hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer night on Sunday, forward Shane Prince will have a friend on his mind.

Dubbed the Lil Fighter, Patrick Carr left an imprint on Prince during the first year of the summer hockey camp that he runs with his father, Dan.

“He was the coach’s favorite guy,” Prince told Yahoo Sports on Saturday. “He just gave it everything he had, especially if you knew what he was going through. It was truly amazing, just 110 percent every day. He didn’t want anyone to know what he was going through. He just wanted to play hockey. He was the most passionate guy for the game.”

What Patrick was battling, which not many knew about at the time, was neuroblastoma, a type of cancer that is common among children 5 and younger. His battle began when he was 4 and lasted seven years.

Prince was one of those unaware of Patrick’s fight intially, and the Lil Fighter wouldn’t let cancer keep him away from the ice.

“We’re putting him through the ringer, they’re tough skates,” Prince said. “After a few weeks we learned what he was going through, chemo hours before the skate and he still showed up. [He] wouldn’t let his mom keep him home.”

Inspired by Patrick, Prince and his father want to do something for the young hockey player, so they came up with the idea to organize a summer beach hockey tournament at Lake Ontario Beach in his hometown of Rochester, New York.



http://sports.yahoo.com/news/isles-s...135748813.html