NU men's hockey team to honor namesake of Suneel's Light Foundation for his courageous battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Suneel Ram to be honored at a pregame ceremony and announce a period of the hockey game

Suneel Ram, a sophomore at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute, and the inspiration and namesake of Suneel's Light Foundation, will be honored by the Niagara University men's hockey team before their game Sunday. As part of a special on-ice ceremony, Suneel will be recognized for his extreme courage and strength fighting Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

DMD is the most lethal genetic childhood disease. It targets young boys, without regard to ethnicity, and leads to death from respiratory or heart failure by their early 20s.

Many of the players on the Niagara University hockey team have become friends and admirers of Suneel over the past few years during their time volunteering at the Suneel's Light annual charity gala, "A Night to Shine." The team decided to help raise funds to support the foundation's goals, which are raising funds for cutting-edge research that will lead to the cure of DMD, and increasing public awareness of the disease.

The ceremony will take place at center ice prior to NU's game against the University at Buffalo. The game will be played at the Dwyer Ice Arena, located on the Niagara University campus.

Suneel, who has an interest in announcing at sporting events, will be given an opportunity to help the announcing team call the game from the press box. He has announced various SJCI sporting events.

For more information about Suneel's Light or Duchenne muscular dystrophy, visit www.suneelslight.org and facebook.com/suneelslight.

At present, more than 20,000 children in the U.S. suffer from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with a statistically higher number of identified cases in Western New York than the national average.