The SUNY Morrisville men’s hockey team will host a STOP-DWI Madison County event Saturday night as they face the Buffalo State Bengals at 7 p.m. The game will be preceded by a ceremonial puck-drop in honor of Kane Buss, an Oneida resident who died in 2015 as the victim of a drunken driving crash.
The event is timed to remind people not to drink and drive during upcoming NFL Super Bowl celebrations. The cost of admission to the game is $4 for adults and $2 for SUNY Morrisville students and senior citizens. Children under 12 get in free of charge.
Following the game, the men’s hockey team will join skaters of all ages in a 45-minute open skate. This family-fun event is open to the public.
Kane Buss was 19 when he was killed in January 2015 after his vehicle was struck by a drunken driver near Destiny Mall in Syracuse.
Madison County Sgt. Matthew White, STOP-DWI coordinator;, and STOP-DWI Madison County Prevention Education Specialist Jennifer Cottet will represent the county, along with Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood in Saturday’s event, the hockey team’s second annual recognition for Buss and his family. Throughout the game, the public address system will feature announcements about the dangers of driving while impaired by alcohol and other drugs.
White said in a recent interview that people need to have a plan that includes a designated driver when they drink.
Cottet acknowledged the power of the community coming together for such a significant cause. “Kane’s family lives with the pain of his loss every day,” she said. “They want others to know that this is preventable. One life taken is one too many.”