Rachel Danchek, a stage 3B ovarian cancer survivor, got to witness the powerful community of sports when it comes to the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer initiative after the Pittsburgh Penguins reached out with tickets for her and her grandmother Marian Ebner for the Nov. 30 matchup with Calgary.

“I think people look at me as a healthy 30-year-old that can’t have that happen to them,” Rachel said. “I only found out that I had ovarian cancer because I dealt with infertility. I just want to stress that if you think anything is wrong with your body, please go see your doctor, because you never know.”

When the Penguins first won the Stanley Cup, longtime fan Timothy Hammer was at a wedding. The game was scheduled to start at eight and he kept an eye on the clock, as the hands ticked closer and closer. Just before the puck dropped, he turned to his wife and, “I can’t stay here anymore. I’m leaving.”

“So, we tried to sneak out the back,” Hammer said. “And as we’re going out the back of the hotel, we run into the bride and groom who were getting pictures. It was an awkward moment. It was actually one of my really good colleagues and friends that I’m still friends with today, but I said, ‘Look, congratulations – I gotta go see this game.’”

Eight-year-old Lucas Konarski had submitted a heartfelt essay in hopes of becoming a DICK’S Sporting Goods Jr. Starter of the Game, expressing just how much he loves being a goalie. He does a special dance to cheer on his team and always stays positive, win, lose, or tie - with his attitude and playing style inspired by a certain fan favorite netminder.

“I have been playing hockey since I was 3 years old, and fell in love with (Marc-Andre) Fleury,” Lucas wrote.

He gained the memory of a lifetime on Tuesday night when he got the chance to stand on the same ice with his hero. The Lil’ 66er skated out to join the Penguins during the national anthem ahead of Fleury’s final game in Pittsburgh, standing alongside goaltender Joel Blomqvist.

Many newlyweds center their honeymoon trips around the beach. But for Kyle and Katrina Batty of Melbourne, Australia, they centered theirs around their shared love of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After it was announced the Penguins would be playing in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park, the newlyweds knew they had to be there for it.

“I saw it after I woke up one morning and was like, ‘this is our honeymoon,’” Kyle said.

Cindy Falls and Debbie Vallor have lived in Pittsburgh their entire lives, with a second home at PPG Paints Arena. The two can be seen at countless home games for the Penguins, and one night, Cindy donned a shirt given to her by Debbie that said, “Never underestimate an old woman who loves hockey.”

That quickly caught the eye of Erin Exley, Vice President of Ticket Marketing and Operations for the Penguins, who was looking for fans to fill the Gram Zam, a new fan initiative for this season.

Kristin Juszczyk’s custom jackets made from NFL jerseys have taken the sports world by storm, with celebrities like Taylor Swift and Simone Biles among those who have donned a creation from the wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Ryan Platt decided she wanted to do the same for her favorite team, the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Platt turned a Sidney Crosby jersey she had into a Juszczyk-inspired puffer jacket, documenting the process on TikTok. Her series went viral on the platform, and she was blown away by the support her first video received.

Iain and Mackenzi Bacorn went on a three-legged “hockeymoon” back in November, where they followed their beloved Penguins from Columbus to Pittsburgh to Raleigh for some NHL action. During their stop in the Steel City, “my sister reached out to the marketing team here and gave us probably the best wedding gift ever,” Iain said.

Since goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic was out with an injury at the time, the couple got the chance to meet their favorite player, Magnus Hellberg.

When Sidney Crosby tossed a puck to 10-year-old Camden Basinger while leaving the ice after warmups during a preseason game, Basinger got to experience something that every hockey fan around the world dreams of, and the reaction was priceless.

Marie Pier Bouchard and Julianne Morgan are longtime friends, having met in dance class when they were younger, and are currently roommates. During the COVID-19 lockdown, they began following the NHL, mostly out of boredom. Despite having no previous allegiance to the club, they fell in love with the Penguins. Of course, having Sidney Crosby helped too. “Sid’s our golden boy back home,” Bouchard said.

As the Penguins left the ice and departed the locker room following Thursday's morning skate at PPG Paints Arena, young August Storlien Sætrom eagerly awaited the chance to meet players from his favorite team.

Andrew Brennan and Danielle Damm are loyal Pittsburgh Penguins fans. They're also avid travelers, so much so that they found themselves hanging out with actual penguins in Antarctica last month.

Fans often cherish memories that are made on the ice during the game. For Gina Hammond, a life-changing experience happened in the stands at PPG Paints Arena following the Penguins' game on Dec. 30 versus New Jersey.

"It's real important because it's not like they have to do this," Megan Beachley said. "It is important that they recognize us as a fanbase and find it important enough to make a night of it and highlight our community. A lot of my friends are Pens fans and sports fans. It's just awesome that they do it, and we can have a night. I love the Pens, and I love that I can be myself in this community during the game. It's both of my worlds colliding that I love."

When Krystal Willoughby and her daughter Lowin were invited to a photoshoot as part of a Hockey Fights Cancer event with So Many Angels and the Penguins Foundation, they were excited… but they had no idea how special the opportunity would be.

Jersey collector Elisabeth 'Lis' Lawrence made the trip from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh to see her favorite player for the first two home games of this new season.