Islanders surprise families of kids battling illness with playoff tickets

A handful of Long Island families got a surprise they won't soon forget on Saturday.

New York Islanders co-owner John Ledecky and mascot Sparky visited five local families, who are going through challenging times, with playoff tickets for Sunday's Game 4 Eastern Conference First Round matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes.
On Saturday, Ledecky and Sparky went to the houses to hand-deliver the playoff tickets and a swag package that included a personalized jerseys for the kids.

The Islanders surprised the families of Cooper Graham, a toddler diagnosed with cancer, Kate O'Halloran, a 17-year-old currently receiving daily chemotherapy, Jordan Scheinkopf, a 10-year-old undergoing cancer treatment, Vincent Cusimano, a 11-year-old receiving treatment for kidney cancer, and Alessia Serie, a 12-year-old recently diagnosed with leukemia.
Ledecky and Sparky posed for pictures with the families and led them in "Let's Go Islanders" chants in videos posted to the
team's Instagram story.