The NY Islanders Paint UBS Arena Rainbow for Pride Night

At the start of the 2023-24 season, the NHL announced a ban on all theme-night gear including wearing themed jersey's during warmups. Many teams have worked to circumvent the system when it comes to hosting themed-nights, most specifically pride nights, in order to celebrate.

Last night, the NY Islanders hosted the Vegas Golden Knights for pride night, and the Isles went all out to support the LGBTQ+ community of Long Island. For the third consecutive year, the boards at UBS were printed in rainbow, as all partership logos were switched to honor the pride night. The Islanders also sold LGBTQ+ shirts designed by Mona Monahan at the IslesLab store. Monahan is the winner of the Islander's Pride Night design contest they hosted during Pride Month in 2023. A portion of the proceeds from the Pride t-shirt sales went to benefit LQBTQIA+ programs supported by the Islanders Children's Foundation. IslesLab pride collection also featured "Hockey Is For Everyone" baseball caps, where 10% of the proceeds will go towards the LGBT Network and the New York City Gay Hockey Association.

The Islanders had three hockey with a heart charities featured at tonight's game: the LGBT Network, Pride for Youth, and the New York City Gay Hockey Association. Proceeds collected from the 50/50 raffle sales, plus LGBTQ+-themed "mystery pucks" being sold on the concourse during the game will go towards all three charities.

The Islanders continued to go above and beyond for Pride Night. The first 200 fans to purchase a special ticket before the game received an Islanders LGBTQ+ themed trucker hats that featured the LGBTQ+ flag printed on the underside of the brim. The Isles social media team also handed out free pride themed friendship bracelets to anyone who gave them the password: "Hockey is for everyone."

It's clear that the Islanders were committed to making Pride Night the absolute best it could be, while giving back to charities that support the LGBTQ+ people of Long Island and New York. Even without wearing pride jerseys for warmups and auctioning them off, the way things were done in the past, the Islanders went above and beyond to make sure that their fans know that UBS arena and the Islanders is a safe space for everyone. The Islanders are committed to ensuring that Hockey is for Everyone.