Photo by Jake Przytarski Pictured are special-made jerseys honoring Waseca police officer Arik Matson that the Bluejays girls hockey team wore during warmups and hung behind the bench during their game against Marshall on Friday.

MARSHALL – In the wake of the tragedy involving Waseca police officer Arik Matson on Jan. 6, the Marshall boys and girls hockey programs teamed up to announce their plan to show support by collecting all of the ticket proceeds from their two home matchups with the Bluejays and donating them to Matson and his family.

On Friday at Red Baron Arena, the Marshall girls hockey team hosted Waseca for the first of the two meetings between the schools where they were able to raise $451 for donation. The final meeting will take place on Feb. 15 when the Marshall boys host the Bluejays for a 3 p.m. matchup.

Leading up to the event, Marshall girls hockey coach Cassi Weiss said the goal was to raise as much money as possible in order to help in whatever way they could.

“The goal was to just raise as much as we could and help in whatever way that we could,” said Weiss. “Whether it be $5 or $450, we just wanted to help do something no matter what amount it raised.”

Inspired by another area hockey team who helped raise funds for the Matson family, Weiss was determined to make it happen here in Marshall knowing the impact it would have for the Waseca community.

“I had seen that Windom had done it so I thought why can’t we,” Weiss said. “Why wouldn’t we in all honesty? It’s something so easy to do and such an important thing to do because I can’t imagine what that community is going through right now.”

The Waseca girls hockey team showed its support of Matson as well by wearing specialty jerseys inscribed with tributes to Matson and the Waseca Police Department during warmups. Though they weren’t able to wear them during the game, the team carried them onto the ice prior to the opening face-off and placed them over the boards behind the bench.

“I love that they had those jerseys on, that was really cool,” said Weiss. “(It was) pretty sad that they didn’t get to wear them in the game, but I loved how they put them behind the bench. That was a great way to honor him.”

If you were unable to attend Friday’s game but would still like to help donate, the family has a gofundme page set up where you can contribute: https://www.gofundme.com/f/arik-matson-family. The goal is to raise $250,000 and they are currently at $192,679.