If you head to a Carleton Ravens men’s hockey game this month, you might notice a few things.
First, they’re a pretty good team. The Ravens currently sit second in the OUA East with a 5-1-2 record. Secondly, they’ll all be sporting moustaches as part of “Movember”, an initiative that encourages men to grow the upper-lip facial hair in support of prostate cancer research.
Veteran defenceman Justin Caruana said the team felt compelled to help out.
“It’s a really important issue,” he said. “As guys we can really relate to it.”
Caruana said the idea to participate was a team decision, and happened spontaneously.
“Everyone kind of knew about it and one day after practice we just all said we should do it,” he said. “It was a spur of the moment [decision].”
Every player on the team will be required to grow a moustache, no matter how silly they might think they look, Caruana said.
“There is always a couple of guys who say they don't want to grow one,” he said. “But the guys have really been pressuring everyone and we've said it’s a mandatory thing so we will see how it goes.”
There’s no doubt some will be able to grow a better moustache than others, but Caruana wouldn’t disclose his picks for best or worst.
“Everyone knows who can grow good facial hair and the ones who have some trouble,” he said. “So there are a few possible people who may look pretty good.”
Caruana said the team has not set a monetary goal for how much they can raise, they just want to help out in any way they can.