Going Bald For A Cause

On March 14, 2008, Ian Laperriere participated in the St. Baldrick's Foundation Event at Fado Irish Pub in Denver. He and teammates Ben Guite and John-Michael Liles, along with Avalanche Assistant Coach Tony Granato, had their heads shaved to help raise awareness and funds for children's cancer.

Lappy and his teammates shaved their heads in honor of Jake Cohen, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma at age 1.

Jake's First Week of Chemo (Photo courtesy of Dave Cohen)

He is now in remission after six rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

Visit Jake's Website

Scott Parker and other Avalanche players had their heads shaved at a separate St. Baldrick's Event at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Scott also shaved his goatee which he'd had since age 15.

DENVER - MARCH 15: Twelve Colorado Avalanche player pose for a photo in the locker room prior to the game against the New Jersey Devils at the Pepsi Center on March 15, 2008 in Denver, Colorado. They shaved their heads as part of 'St. Baldrick's Day' in order to help raise awareness and funds to cure children's cancer. (Photo by Michael Martin/Getty Images)

The "after" photo, courtesy of Heather

Video Clip Courtesy of Tiffany

From the Official Website of the Colorado Avalanche:

When the Avalanche takes the ice Saturday, fans might have a hard time recognizing some of their favorite players.

As part of "St. Baldrick's Day" several members of the Avalanche decided to shave their heads to help raise awareness and funds to cure children's cancer.

Events are going around all over Denver today – including at Fado's Irish Pub, where Ian Laperriere, Ben Guite, John-Michael Liles and assistant coach Tony Granato had the clippers taken to them this morning.

Several other members planned on shaving their heads this afternoon at an event put together by Scott Parker. Those on the lineup included Andrew Brunette, Kyle Cumiskey, Jeff Finger, Cody McLeod, Cody McCormick, Kurt Sauer and Wojtek Wolski.

"It's something special going on around town today. We've known about it for a couple of months and decided to get in on it," said a freshly shaved Laperriere, who went on to poke fun at some of his teammates. "Most of the guys who can grow their hair back are doing it, but the guys who are going bald don't want to do it because they're afraid it might not grow back."