Are you going to make fun of the Portland Pirates’ pink jerseys? Are you going to call them sissies, or “a bunch of girls?” Are you going to be the one to tell these large man, wearing body armor and carrying sticks, that a Pink Pirate is actually a very dirty thing? Because I’m sure as hell not.

The Pirates, the Sabres’ AHL affiliate, took on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this weekend wearing pink sweaters, to be auctioned off to raise money for breast cancer research. That’s a noble gesture, but I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall in the locker room when someone told 6′4″, 225 lb. defenseman Paul Baier that he’d be donning the universal color for tutus.

Either the Penguins gave some choice fashion criticism on the ice Saturday, or the Pirates felt they had to prove they wear their reproductive organs on the outside, because this was certainly a game filled with men in pink beating up other men. Wow, I really loved writing that sentence.

(Dude just got whupped by a dude in pink.)

(Pink Pile!)

The game featured 54 penalty minutes and included three fights and two matching minors for roughing. The Pirates, using the power of pink, won the game 5-4 and raised $2000 for charity. And one lucky auction winner now has their very own sweat-crusted pink hockey jersey. The erotic roleplaying possibilities are endless.

[Update: Pink can certainly be a manly color:]