Subban to sign autographs at 'White Out for Mandi'

While restricted free agent defenseman P.K. Subban awaits his fate with the Montreal Canadiens for the 2012-13 season, he plans on doing some charity work for a great cause on Saturday in New Haven, Conn.

The Yale women's ice hockey team will dedicate Saturday's game against Colgate at Ingalls Rink to the late Mandi Schwartz (1988-2011), the Yale Bulldogs center who passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer for more than two years.

Sam Rubin, head of public relations at Yale University, told NHL.com that Subban is scheduled to attend the game (4 p.m. ET), unless he signs a new contract. Subban will help out by signing autographs in exchange for donations to the Mandi Schwartz Foundation.

Former Yale captain Aleca Hughes, who graduated last spring, started the charity in memory of her close friend. The goal is to fill Ingalls Rink with everyone wearing white, as a "White Out for Mandi" show of support.

The event will help raise awareness of the need for bone marrow donors and umbilical cord blood donors. In an effort to save her life, Schwartz, the sister of St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz, had a stem cell transplant using blood from two anonymous umbilical cord blood donations.

Yale is lining up pledges from donors based on the attendance, so each person at the game will help raise money for the cause. No admission will be charged, and donations for the Foundation will be accepted at the door. Special white T-shirts will be sold, and youth hockey teams are encouraged to wear white jerseys.

The game will include a special pregame presentation by Mandi's parents, Carol and Rick Schwartz, who will travel to the game from their home in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. There, they'll present ECAC Hockey's Mandi Schwartz Award to Hughes. The award, won by Hughes at the conclusion of last season, is given annually to the conference's student-athlete of the year.

Follow Mike Morreale on Twitter at: @mikemorrealeNHL