Full-Circle Celebrations Unites Couple as Avs Host Annual Pride Night

Celebrating love.
In the very place - and under the very same circumstances of the Colorado Avalanche hosting their annual Pride Night which first united Sarah Adams and Cassie Lynch together back in 2020 - the couple proudly commemorated their relationship as fiancées following an in-game proposal on Sunday night at Ball Arena.

It was, after all, three years ago almost to the day at the 2020 Avalanche Pride Night where Cassie and Sarah first met.
In their initial meeting, Sarah, who is originally from Minnesota, decided to stay after the game as fans were encouraged to skate on the ice as part of the Pride celebrations. Cassie, who grew up in Seattle, was at the game with some close friends and avid fans whom she connected with via the hockey community on Twitter.
It was there after the game and before getting on the ice that their paths intersected.

"I was here by myself, but stayed to go skate on the ice afterwards," Sarah recalled. "They wanted us in groups of four. I saw some different people in the lobby and I saw a girl with black lipstick and a black hoodie that said, 'Stop mansplaining hockey to me' I was like, 'That's the right energy!' I started chatting with her and her two friends and they invited me in their group to go on the ice. We immediately became friends and shortly after that, COVID set in so that was a weird time, but we talked on Twitter and kept in touch."
Throughout the pandemic and once restrictions were lifted, Sarah and Cassie's friendship continued. It soon developed into a deeper relationship when the pair each respectively wrapped up their master's degrees and were looking ahead to what would follow.
After being offered a full-time job in Missouri and having no real reason to turn the position down, Cassie recounted the overwhelming decision and late-night conversation with Sarah.
"I told her, 'If you asked me to stay I would,'" Cassie said. "She called me and was like, 'Yes, please stay!' It's been easy to decide towards marriage because we've been best friends for three years now. Yesterday was the three-year anniversary of our first meeting."
Sunday night's in-game proposal was quite the spectacle and months in the making.
Cassie had quietly made the decision back in October when the date of the 2023 Avalanche Pride Night featured a flurry of serendipitous moments; everything from it being nearly their exact anniversary of meeting, to the game being slated against her hometown opponent, to it being the ultimate celebration of love and unity and what better way to do so than on a night designated to highlight precisely that; the celebration of Pride.
"There were so many things that came together with the date and timing," Cassie said. "I just thought, 'I have to make this happen.'"
After corresponding with the Avalanche and the Game Presentation department, Cassie arranged for her and Sarah to participate in an in-game challenge during a TV timeout at the midway mark of the first period.
For the months leading up to Sunday night, she kept the secret under wraps, despite inviting nearly 60 guests of their closest friends and family to the game. Cassie noted that she perfected her kneeling for the big moment every morning as she would feed their cat Poppy.
Flashforward to Sunday night, and it was just moments after Nathan MacKinnon had scored the game's icebreaker, that the jumbotron aired live footage of Sarah and Cassie participating in a challenge where they had to blow balloons into empty Ball aluminum cups and then stack them inside one another.
Sarah, victorious, finished the challenge first and as she was "awarded" a surprise presented by Bernie, the Avalanche mascot, he held out a sweatshirt that said, 'Future Mrs. Lynch!'
In a moment of confusion, Sarah turned around to find Cassie down on one knee holding a hockey puck split open with a dazzling engagement ring on display. Sarah immediately jumped repeatedly as she was overjoyed by the surprise. Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside of Ball Arena erupted in exuberance for the couple.
"I just thought we were doing the challenge," Sarah said with a laugh. "Now, it makes sense because literally everyone I know came to this game, but it's just so special and so thoughtful. I don't even care what happens in the game, this is just all so amazing. We couldn't be happier!"

And while the Avalanche didn't pick up the two-point victory, they fell just short to Seattle as they were edged 3-2 in overtime, the night itself was bigger than the outcome of the game and bigger than sport itself.
Sarah and Cassie's incredible story of uniting through hockey is just a microsome of the power and impact that nights like Pride Night can have on a local community and highlight the magnitude of designating a day to celebrate something bigger than sport.
"When I moved here, I didn't have a queer community," Cassie said. "I'm from a Christian background and I didn't have that support. It was the hockey community with a bunch of women that supported me and made me feel safe. Because of that, by the time I met Sarah I was confident in who I was and what I wanted.
Through the passion of the hockey community, Sarah and Cassie's paths inevitably intertwined. Their love for hockey and supporting the Avs is a fixture of their relationship; so much so, they even plan to commemorate their engagement night in the same manner a player does with a milestone. They intend on wrapping pride tape around the puck that Cassie used as the engagement ring box and writing their special date: 03.05.23 on it.
Hockey has even overlapped into their professions, as Sarah is currently pursuing her PhD in linguistics with a focus on hockey players. As part of her studies, she has been analyzing how players articulate their thoughts when fielding questions from the media.
The intersection of hockey and the celebration of Pride ultimately united Sarah and Cassie's paths and served not just as a foundation for the couple in this next exciting chapter of their lives, but also emphasizes the importance and impact that amplifying a community can have.
"We love this night because it lets you see the community and embrace the support," Cassie said. "That's why these events are so essential. They're not going to fix everything, and they're not supposed to. There are three important things for our community to continue to do. One, is to continue to fight for justice. Another is to grieve the hurt and the isolation that condemnation brings. But the other gets missed a lot and that's to celebrate. It's so important for us to be able to celebrate together. That's what this night does. For an NHL team, to designate a night to host that celebration, that's progress and how we continue to create change."