Girls' Hockey Honors Slain Teacher Colleen Ritzer With Fundraising Night

The players all wore pink, "Ritzer" adorned the backs of every jersey and "CR" was on every helmet Monday night in Andover at the Phillip's Academy rink for the girls' varsity ice hockey game between Andover and the Beverly/Danvers co-op team.

Both teams sought to honor the memory of slain Danvers High teacher Colleen Ritzer of Andover and raise money for a scholarship in her name.

Proceeds from raffle tickets and direct donations will benefit the Colleen Ritzer Memorial Scholarship Fund, which will be awarded to several Andover and Danvers High students, starting in 2014.

For the Andover girls, it was yet another tribute to teammate Laura Ritzer's big sister, while the combined Beverly/Danvers team again remembered a beloved teacher. As for the final score, it was 4-3 Andover.

Colleen Ritzer was murdered Oct. 22 at Danvers High, allegedly by student Philip Chism, who is facing murder, rape and robbery charges.

WCVB-TV was on site to cover Monday's game and you can find that footage here.

If you'd like to contribute to the scholarship fund, you can do so online here or mail a check payable to "ECCF/Colleen Ritzer Fund" to Essex County Community Foundation, 175 Andover St., Danvers, MA 01923.

The scholarship will be awarded annually to students pursuing degrees in education, "so they can continue Colleen's legacy of making a difference in a student's life."