Hockey players raise $28,000 for cancer research by rollerblading from Boston to Michigan

To raise money for cancer research, Andrew Walker and Jacob Adkins traded in their ice skates for rollerblades and hit the road.

Walker and Adkins are hockey players at the University of Massachusetts Boston. They wanted to do something during the pandemic to help others, and came up with a way to raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society: the roommates would rollerblade from Boston to Mason, Michigan, a nearly 900-mile journey.

Cancer has affected both of them personally, with Adkins' mother in remission after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and Walker's grandfather dying of the disease. Adkins and Walker — who dubbed themselves the Men in Blades — completed their trek in 10 days, arriving in Mason late last month. They raised $28,100, a feat they are especially proud of since donations to so many charities are down because of the pandemic.

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"This experience has humbled both of us and has made us just that much more grateful for the people around us and that much more loving," Adkins told WHDH.