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'Skate Hard And Have Fun': Arizona Coyotes Family Remembers 9-Year-Old Leighton Accardo

Leighton Accardo and Lyndsey Fry
Lyndsey Fry
Leighton Accardo (left) with Lyndsey Fry.

The Arizona hockey community is mourning the passing of one of their own this season — 9 year-old Leighton Accardo died Nov. 24 from Stage 4 cancer.

She had been an honorary member of the team and, after her death, Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said she would always be a part of their pack.

In a recent conversation with The Show, Accardo’s former coach, Olympian and Valley hockey coach Lyndsey Fry, remembered her positivity and fight on the ice and in her battle against cancer.

Fry is now honoring Leighton by rollerblading 96 miles to raise $49,000 for Leighton’s hockey number 49.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.