For nearly a decade, one Minnesota foundation has been making sure student-athletes have access to heart and health screenings.

While hockey players drop the puck and face off on the ice, others are being screened for heart health awareness, aiming to prevent sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.

The young men who played in the ‘Play For Patrick’ tournament took a break from the rink to learn about their heart condition.

“Today, we’re gonna find 5% of the kids in this room that are going to have some form of a heart defect,” said Mike Schoonover, the event organizer.

Participants got free screens that included blood pressure, EKG, echocardiogram, CPR and AED training.

In total, more than 100 athletes and their siblings, ranging from 14 to 24 years old, got screened.

“They can see what’s going on and keep the help they need so they can keep growing and being a better person,” said Austin Dwyer, a donor.

This is the ninth year of the Patrick Schoonover Heart Foundation & Play For Patrick Heart Screens, which has screened more than 6,000 children and detected 350 heart defects.

The event is in honor of Patrick, a hockey player who died in 2014 after experiencing sudden cardiac arrest during a game. He was 14 years old and had two heart defects.

“Patrick lives every time we do this and we get to talk about him,” added Schoonover. “You know we miss him dearly and so we believe that it’s Patrick’s mission to help these kids.”

The state of Minnesota says cardiovascular events are the second leading cause of death for Minnesotans, which serves as another reminder to get screened.