'My hero': NYPD cop to honor dad at MSG on NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer Night

NEW YORK (PIX11) — An NYPD officer will sing the national anthem ahead of Monday’s cross-Hudson matchup between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, paying tribute to her late detective dad as part of the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer Night.

Officer Brianna Fernandez will perform in honor of her father, who died in 2014 of 9/11-related esophageal cancer contracted as a result of his own work with the NYPD at Ground Zero.

“My dad was my hero,” Fernandez told PIX11 Morning News on Monday. “He’s my absolute inspiration for everything that I do.”

Fernandez, who said that she gets her singing chops from her mom, has performed at the arena before as part of her connection with MSG’s Garden of Dreams Foundation charity. The organization gave Fernandez a college scholarship following her father’s passing, and she in turn auditioned for its talent show, revealing her golden voice.

Watch the full interview in the video player.