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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — As Colin Dorgan stood before a deafening crowd exploding in pride for his high school hockey team’s championship win, secured by a goal in an exhausting yet exhilarating quadruple overtime, three seats were noticeably empty in the Rhode Island arena.
The high school senior’s mother, brother and grandfather should have been there to celebrate one of the most exciting moments in his hockey career, but that opportunity was robbed when all three were killed in a shooting that erupted while Dorgan was playing a game with his Blackstone Valley Co-op teammates.
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The shooting rattled a close-knit hockey community, with many wondering whether and how the high school hockey season could continue. Yet in the weeks since, Dorgan not only repeatedly laced up his skates as team captain but performed so well that he helped propel his team to the Division 2 boys’ state championship, where they won Wednesday 3-2.
Dorgan told reporters after the game that he was nervous to return, but his team and support network helped get him off the couch and push forward. He pointed to the heart patch sewn on the front of his jersey with the initials of his lost family members.
“Throughout all of the playoffs, even this game and the overtimes, I truly felt it in my heart and my soul that they’re still with me,” Dorgan said. “I love them so much.”
The team’s success has sparked national attention, fueled most recently by Dorgan scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime in a playoff game this month. That paved the way for the title match against Lincoln High School.
“It’s just a game for Lincoln High School and for everybody that’s coming here, but for us who lived through that shooting? It’s our lives. It’s a tragedy we all went through and are still healing from it,” Blackstone Valley head coach Chris Librizzi said, wiping away tears during an interview ahead of the game.
A rowdy crowd in the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence applauded, cried and held their breath for three tense periods before Dorgan tied the score, leading to four nerve-wracking overtime periods. Finally Blackstone Valley’s Jaxon Boyes netted the winning goal.
The ending was a much-needed catharsis for a team that has grappled with grief and trauma for weeks.
Police have identified Robert Dorgan as the shooter who killed ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and son Aidan Dorgan on Feb. 16 in the stands of the ice rink in Pawtucket. Authorities say the shooting was targeted. Colin Dorgan’s grandfather Gerald Dorgan was also shot and later died from his wounds, and two others were severely injured.
The chaotic attack was stopped after a handful of bystanders rushed the shooter as the crowd fled. Robert Dorgan, who police say also went by the names Roberta Esposito and Roberta Dorgano, ultimately died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Librizzi, a retired firefighter who has coached hockey for more than 30 years, struggled with what to do in the aftermath. The team took some time off, and the coach made sure they participated in 10 days of counseling sessions.
He also gave each player the option of not returning to play, while encouraging anyone who made that choice to still show up on the bench or in the stands to support the team.
Despite some initial hesitation, every player came back — including Dorgan, who took the longest to decide.
“I sent Colin a text saying, ‘Bud, playoffs are this Friday night, it’s your call,” Librizzi said. “He didn’t respond all day, but at about 9 o’clock at night, he sent me a text saying, ‘Coach I’ll see you tomorrow at practice.’”
Dorgan credited his sister, Ava Dorgan, who was at the Feb. 16 shooting but was not injured, as key to helping push through the grief.
“She’s very tough, she’s a tough girl. And I thank her, because she just totally filled the shoes of my mom,” he said. “You eventually get back into a cycle to where you gotta get up off the couch. That’s the biggest and first step to recovery.”
At the team’s first practice back on the ice, Librizzi had to stop the action several times due to players being rattled. There have been tears, from the coach to family members to even unconnected people following the team from afar. Meanwhile questions remain about what life looks after the championship game.
Librizzi is in awe of his team and the outpouring of support from the hockey community in a time of need. Friends volunteered to stitch the hearts on the front of the team’s jerseys, and many Rhode Islanders are displaying hockey sticks outside their homes in solidarity.
“We’re all still struggling with it,” Librizzi said. “We just need to be family with each other, we need to be supportive of each other moving forward and to heal from this.”
