In wake of fatal shooting, Rhode Island hockey team wins Div. II title
· Yahoo Sports
Fate seemed to already have the ending written for the Blackstone Valley boys hockey team.
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After a shooting at a youth hockey game that left two people dead and three injured just over a month ago shook the community in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the local team from several area schools won the state Division II tournament in a four-overtime thriller.
Jaxon Boyes scored the historic goal on an assist from Declan St. Vincent and Caden Rudek for a 3-2 victory over Lincoln on Wednesday, March 18, giving Blackstone Valley its first-ever championship.
"We just stayed together as a family," Blackstone Valley coach Chris Librizzi told the Providence Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network. "And the outpouring of love and support that was sent our way from all over North America has just been nothing but spectacular. And it made the difference on these guys coming together and keeping our family together and loving each other.
"We won this tournament because of love."
It was a long road for the Blackstone Valley team, made up of players from St. Raphael, Providence Country Day, North Providence and North Smithfield. It was especially long for one player in particular.
Senior Colin Dorgan, who scored the winning goal in Blackstone's double-overtime victory in the semifinals on March 11, lost both his mother and brother in the shooting. He had just recently returned to the team after his grandfather later died from injuries he sustained in the Feb. 16 shooting at Dennis M. Lynch Arena.
Dorgan said after the game he felt their presence with him on the ice.
"Angels ... Right here, right on my chest and on my shoulders," said Dorgan, who scored the game-tying goal in the third period that forced overtime vs. Lincoln.
"I think they're with me every step of the way. And I could just, throughout all of the playoffs, even in this game, in the overtimes, I think I truly felt it in my heart and my soul that they're still with me. And I think that I love them so much, and they're still here, and I know it."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rhode Island boys hockey team goes from tragedy to Division II title