The Rhode Island high school hockey team that was on the ice during a mass shooting in the stands last month capped its season with a state title Wednesday.
No. 5 seed Blackstone Valley Co-op captured the Division 2 championship over No. 2 Lincoln and did so in dramatic fashion, tying the game late in regulation and then winning it in a fourth overtime, 3-2, sending fans at Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence into a wild celebration.
Again at the center of the playoff success was Colin Dorgan.
The senior’s mother, brother and grandfather were killed in the shooting that erupted while he was playing a Senior Day game with his Blackstone Valley Co-op teammates at Rhode Island’s Dennis M. Lynch Arena last month. Police identified Robert Dorgan as the shooter who killed ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and son Aidan Dorgan on Feb. 16 in the stands. 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 tragedy 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 the team to the Division 2 final thanks a double-OT game-winner in the semifinals last week.
In Wednesday’s final, it was Dorgan’s goal off a deflection that tied the game with about 30 seconds left. Four overtimes later, teammate Jaxon Boyes won it.
The ending was a much-needed catharsis for a team that has grappled with grief and trauma for weeks.
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.
Blackstone Valley coach Chris 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 players 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.'”
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 hearts with the initials of the three who died 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 ahead of the final. “We just need to be family with each other, we need to be supportive of each other moving forward and to heal from this.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
