Weeks after losing 3 family members, this teen channeled his grief to send his hockey team to the state championships

By Graham Hurley, CNN

(CNN) — Between slick ice and sharp skates, the chilled hollow of a hockey rink is where Colin Dorgan has experienced the most devastating and the most jubilant moments of his life – all within the span of a month.

The high school senior’s mother, brother and grandfather were killed in mid-February when gunfire pierced the clamor of sticks, skates and cheers during one of his games at an arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

His life upended, Dorgan took some time to return to the rink, and when his skates hit the ice, the team captain performed like he hadn’t missed a moment. The divisional championship game this week played out like a movie. In double overtime, Dorgan scored the winning goal to send his team to the state championship.

But three seats in the arena that should have been filled by Dorgan’s biggest supporters were empty.

Retired firefighter and head coach of the Blackstone Valley Co-op hockey team Chris Librizzi has seen his share of tragedy up close. But nothing in his years on the job could have braced him for what he witnessed at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena.

“This was by far the worst that I’ve ever been to, because I was right there from the onset,” Librizzi said.

While his players scrambled off the ice, the former first responder rushed to the stands to treat the wounded.

After the shooting, returning to the rink was not an easy transition for anyone.

A heavy decision

The coaches gathered the team for a meeting a couple of days after the shooting to encourage the players to take some time to think about whether they wanted to continue, emphasizing there was no pressure if they wanted to stop.

“I got to thinking after that that this is not a way that Rhonda Dorgan, Aidan Dorgan and Gerald Dorgan would ever want Colin’s season to end, and not a way that they would want our season to end,” Librizzi explained about the decision to resume.

After circling back with the team and their families a few days later, Librizzi and the other coaches told the team they were going to keep playing.

“We want you to be a part of this team. Standing on the bench or standing in the stands with us, we’re going to continue the season,” Librizzi said.

At the same time, Librizzi had been meeting with Colin and his sister, Ava, each day following the shooting. Librizzi asked Colin about coming back to play for the rest of the season.

“I said, Colin, if you don’t want to come back to the team, I completely understand and I will support your decision, but I just want you to know that if you decide not to come back to this team, and I allow that to happen, your mom would have kicked my ass,” Librizzi said.

While Dorgan grieved, the team spent time together nearly every single day. The only exceptions were a couple of days when they were snowed in by the massive blizzard that gripped the region.

“The first two days back on the ice were incredibly difficult. Some of the players were hesitant on coming back and stepping foot on the ice,” Librizzi said.

They had regular workouts. They went to Topgolf. They had dinners together for 15 days straight. And perhaps most importantly, everyone participated in both individual and group counseling sessions to cope with the tragedy.

Librizzi had previously told the schools’ administration this year would mark the end of his 32-year coaching career. The coach has cancer and has undergone four surgeries over the past year.

“After this incident took place, I had a conversation with my wife, and she said, ‘This is your call. It’s up to you,’” he said. “I told her I didn’t feel it was right for me to leave them this year, so I’m coming back next year.”

Dorgan, too, decided to come back.

The teen took time to process and heal and returned to the team about two weeks after the shooting.

“He needed time to heal and time to make sure it was right for him to come back to the rink, but when I saw him back at the rink, I saw a look of joy on his face, and he was in a comfortable location,” Librizzi said.

‘It was the greatest moment of my life’

With less than two weeks to prepare, Dorgan rejoined his team as they laced up their skates for the divisional championship game. The players donned jerseys, now emblazoned with hearts stitched on the front bearing the initials of all three who died.

“I believe that bonding, that team unity, that ‘hockey family mentality’ came to fruition,” said Librizzi. “They were ready.”

As a defenseman, scoring was not normally in Dorgan’s repertoire, yet he proved that notion wrong night after night during the playoffs.

In the team’s quarterfinal match, Dorgan netted two goals with confidence, and he carried that spirit into the semifinal game.

Trailing 1-2, Blackstone Valley scored the equalizer in the third period.

The score remained 2-2 at the final buzzer. It stayed that way through the first overtime period.

As the clock ticked the second overtime away, Dorgan scored on a breakaway, splitting two defenders as he came face to face with the opposing team’s goalkeeper before slamming the puck into the net.

Lifting his team to a 3-2 victory, Dorgan punched his team’s ticket to the state championship.

The stadium erupted into cheers, and Dorgan’s teammates swarmed to him after scoring the game–winning goal.

“It was the greatest moment of my life,” Dorgan told WPRI-TV after the game.

Dorgan yanked his helmet off and amping up the crowd after celebrating the goal with his teammates.

“I was just overwhelmed with joy for him, overwhelmed with joy for the team, for Colin’s sister, for the whole family, and for our hockey family,” Librizzi said.

When the team was gathering in their defensive zone on the rink after the game winner, Librizzi darted across the ice to hug Dorgan.

“I just saw the raw emotion just pour out of his face,” recalled Librizzi. “It was just amazing. He needed that. He really needed that,” Librizzi added.

The weeks of preparation for these players leading to this moment were marked by pain, anxiety and also a ton of time in each other’s company, according to Librizzi.

“That team bonding, being together like that made all the difference in the world,” Librizzi said. “To then bring the team back together as one with team bonding and to see the joy and the jubilation on their faces from the last three games we played has just been tremendous.”

‘We’re not done’

Advancing to the state championships extends Dorgan and the other seniors’ high school careers for one more climactic game.

“In the locker room, Colin was the one that started it, and he said, ‘We’re not done. We got one more. We got one more voice. We got one more.’ And the team just erupted in the locker room when our senior captain spoke like that.”

The players have a few more days to study film and stay fresh to prepare for the state championship March 18.

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