NEED TO KNOW
-
Colin Dorgan scored the winning goal for the Blackstone Valley hockey team less than a month after his mother, brother and grandfather were killed in a shooting.
-
“It was the best moment of my life,” Dorgan said after the 3-2 win on Wednesday, March 11.
-
Blackstone Valley head coach Chris Librizzi said the team immediately rallied around Dorgan to offer support after the tragedy.
Less than a month after losing his mother, brother and grandfather in a mass shooting carried out by his own father, Colin Dorgan said he celebrated the “biggest moment” of his life.
Advertisement
All eyes inside Providence’s Schneider Arena were on Dorgan, 17, after he led his Blackstone Valley Co-op teammates to a 3-2 victory over Portsmouth with a double-overtime goal on Wednesday, March 11, that clinched the team’s ticket to the Rhode Island Division 2 hockey final.
“It was the best moment of my life,” Dorgan told WPRI-TV after the win. “My good friend gave me the record and I could hear the crowd. It was a surreal moment,” he added.
“I literally cried like a baby,” head coach Chris Librizzi told the outlet. “The floodgates opened.”
The Blackstone Valley players’ jerseys included hearts with the initials of Dorgan’s family members sewn on, according to ESPN. Dorgan told WPRI that his teammates have been incredibly supportive during the tragedy. “It’s a tough time for everyone. We support each other and we really love each other,” he said, calling his teammates his “brothers.”
Advertisement
“We have to stick together,” Dorgan added, according to WPRI.
Dorgan’s mother, Rhonda, his brother, Aidan, and his grandfather, Gerald, were killed on Monday, February 16, when a suspect identified as Robert Dorgan, who was also named Roberta, opened fire at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, during Blackstone Valley’s senior game. His grandmother Linda was also seriously injured, according to WPRI.
The shooter, who specifically targeted family members in the shooting, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to ABC News.
Rhode Island high school sports were postponed for a week after the shooting, according to ESPN, and the Blackstone Valley hockey team paused play for nearly three weeks.
Advertisement
Librizzi told WPRI that his players “gathered every day” to offer support to Dorgan after the shooting. “We skated, worked out, or had dinner together at night for 14 days straight. I think that made the difference,” he told the outlet.
Dorgan feels the support, he told WPRI. “I know all the people love me and I love them too,” he said.
A GoFundMe set up to support Dorgan and his sister Ava has raised more than $311,000 as of March 12. Proceeds will go toward “covering basic living expenses and the costs of continuing your education,” according to the fundraiser.
Read the original article on People