One of the most powerful stories in youth hockey this year was the passing of Kelly Ryan, a goalie for the Vikings, and the grieving by his teammates. The Triblocal story will be with me for a long time, even though I did not know Kelly Ryan.
... as they got closer to the church, the Ryans saw scores of hockey players, many from the Vikings, in their black jerseys lining up in front of the church with their sticks.
What happened from then on was an uplifting experience for the Ryans-and several other parents-thanks to these young players.
"We pulled up to the church and this was something that looked like we were watching on TV – like it was scripted," Phil Ryan said. "But it wasn't. This was genuine, man."
The players formed two lines and raised their sticks while the pallbearers brought the casket into the church. After the mass was over, they lined up and did it again as the casket was brought back out.
Then it was on to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip for the burial. Toward the end of the ceremony, after the casket was lowered to the ground, players took off their jerseys and tossed them onto the casket and many of them tossed their sticks in the grave, too.
Kelly's Blog is now up and running at:
I'm sorry for your loss, even though this was a while ago... :(
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