BELLINGHAM, Mass. (WJAR) — After the tragic shooting at the Dennis M. Lynch Arena, the hockey community is stepping up on social media, and on doorsteps around New England.

“Putting the stick out means that we are one with our hockey family,” Amanda Sachs said.

After two people were shot and killed at a high school hockey game in Pawtucket on Feb. 16, it hit the hockey community hard.

“The Lynch Arena was pretty much our home rink. We were there two, three days a week, playing hockey. So. When something like this happens, as a parent, we all get, we’re all in shock,” Justin Sachs said.

Justin and Amanda Sachs were at their son’s hockey practice in Massachusetts when they heard the news.

“When we came home, my son was like ‘Dad, we should put a stick out tonight,’ and I was like, ‘you know what, we absolutely should,'” Justin said.

Their son, Jacob Sachs, said it was one of the first things he did when they got home.

“I just put my gear away, and then I grabbed one of my sticks and put it outside,” Jacob said.

Justin said the hockey community comes together during tragedies like these, placing hockey sticks outside their home, to show their support.

“The hockey community has done this for a long time, where we put a stick out in front of a house, a porch, on the front entranceway, kind of really showing, again, the support and the love for the community,” Justin said.

The family then posted a photo of the hockey stick outside their home on social media, with the caption #sticksoutforri.

“Some of the comments were pictures of sticks out. It’s spreading throughout the community, I know that some of our other hockey families that are local to here had their sticks out last night,” Amanda said.

Across New England, the hockey community rallied together on social media to show support for those impacted by the deadly shooting.

“Hopefully we don’t need to put the stick out again,” Justin said. “The stick is out to remember and honor the people that were involved in this tragedy and hopefully we don’t have to put the stick out for another 20 years.”