game-winning goal in double overtime<\/a> in a playoff game this month. That paved the way for the title match against Lincoln High School. <\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s just a game for Lincoln High School and for everybody that\u2019s coming here, but for us who lived through that shooting? It\u2019s our lives. It\u2019s a tragedy we all went through and are still healing from it,\u201d Blackstone Valley head coach Chris Librizzi said, wiping away tears during an interview ahead of the game.<\/p>\n
A rowdy crowd in the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence applauded, cried and held their breath for three tense periods before Dorgan tied the score, leading to four nerve-wracking overtime periods. Finally Blackstone Valley\u2019s Jaxon Boyes netted the winning goal. <\/p>\n
The ending was a much-needed catharsis for a team that has grappled with grief and trauma for weeks.<\/p>\n
Police have identified Robert Dorgan as the shooter who killed ex-wife Rhonda Dorgan and son Aidan Dorgan on Feb. 16 in the stands of the ice rink in Pawtucket. Authorities say the shooting was targeted. Colin Dorgan\u2019s grandfather Gerald Dorgan was also shot and later died from his wounds, and two others were severely injured.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 they participated in 10 days of counseling sessions. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Despite some initial hesitation, every player came back \u2014 including Dorgan, who took the longest to decide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sent Colin a text saying, \u2018Bud, playoffs are this Friday night, it\u2019s your call,\u201d Librizzi said. \u201cHe didn\u2019t respond all day, but at about 9 o\u2019clock at night, he sent me a text saying, \u2018Coach I\u2019ll see you tomorrow at practice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Dorgan credited his sister, Ava Dorgan, who was at the Feb. 16 shooting but was not injured, as key to helping push through the grief.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s very tough, she\u2019s a tough girl. And I thank her, because she just totally filled the shoes of my mom,\u201d he said. \u201cYou eventually get back into a cycle to where you gotta get up off the couch. That\u2019s the biggest and first step to recovery.\u201d <\/p>\n
At the team\u2019s first practice back on the ice, Librizzi had to stop the action several times due to players being rattled. There have been tears, from the coach to family members to even unconnected people following the team from afar. Meanwhile questions remain about what life looks after the championship game.<\/p>\n
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 the hearts on the front of the team\u2019s jerseys, and many Rhode Islanders are displaying hockey sticks outside their homes in solidarity. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all still struggling with it,\u201d Librizzi said. \u201cWe just need to be family with each other, we need to be supportive of each other moving forward and to heal from this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) \u2014 As Colin Dorgan stood before a deafening crowd exploding in pride for his high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501390,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[59070,59814,59713,58969,286,59068,59067,5,59815,13038,59066,55952,55951,59071,59072,29418,43,5754,294],"class_list":["post-511379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hockey","tag-aidan-dorgan","tag-ava-dorgan","tag-chris-librizzi","tag-colin-dorgan","tag-general-news","tag-gerald-dorgan","tag-gun-violence","tag-hockey","tag-jaxon-boyes","tag-rhode-island","tag-rhode-island-rams","tag-rhonda-dorgan","tag-robert-dorgan","tag-roberta-dorgano","tag-roberta-esposito","tag-shootings","tag-sports","tag-sports-stories","tag-u-s-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116256006210894855","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Blackstone](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773412941_227_.jpeg\")
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