The Boston Bruins had special guests at practice on Monday. In February, tragedy struck in Pawtuckett, because the Blackstone Valley Co-op hockey team was playing their senior night, when a shooting took place, killing three members of the family of Blackstone Captain Colin Dorgan.
The team rallied around Dorgan and won the Rhode Island Division II state championship last week. As a part of the celebration, the Boston Bruins invited the team to practice, per Belle Fraser of BostonBruins.com.
“To come back up here and to have emotions of joy – it’s great,” Blackstone head coach Chris Librizzi said. “And it began last Wednesday night with the championship game, and it’s carried over to today. They need this, from a mental capability standpoint, to simply get away from all of the drama that has taken place. Very excited and joyful for them.”
The highschool players got to hitch the Bruins on the bench after practice, tour the ability, after which the Bruins’ players chatted with the Blackstone players, taking photos and signing autographs.
Jeremy Swayman and a number of other Bruins frolicked meeting with the Blackstone Valley hockey team within the locker room — taking photos and signing gear. pic.twitter.com/QKI75jSPws
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 23, 2026
“Simply to have them here, they were all so excited to see it. To see David [Pastrnak] within the training room just getting a massage – just little things like that, they were like, ‘Oh, wow.’ They were asking about which automotive he’s driving. It was great. That was probably the most effective moment today,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “For me, that’s why hockey is the most effective. It’s not only what happened on the ice, but additionally off the ice. I believe it’s just a beautiful thing that these guys have the experience to return here.”
Blackstone coach Librizzi led the team through the tragedy, requiring all players and coaches to have ten consecutive days of counseling, while informing Dorgan he didn’t have to return to the team. Dorgan returned to the team, though, including scoring a game-tying goal within the championship with just 30 seconds left in regulation.
“If it wasn’t for sports, if it wasn’t for hockey, I don’t know the way we’d have gotten through this,” Librizzi said. “That was the difference-maker for us.”