By Mike Gurnis
Just 11 days earlier, tragedy struck the Roxbury hockey team.
It received the news that nobody could have possibly prepared for, when it found out that former teammate Gavin Barooah had passed away in a car accident on Thanksgiving night.
He was just 19 years old.
Barooah, a four-year starter on defense for the Gaels, graduated after last season, and earned Second Team All-Haas Division in his senior campaign.
Roxbury has had to prepare for this season while having to also process the grief of the sudden and unexpected loss of a former teammate. It honored him prior to its game with High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny at Mennen Arena on Monday night, with a ceremonial puck drop, in which Ryan VanZile took the faceoff, passed it back to teammate Griffin Warsaw, who put the puck in the position on the blue line that Barooah would normally take.
The faceoff was followed by a 21 second moment of silence, since Barooah wore number 21 for the Gaels. It was perhaps the quietest Mennen Arena had been during a high school hockey game since the 2020-21 season during the COVID pandemic, when fans weren’t allowed in the building.
“I mean, it’s been hard, obviously, and sad, I think both of those things for the last week,” Roxbury coach Jon Benbow said. “But I do think that sport, it provides a wonderful support system for athletes where they can kind of lean on each other. And I think sport provides relief for all of us and gives us something to focus on. I think that’s been big for us, being able to be together and be on the ice together.”
While its almost unfathomable that a team grieving this type of tragedy went through virtually an entire preseason and has now played two games (both wins) in this short period of time, the Gaels credit being on the ice together as a bit of an escape.
Roxbury won, 14-4 over High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny on Monday night, and is now 2-0 to start the season.
“It’s definitely good (to play) to just keep our mind off of it,” senior captain Ryan VanZile said. “I mean, it’s always going to creep in on like days like this, but it’s really awesome to just have a ceremony for him. We truly dedicate this win for him, and dedicate our whole season for him, and we really hope to be successful for him and his family.”
VanZile added, “It was extremely hard just trying to concentrate at practice. It just wasn’t doable, just because of how much of an impact he had on our team. But, being as a group and being together really, really helped, not just me, but the whole team.”
Barooah’s career as a Gael was capped off with him being named a captain of the team last winter. A defenseman with good size, he also chipped in offensively, as he scored 11 goals with four assists last year. He finished his four-year career with 19 goals and 20 assists.
“So, I mean, obviously part of it is physical size, which you can’t coach, right? He’s always been a big kid,” Benbow said of his on-ice traits. “His brother was a big kid, but he’s got all the tools. And I think that kind of makes you an enigma on the ice. Like you can be physical, but you can be agile, you can be fast, you can take care of the front of the net, you can shoot, you can pass. He just did everything well. I think more than anything, he could just skate. I mean, he had long strides, and when he got going, he could fly. It was pretty to watch.”
His worked hard on his offensive game, and that work sometimes led to some funny interactions between him and his teammates.
“He would always do one timers before practice, and he always, sometimes hit me and I would get so mad,” VanZile said. “Sometimes I wouldn’t pass the puck enough, and (then) he was jabbing me, but it was all brotherly love. And I really, really miss him.”
Barooah’s leadership in the locker room and ability to connect with his teammates was a huge bonus to his abilities on the ice.
“He had a really good intensity, and he always led the play,” VanZile said. “Always had great advice, not just for hockey, but for life, and he was always there if we needed a laugh or a smile. He wasn’t just a captain on the ice, he was a very, very good leader off the ice.”
The Gaels will now play the rest of this season with Barooah on their minds, as it tries to chase a Haas Cup title. Monday night’s win was its Haas-Charette division opener, so it picked up a critical two points on a night where emotions were running high as they honored their fallen teammate.
“We talked a lot about just playing the way that Gavin played, with passion, with competitiveness, with determination, with grit, and just approaching every game like he did.,” Benbow said. “We figured if we do that, then we’ll be all set in the end, and everything else will take care of itself.”
In the game, Roxbury exploded offensively, scoring 14 goals with its top line of VanZile, Chase Alven, and Michael Nelson combining for 19 points. VanZile had three goals and six assists, Nelson scored four goals, and Alven tallied three goals and three assists
“Overall, we were sad, but we were here to celebrate his life and him as a person, as a teammate, and it was just awesome,” VanZile said. “Seeing his whole family and his friends here, and being able to pull off a win for him is just really, really special.”
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 