The Flames welcomed the Columbus Blue Jackets to Calgary, where hockey quickly became an afterthought when both teams honored Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau four months after the brothers were killed by a drunk driver.
A former teammate of Johnny’s, Columbus’ Sean Monahan, was seen crying during the puck drop ceremony before Tuesday’s game at the Scotiabank Saddledome, where players on both sides struggled to contain their emotions.
The brothers’ family was also present at the ceremony, where Johnny’s widow, Meredith, was seen holding one of her two children. She revealed in September that she is pregnant with her third.
“It’s been really nice,” a tearful Meredith told Sportsnet before Tuesday’s game, which Calgary won 3-0. ‘I really wanted everyone to see the children. Everyone has been so warm it feels like you never left when you’re here for a couple of days.’
“Some of the best fans in the world are here in Calgary,” Guy, the brothers’ father, told Sportsnet before the ’13 Forever’ tribute.
Tuesday marked the second time in the last two weeks that the two teams met, and the first meeting in Calgary, where the forward known as ‘Johnny Hockey’ became a beloved Flames star and teammate.
Columbus Blue Jackets’ Sean Monahan, left, and Calgary Flames’ Mikael Backlund join Johnny Gaudreau’s family at center ice before Tuesday’s game. Monahan (left) is seen crying.
Many viewers couldn’t help but notice that Sean Monahan was overcome with emotion.
Johnny (right) and Matthew (left) are seen with their sister, Katie, who postponed their wedding after his death. Katie was also present Tuesday in Calgary for the ceremony.
He played 10 full seasons in the NHL and was about to begin his third with the Blue Jackets when he and Matthew were killed while biking in their native New Jersey on the eve of his sister’s wedding. The two had previously played together at Boston College.
The driver accused of killing Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau while they were bicycling on a rural New Jersey road appeared briefly in court last month, where the judge extended the deadline for prosecutors to request an indictment.
The brief hearing, in which the judge gave prosecutors an additional 30 days to file formal charges in the Gaudreaus’ deaths on Aug. 29, marked the first time the Gaudreau family and 44-year-old defendant Sean M. Higgins , they faced one. another in court. Previously, Higgins appeared at the hearings via video from behind bars.
Authorities say Higgins, who is from Woodstown in southwestern New Jersey, became intoxicated after drinking five or six beers the day he crashed into the brothers’ bicycles, and that he has a history of road rage and aggressive driving.
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and Matthew Gaudreau, 29, were killed near their childhood home in South Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding. The family, including his father, Guy Gaudreau, declined to comment on the case Tuesday in Salem County Court.
Brothers Johnny Gaudreau (right) and Matthew Gaudreau (left) after a Beanpot win in 2014.
Johnny Gaudreau’s family gathers at center ice before an NHL hockey game between the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets in Calgary.
Mikael Backlund hugs former teammate and now Blue Jackets member Sean Monahan
The Gaudreau family watches from the bench during a tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau
Sean Higgins, 43, was charged with two counts of death by automobile, as well as reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a motor vehicle.
Higgins told police that on the day of his arrest, he had been driving for two hours while talking to a friend on the phone after having a disturbing conversation with his mother.
A driver in front of Higgins told police that Higgins had been driving aggressively. When she and the vehicle in front of her slowed down and moved to the left to go around the cyclists, Higgins accelerated and veered to the right, striking the Gaudreaus, she said.
Higgins had a blood alcohol level of .087, which is above the state’s legal limit of .08, and failed a field sobriety test, police said. He faces preliminary charges of two counts of death by automobile, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consumption of alcohol in a vehicle.
Higgins faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted of one of the death by automobile charges. The judge said that made him a flight risk and ordered him to be jailed until trial.
Defense attorney Matthew Portella has called Higgins “a loving father of two daughters” and a good person who “made a horrible decision that night.” Portella declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.