With jerseys behind benches, teams honor players tragically lost (Video)

James Lavin and Owen Higgins weren’t just teammates on the Falmouth High School hockey squad, but also best friends, to the point where coach Paul Moore said they were “connected at the hip.” They were standout senior athletes at the school, both on the football field and on the ice, where Higgins had recently been named captain of the Clippers hockey team.

They were traveling back from practice on Dec. 22 when tragedy struck: Their car crashed into a tree, totaling it. Lavin, the driver, was killed instantly. Higgins died the next afternoon, two days before Christmas, after being taken to Rhode Island Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The mourning began for their classmates on that Friday, even though classes had ended for winter break. A large group of them met on the football field for an informal memorial, hugging and weeping. Grief counselors were available to help.

Students turned out en masse for their funerals as well.

Then it was the hockey community’s turn to mourn two of its own.

While the Falmouth Clippers wouldn’t play again until 2017, other Massachusetts area teams offered their own tributes – by hanging the numbers for Lavin (10) and Higgins (19) behind their benches.

Like here, before the Matignon vs. Bishop Fenwick game:

And here, behind the Westfield Bombers’ bench:

But most memorably, the Boston Bruins hung sweaters honoring Lavin and Higgins behind their bench before their Dec. 31 game against the Buffalo Sabres:

According to the Boston Herald, at least 180 teams from Massachusetts paid their respects with the jersey tribute or by some other means. From the Herald:

The idea to honor Lavin and Higgins started out like most, a seed that needed to be planted. Framingham athletic director Paul Spear and Marshfield boys coach Dan Connolly were among the first to think about the ways in which teams could pay tribute, and one idea stood out.

“If kids were willing to give up their jersey for a night, then the Falmouth kids would know they were doing it because they would see it on Twitter,” Spear said. “It would let the people in Falmouth know that everybody was affected by this. Every single high school kid had to consider what it would be like.”

But the tributes reached their emotional apex on Wednesday night: The night the Falmouth Clippers played their first game without their fallen teammates.

It started with two Clippers players carrying the jerseys of Higgins and Lavin around the rink as they skated to the bench. It was a remarkable, and emotional, scene:

It continued with those jerseys hung behind the Falmouth bench, like that had been around the state for the last week.

Here’s a look at the night:

The players wore ribbons remembering the players on their helmets, matching the one on the ice. A pregame ceremony honored their memory, as Moore addressed the crowd. All proceeds from ticket sales went to a fund for a scholarship in their names.

“We’re going to remember James and Owen for how they lived, not how they died,” said Moore.

On a night that recalled tremendous loss, Falmouth won its hockey game, 5-0, knowing that it was much more than another number in the standings.

“I told them they know what they are playing for,” said Moore.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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