Santa Clarita hockey team wins title after player’s dad is killed
A father driving his daughter and two other families from the Santa Clarita Flyers hockey club to a tournament in Colorado was killed last week in a horrific crash in dangerous weather conditions.
Three days later, the Flyers captured the Western Girls Hockey League 12U title with a 1-0 overtime win on Sunday, their fifth victory of the tournament.
The players met for two hours the night of the accident and decided to participate rather than withdraw and go home.
“We knew the families who were victims of the accident would want us to play and decided to do it not only for ourselves, but more importantly for them,” Flyers captain Sophia Boyle told Denver 9News. “We are more than a team. It’s like we are a giant family.
“We knew what we wanted, we did our best and we got it.”
The driver of a Colorado Department of Transportation snow plow truck traveling on snow-covered and wet roads Thursday morning lost control on Interstate 70, crossed the center reservation and struck the Flyers’ Ford Transit pickup head-on, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office.
The pickup truck was overturned on an icy embankment before coming to rest, and the driver, Manuel Lorenzana of Chatsworth, was pronounced dead at the scene. Four children were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital; a fifth was airlifted to a trauma center with serious injuries. Three adults were hospitalized, including one in serious condition.
Lorenzana, 38, a renowned tattoo artist and longtime San Fernando Valley resident, was remembered as “a hero and the embodiment of what an extraordinary man, father, partner and friend should be,” his family wrote on a GoFundMe page.
“He was the most caring, loving and supportive man to his soul mate April, and the most caring, involved, fun, kind and loving parent, and best friend, to his daughter Brody.”
Brody was released from the hospital and rejoined her teammates on Saturday. After opening the double-elimination tournament with two wins Friday and a loss in their first game Saturday, the Flyers advanced with a 14-0 victory.
Santa Clarita Valley residents gathered at the Flyers’ rink, the Cube Ice and Entertainment Center, to watch a broadcast of the game that unfortunately malfunctioned. Still, the crowd remained, with several people refreshing the league’s website to follow the game and shouting when the Flyers scored.
Two wins on Sunday – two shutouts – gave the Flyers the title. Moments before the championship game, the Flyers raised their sticks in a silent nod to Manny Lorenzana. Khaleesi Bewer scored the game-winner in overtime, and the Flyers then sang Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.”
“It’s amazing how much people have rallied around these girls,” said Prescott Littlefield, president of the Flyers organization. “If there is a positive side to this, the amount of support they have received is beyond my ability to comprehend. The families are very grateful.”
