Less than two weeks after a gunman opened fire and killed 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students at the school will have something to cheer about when they return to classes on Monday.
The school’s varsity hockey team captured the Lightning High School Hockey League Tier 1 Florida state hockey championship on Sunday, after entering the tournament as the bottom seed.
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After teammate Jesse Guttenberg, a junior varsity member of the Eagles team, lost his sister in the Feb. 14 shooting, the team didn’t even know if they would be able to overcome the tragedy and play in the tournament.
“We almost didn’t even come here, because we didn’t know if we wanted to play or not,” Ronnie Froetschel told WBBH. “I’m glad we did it. I’m glad we came. I’m just happy to be alive and I play for those who can’t.”
“No one was lacking energy in the locker room,” Joey Zenobi added. “We all came to play. We were all ready. This wasn’t for us. This was for the 17 victims.”
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The team had a tough road to claiming the championship, beating the top-seeded team in the semifinal before beating a rival club in the final.
According to the players, their victory was almost meant to be.
“We plan to bring all of our medals to the school,” Matthew Horowitz said. “There’s 17 of us on the ice. We plan to put a medal on every single person that passed away.”
Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ unlikely story will continue when they compete in the National championship in Plymouth, Minn., beginning March 22.
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