The deaths of Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew Gaudreau have been felt throughout the hockey world this week, and now the siblings’ high school will host a memorial for the pair.
Gloucester Catholic in the Philadelphia suburb of Gloucester City, New Jersey has invited mourners to congregate in the school gymnasium for a ‘Quiet Night of Remembrance’ from 5:30 to 7:30 local time on Friday evening.
Per the school’s social media post, the event is ‘open to the Gloucester Catholic Family and all residents of the Tri-State area to provide an opportunity for all to pay tribute to Johnny and Matt.’
Meanwhile Sean Higgins, who was charged for mowing down the Gaudreau brothers as they were cycling, returned for his second court appearance on Thursday.
Last week, the Gaudreau brothers’ cycling expedition took a tragic turn when they were hit by a vehicle and died on the evening of their sister’s wedding in Salem County, New Jersey.
Johnny (right) and Matthew (left) died last week after being struck by a vehicle while cycling
Johnny Gaudreau (left) and Matthew Gaudreau (right) will be mourned in Gloucester Friday
Gloucester Catholic in the Philadelphia suburb of Gloucester City, New Jersey has invited mourners to congregate in the school gymnasium on Friday night
After a week behind bars, Higgins noticeably changed his look – wearing a bushy goatee, unlike the stubble he had in his mugshot.
Higgins also wore an orange scrub without the suicide vest he wore in his first court appearance.
Just seconds into his appearance, the judge postponed the hearing until September 13 to determine Higgins’ pretrial conditions. Higgins will remain in custody during that time.
The Woodstown, New Jersey native is suspected of being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. After the incident, Higgins was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide with no bail or bond.
Officers also allege that Higgins showed signs of being drunk and admitted to drinking ‘prior to and while operating his vehicle’.
While reeking of alcohol, Higgins is said to have told them that ‘his consumption of alcoholic beverages contributed to his impatience and reckless driving.’
In documents seen by DailyMail.com, Higgins admitted to cops that he drank ‘5-6 beers’ before getting behind the wheel of his Jeep Grand Cherokee and crashing into the back of Johnny and Matthew.
A graphic displays the crash that killed Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau on Thursday night
Johnny and Matthew’s tragic death happened on the evening of their sister’s wedding
Attorneys Matthew Portella and Richard Klineburger III said Higgins had hired them to represent him.
‘This is a tragedy involving a great deal of emotion and impacting many individuals,’ they said in a statement. ‘It is too early in the stages of the legal process to make any out of court statements.’
The funeral for the Gaudreau brothers has been scheduled for Monday at a church in suburban Philadelphia.
The memorial service for the Gaudreau brothers is set to take place at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Media, Pennsylvania. The NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, for whom John Gaudreau played and was known around the sport as ‘Johnny Hockey,’ said the team will stream the service on their website.
Countless members of the hockey community from Columbus to South Jersey to Boston College, where the Gaudreaus played, are expected to join family and friends for the funeral. Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell said the entire team would be there, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is also planning to be in attendance.
The Woodstown, New Jersey native wore a suicide jacket in his first hearing on August 30
Rev. Eric J. Banecker in a letter to parents said school at St. Mary Magdalen would be closed Monday because of the service.
‘This will be an extraordinarily large funeral for two young men, one of whom was a professional hockey player,’ Banecker wrote in the letter that was posted on social media. ‘The fact is we cannot ensure a safe school day and dismissal given the expected crowd. I ask you to consider this inconvenience a small sacrifice that will help ease the pain just a bit of John and Matthew’s parents, wives, children, siblings, relatives and friends.’
Fans and current and former players paid tribute to John and Matthew in candlelight vigils in Columbus, Ohio, and Calgary, Alberta, on Wednesday night. There was a 13 minute, 21-second silent remembrance outside the Blue Jackets’ downtown arena while a slideshow played of photos showing the siblings from childhood, through their teenage years and into college hockey, the pros, marriages, baptisms and lives filled with joy and love.
The crowd outside the Flames’ arena in Calgary grew to thousands, with fans breaking out into chants of, ‘Johnny! Johnny!’
Sean Higgins, charged for the death of the Gaudreau brothers, had his second court hearing
Lewis Gross, the brothers’ longtime agent, said Thursday it had taken him some time to write about what the 15 years representing them meant to him, including becoming part of the extended Gaudreau family.
‘I never thought the bad would come as it has,’ Gross wrote on social media. ‘The hockey might be over, but my commitment to John and Matt will last throughout my life. These boys taught me so much. They taught me what family really means.’
Obituaries published Thursday directed contributions to the John & Matthew Gaudreau Foundation, care of Gross at Sports Professional Management in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher opened remarks about the 2024 class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame with continued thoughts and prayers for the Gaudreau family. Kevin Stevens, one of the inductees, played at BC three decades before John and Matthew.
‘The last week has been awful,’ Stevens said. ‘It´s just gut-wrenching. It´s unimaginable – something that you never want to have to try to deal with. We all come together and try to do the best we can to make this go by somehow.’