Calgary Flames Fans Pay Tribute to Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau at Candlelight Vigil: Embodying the Spirit of a Flame and a Calgarian

September 5, 2024 TruthUSA

CALGARY—Tim Haney is a third-generation Calgarian and lifelong Calgary Flames fan. For decades, he has watched their games and cheered their victories. But on the evening of Sept. 4, he was silent.

He joined thousands of other fans outside the Saddledome arena to hold a 13-minute vigil for hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew who were killed by an alleged drunk driver while cycling in New Jersey on Aug. 29. The vigil was 13 minutes long, in honour of Gaudreau’s jersey number.

“[Johnny Gaudreau was] everything that a hockey player, a Flame, and a Calgarian should be,” said Haney, who shares his Flames passion with his father, nieces, and nephew. He told The Epoch Times that Johnny Gaudreau “did it all for the right reasons, for the love of the game, and just being a good person all around.

“I hurt so much when he left, and that’s why it hurts so much now,” he added, holding back tears.

On the night of the accident, he had seen rumours online and went to bed hoping they were not true. The next morning he was “shocked and in disbelief.”

Johnny, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, had been riding their bicycles in Oldmans Township when they were struck by an SUV. New Jersey police charged Sean Higgins, 43, who allegedly told authorities he drank five or six beers before the accident.

The vigil began at 8 p.m. local time and was the first day of a 13-day observance organized by the Calgary Flames team “to continue to visit the memorial and pay tribute to Johnny and Matthew,” the team said on its website.

Matthew Gaudreau did not play for the NHL but played professionally for teams in the American and East Coast hockey leagues.

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