SEWELL – Gloucester Catholic High School is a special place. That’s no secret to the Gaudreau family.
“I’m so lucky that John, Matty and I were able to attend Gloucester Catholic, and I consider Gloucester Catholic the best four years of my life,” said Katie Gaudreau. “I look forward to my children and [sister Kristen’s] children and all future Gaudreaus to go to Gloucester Catholic one day and receive the same morals.”
Katie Gaudreau, the younger sister of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, was among the family members to attend a memorial ice hockey game between Gloucester Catholic and Saint Peter’s Prep on Feb. 6 at Hollydell Ice Arena.
Dozens of current and former students, staff, friends and family turned out to the game to honor the legacy of the Gaudreau brothers, both Gloucester Catholic alumni who were struck and killed Aug. 28 while riding their bicycles along a single lane highway in Oldmans Township, Salem County.
Johnny, a seven-time NHL all-star, was in the prime of his professional hockey career, which began with the Calgary Flames and continued with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Matt played parts of five seasons in the American Hockey League, the East Coast Hockey League, and overseas in Sweden before returning to South Jersey to coach the Gloucester Catholic hockey program during the 2023-24 season. It was a position that his father, Guy Gaudreau, held before him.
Both boys grew up playing at Hollydell.
“Matty only coached me for a year, but he meant a lot,” Rams senior captain Mikey Joyce said. “He was loved; he was a very easy coach to play for. He wasn’t hard on us too much, just at the right times. And Johnny, I mean he was ‘Johnny Hockey.’ He’s the reason you grow up and play hockey around here.”
Up and down the current lineup, there are deep connections.
“[Guy Gaudreau] was my coach for about four or five years,” senior Declan Morris said. “Matty was my coach, too. They mean a lot to me. Everyone loves them here. It’s all anyone talks about. They’re just great people.”
For decades, the Gaudreau family was just as instrumental off the ice. The family embraced the local hockey community and raised thousands of dollars for Gloucester Catholic each year through golf outings and other fundraisers.
“They loved Gloucester Catholic, and we love them,” athletic director Ryan Murphy said. “Such down-to-earth people. I have three kids, and I would envy how tight their four children were. I hope for that for my kids. That’s who our school tries to be.”
Prior to the game, members of the Gaudreau family were invited out onto the ice for a ceremonial puck drop as players from Gloucester Catholic and Saint Peter’s stood along the blue lines and clapped their sticks on the ice. The hockey team and Gloucester Catholic administration members presented the family with flowers and gifts. Many hugs were exchanged.
“Obviously Johnny and Matt hold a very special place in our heart,” Gloucester Catholic Principal Tom Iacovone said. “But it’s not just Johnny and Matt. It’s the entire Gaudreau family that we want to thank. Their support for Gloucester Catholic, I can’t even explain.”
The Rams wore specially-made warm-up jerseys with a front crest reading, “Once a Ram, always a Ram,” outlined with Johnny’s No. 13 and Matthew’s No. 21. Patches of the teams the Gaudreaus played for such as Boston College, the Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets and the Reading Royals were stitched on the upper part of the sleeves. The back of each jersey had the Gaudreau name on it with either Johnny’s or Matt’s number.
“The boys designed [the jerseys],” Murphy said. “It was their idea. There’s a company [Philly Express] that makes the Flyers’ actual jerseys, and it’s owned by a G.C. family [the Ristagnos]. So they made them for us.”
Players were back in their normal hockey sweaters for their rivalry game against Jersey City’s Saint Peter’s Prep. The Rams rode the emotion of the day and channeled the energy into a hard-fought 6-3 victory. Joyce recorded a hat trick with his second goal of the game tying it up, 3-3 midway through the third period. He later added a shorthanded breakaway goal to ice the game.
“Honestly, it felt pretty good,” Joyce said. “Two of [the goals] were nice little breakaways. Pretty easy. The other one, I just walked off the wall and put it bottom right. Not much to it.”
Smooth, just like Johnny and Matt routinely played. The effort raised Gloucester Catholic’s record to 3-7 on the season.
The Gaudreau family watched from an area up above the rink as the Rams skated off the ice victorious.
“It just felt important,” Joyce said of the win. “We had to have a good game. It was mainly for Johnny and Matt. It wasn’t for us.”
Joyce was one of a handful of Gloucester Catholic players that attended the Philadelphia Flyers’ tribute to the Gaudreaus at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 21 prior to a Blue Jackets game. That night, the Rams took the ice for the ceremony and wore their regular jerseys with Johnny and Matt’s names stitched on the back. It became a keepsake for Joyce and others. And the Flyers won, 5-4.
“I was on the ice for the Flyers game that we did so I got a Johnny jersey for that, and I got a Matty jersey today,” Joyce said. “I’ll probably put them in frames, and they’ll go in my room. It’s something I’ll have forever.”
© All Rights Reserved | February 13, 2025 | Catholic Star Herald of the Diocese of Camden
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