Local high school teams pay tribute to Southeastern/B-P goalie Dylan Quinn

RAYNHAM — Teammates inked his No. 33 on their cheeks as they cheered from the stands. Classmates, too.

The Southeastern/Bristol-Plymouth hockey team played in honor of Dylan Quinn.

Throughout the week, they weren't alone.

Since Quinn's death on Jan. 15, teams throughout the South Shore and Brockton area have shown support through an array of tributes.

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The Oliver Ames High boys hockey team designed a heart-shaped helmet sticker with Quinn's initials and No. 33 to wear the remainder of the season. Quinn played for Easton Middle School, and later for the Trio-County Saints alongside several current OA players.

"He was a close friend and teammate to most of our team," OA's first-year head coach Jimmy Tierney said. "Any time a tragedy happens in the hockey community, it affects everyone in it. The OA community wants to honor Dylan while playing the sport he loves."

On Jan. 18, the OA gymastics team dedicated its win over Taunton to Quinn by dawning blue ribbons, inspired by the Southeastern-BP hockey co-op's color scheme.

On Saturday, during Southeastern/BP's first game since Quinn's death (a 6-2 win), opponent South Shore Voke Tech -- a known rival of the Hawks -- sported their own D.Q. helmet stickers in tribute.

“It’s simply amazing how many of (the local teams) are all connected," Southeastern/BP head coach Mark Cabral said of the support. "If they didn’t know Dylan, they knew his brother. If they didn’t know his brother, they knew his friend or teammate, a guy on this team. They’ve been very supportive the whole time.”

Quinn's former youth hockey club, the Bridgewater Bandits, West/East Bridgewater High girls and boys, Whitman-Hanson boys, North Quincy boys and Plymouth North boys were a handful of the local teams among the countless from all around the state to chime in with tributes on social media.

“We had nothing but respect for it," senior captain John Whalen said. "If it was someone else, we would’ve done the same thing. It’s just great to see the hockey community do that.”

Quinn's younger brother, Connor, 11, lined up with the team wearing an oversized, blue No. 33 jersey during the 33-second moment of silence and national anthem. He then did the ceremonial puck drop and later hung out on the Southeastern-BP bench throughout the game.

“That was sad to see, but he’s a very uplifting and happy kid," Whalen said. "Just like his older brother.”

Cabral told a story about the team's swift uniform change in tribute, saying that when deciding sweater and pants color combinations before the season, Quinn was the only player that voted to wear white tops with grey bottoms.

Saturday night, the team skated out wearing just what their goaltender would've wanted -- with the grey bottoms featuring an embroidered heart, D.Q. and, of course, Quinn's No. 33. Cabral said he ordered the pants on two days' notice. And they arrived just in time.

“As soon as they saw them, they were like, ‘We’re wearing those the rest of our lives,’ basically,” Cabral said.

“He’s the only person on the team that wanted those grey pants. Personally, I think they’re green," Whalen said with a smile. "But he loved them.”

Are they here to stay?

“Oh, every game I hope,” Whalen said.

Five different Southeastern/B-P players scored a goal in Saturday's win -- sophomore Luke Martineau, senior Colin Wilbur, junior Kacey Brown, junior Nick Sturdevant (twice) and sophomore Marcus Santos. After each one, the goal-scorer would tap on the poster of Quinn hanging on the glass just past the bench after making their way through the high-five line.

The whole team stamped the win by chest-bumping the poster of Quinn in celebration after the win.

"I've never played harder in my life. I mean, I have a breathing problem. That went away today," Whalen said. "It was just skate, skate, skate. We won. That's what he would've wanted. That game was for him."

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Local communities show tribute to Southeastern/B-P goalie Dylan Quinn