By snoadmin
LAKEWOOD – Former 49er ice hockey player Chris Northy was honored in a dedication ceremony before Friday night’s season opener at Glacial Garden Skating Arena.
Northy died in a single-vehicle accident in February when his car careened off the interchange of the 710 Freeway and Highway 91 after leaving a pick-up hockey game.
Northy’s No. 21 was retired during the ceremony in honor of his memory and accomplishments with the team. It is the first number the hockey club has retired.
“The No. 21 will never again be worn by another 49er,” Phil Goodman, rink announcer, said during the ceremony, “but it will hang here at the Garden for all to remember what that number stood for: dedication, hard work and doing it all with an illuminating smile.”
Head coach Eric Raimondo and assistant coach Ryan Feesago presented Northy’s younger sister, Carla Michelle Northy, with a framed Long Beach State No. 21 jersey at center ice.
The three stood on the ice holding the jersey as the 49ers, standing on the blue line in front of their bench, banged their hockey sticks on the ice acknowledging the presentation.
“He was just such a great guy,” Raimondo, who played with Northy for three years, said following the game. “This was his type of game. He always worked hard and that’s what we did tonight. [The game] was a tribute to him.”
A moment of silence was observed following the jersey presentation. Carla Northy, Feesago and Raimondo held the jersey throughout the moment of silence as well as the playing of the national anthem.
“It was nice to have his family out here and present that plaque to them,” Raimondo said.
ASU players stood on the blue line adjacent to their bench during the dedication ceremony.
The younger Northy fought back tears during Goodman’s speech as she clutched her brother’s framed jersey.
“We lost someone very near and dear to us,” Goodman said, “our teammate, our brother and our friend. Chris Northy might be gone, but he will never, ever, be forgotten.”
