NEWTOWN, Conn. — There were far more Bruins who wanted to make the trip here yesterday than there were seats on the plane.
Seven Bruins players and coach Claude Julien made the 35-minute flight from Logan to Waterbury-Oxford Airport yesterday afternoon aboard team owner Jeremy Jacobs’ jet, then spent a couple hours in this lovely little town in the Connecticut hills.
It was a way for one pro sports team to lend its support for the still-suffering residents of Newtown, where 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School were murdered Dec. 14.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” said Newtown resident Robin Moore, who knew many of the shooting victims, and whose 11-year-old son, Eric, was a close friend of two of them.
“I think a lot of the adults would still be (curled up in a corner somewhere),” Moore added. “But for the kids, we have to keep things going. We want them to be kids and just forget for a while. The outpouring from everyone has been fantastic.”
With about 600 fans on hand in a fieldhouse, Bruins Andrew Ference, Dougie Hamilton, Daniel Paille, Adam McQuaid, Chris Bourque, Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin played floor hockey, signed autographs and posed for photos.
Bill, a Newtown resident who used to live in Natick and Wellesley and requested his last name not be used, was on hand with his sons, Leander, 10, and Christian, 12.
“I love the Bruins, and the kids are certainly excited about this,” he said. “They appreciate that they’re not alone in getting through this. This is a small community … everybody knows someone (affected by the tragedy) — probably someone who lives on your street.”
At a session earlier in the day, ex-Bruins Bob Sweeney and Tom Songin took part — and brought the Stanley Cup with them.
Julien said that even though the Bruins arrived home from their victory in Winnipeg at about 2 a.m. yesterday and were scheduled for a rare day off, many more players would have made this trip if there had been room on Jacobs’ plane.
“Yes, this is their day off,” Julien said. “But it’s something you didn’t even think twice about.”
Bourque took a break from his floor hockey game to talk about what the experience meant to him.
“I’m so happy to have the opportunity to do this,” Bourque said. “To come out here and play a little street hockey and see all these kids smiling and having fun, it’s great.
“This community has been through so much the last couple of months. I hope (to) maybe help them forget about the things that have happened for a little bit, a couple of hours.”
The Bruins are not the first team to come here; many other pro, college and Olympic athletes have made the trip. It’s obvious how much their visits mean here, especially to the kids.
A mother named Erica, on hand with 10-year-old son Chris, hoped this event would particularly help the families who lost children. Many of them were on hand.
“I hope this is a chance for the brothers and sisters, especially, to feel good for a while,” she said.
Julien and the players took a few moments to speak with each person getting an autograph — and the coach clearly felt a close connection.
“This town is amazing,” Julien said, “the way the people have shown their support for each other, how strong they are, the faith that they have.”
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