The Gophers found out how good the Eagles were in the 2012 national semifinals. BC eliminated Don Lucia’s club with a 6-1 blowout in Tampa, Fla. Two nights later, BC defeated Ferris State, 4-1 — the Eagles’ fifth and most-recent national title, with a highlight goal from Gaudreau that is still talked about among Boston hockey fans.
That has been particularly true since the early hours of Aug. 30, when word started to spread that Johnny and brother Matt, two years younger, had been killed the previous evening while bicycling on a rural highway not far from where they grew up in New Jersey.
The driver was alleged to be drunk and passing on the inside. The original charge against him is “death by auto.”
The brothers were there to participate in their sister Katie’s wedding over that weekend.
“Katie is a great person, just like the entire family,” Sit said. “They had a place down there near Delaware and the water. We would go down there a couple of times during the summer for country concerts, and everyone would hang out in that big living room with Guy and Jane, their parents.”
All the Gaudreaus were scheduled to be in the Twin Cities this weekend for another wedding: Sit and Mara Wangen this Saturday. Johnny was going to be one of 11 groomsmen — including hockey players from Edina High and BC, and other friends.