Panthers hold 'moving' ceremony for victims of Parkland school shooting

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Roberto Luongo skated out, stood under the spotlight and held the microphone. He took a deep breath and fought back tears as the fans cheered and shouted, "LOUUU!"

In this moment, he was more than a goaltender for the Florida Panthers, about to play the Washington Capitals at BB&T Center on Thursday. He was a proud resident of Parkland, Florida, where he has lived for more than a decade and plans to live the rest of his life. He was a concerned parent.

"It's time for us as a community to take action," Luongo said firmly. "It's enough. Enough is enough. We've got to take action."

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Eight days before, the Panthers were on the road to play the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo came off the ice after the morning skate and found a notification on his phone. His 7-year-old son, Gianni, had his school on lockdown.

Luongo soon learned there was a shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, less than a mile from Gianni's school; 3 1/2 miles from the Panthers' practice rink in Coral Springs, Florida; and 13 1/2 miles from BB&T Center.

Gianni spent three hours hiding in a closet with his classmates. He was safe. So was Luongo's wife, Gina, and 10-year-old daughter, Gabriella, who was out of school because of a doctor's appointment.

Seventeen people died -- 14 teenagers, three adults.

This was the Panthers' first home game since. When coach Bob Boughner heard Luongo was going to give a speech in the pregame ceremony, he was worried. He asked Luongo if he was comfortable with it.

"He wouldn't take no for an answer," Boughner said. "He said, 'No, this is something I've got to do.' "

And so, in the same arena where CNN held a town hall meeting Wednesday, Luongo spoke from the heart.

"I didn't want to have anything scripted," Luongo said afterward. "I just wanted to let it come out the way it was meant to be."

To the families of the victims …

"It's heartbreaking," Luongo said. "You guys are in our thoughts. We've been thinking about you every day constantly for the last week, and just know that we're there for you if you guys need anything. You'll be in our prayers, and let's try to move on together."

To the teachers who put themselves in harm's way …

"Some of them didn't make it trying to protect children," Luongo said. "That is truly what a hero is."

To the students who have spoken out …

"I'm very, very proud of you guys," Luongo said. "You guys are brave. You guys are an inspiration to all of us, and at the end of the day, you guys are what's giving us hope for the future."

In the stands were most of the Stoneman Douglas varsity and junior varsity hockey teams. One player, Jesse Guttenberg, lost a sister, Jaime.

"Tears, tears, tears," said Bonnie Hauptman, the manager for both teams, who has two children who go to Stoneman Douglas. "Just hearing him speak and how deeply affected he is being a resident of the community, having children himself, you know …

"There are no words for what we went through, and everyone feels it. But when children are involved and you can put yourselves in someone's shoes and think about, 'That could have been my child' …

"He is very moving."

* * * *

Other Panthers players live in Parkland and have kids in school. Some Panthers staff members are Stoneman Douglas alumni. Boughner said everyone seemed to know someone affected.

They wanted to do what they could.

"Our privilege is to steward this team for the benefit of the community, for the benefit of everyone in the community across the county," Panthers owner Vincent Viola said. "The Florida Panthers should represent what is the best of our community."

The Panthers organized a blood drive to replenish local banks. Eight OneBlood buses parked in the lot at BB&T Center on Thursday, each with four beds, allowing people to donate from 12-7 p.m. Six beds were in the concourse so people could donate from 6 p.m. through the second intermission. They collected 377 pints.

Chairs were full of people -- Panthers and Capitals fans, from places like Fort Myers and Davie and Boca Raton -- waiting for their turns at about 6 p.m., as the sun began to set and the flags flew at half-staff.

Corey Beale, 40, a 1996 Stoneman Douglas graduate, came with his 12-year-old son, Ryan, who attends West Glades Middle School next to Stoneman Douglas. Ryan and his classmates could hear gunshots. They were locked down for more than 3 1/2 hours.

"You never think it happens to you, but when it does, it opens up your eyes," Corey said. "I think it's a community wanting to give back and really support everybody around them -- no matter what it is, unite under a cause for good."

As Corey waited to donate blood in an Aleksander Barkov jersey, Ryan signed an "MSD STRONG" banner in a Jaromir Jagr jersey with a Stoneman Douglas pin and ribbon. The banner was full of handwritten messages. It will be given to the school.

Ryan's message?

"Stay strong."

The Panthers removed the advertisements from the hockey and video boards inside the arena, replacing them with "MSD STRONG" and the Stoneman Douglas logo.

Workers wore Stoneman Douglas T-shirts and stickers. Players on each team wore Stoneman Douglas hats for warmups. The Panthers wore Stoneman Douglas stickers on their helmets and "MSD" patches on their sleeves, as they will the rest of the season.

The Florida Panthers Foundation collected donations during the blood drive and the game. The donations and proceeds from the 50-50 raffle will go to the Stoneman Douglas Victims Fund through the Broward Education Foundation. The foundation and the NHL will match the donations and contributed $50,000 to the raffle. Final raffle total: $96,615.

"When the Panthers can be a part of the bringing together and healing that a community so desperately needs after such a terrible tragedy, that's what tonight is all about," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

* * * *

The arena went dark. The Panthers and the Capitals quietly came out and sat on their benches. A video played on the scoreboard screens to Adele's "Hometown Glory," showing candlelight vigils and the 17 victims.

One by one, in alphabetical order, there they were -- sons, daughters, teachers. Each had a photo. Each had a name. Each had an age. Each had a brief description of a life cut too short.

Alyssa Alhadeff, 14.

Scott Beigel, 35.

Martin Duque, 14.

Nicholas Dworet, 17.

Aaron Feis, 37.

Jaime Guttenberg, 14.

Chris Hixon, 49.

Luke Hoyer, 15.

Cara Loughran, 14.

Gina Montalto, 14.

Joaquin Oliver, 17.

Alaina Petty, 14.

Meadow Pollack, 18.

Helena Ramsay, 17.

Alex Schachter, 14.

Carmen Schentrup, 16.

Peter Wang, 15.

"You look at those images on the big screen, and a couple of the kids remind you of your own kids," Luongo said.

The names were projected onto the ice. The video ended with the Stoneman Douglas and Florida Panthers logos side by side and the message: "WE STAND WITH YOU."

Randy Moller, a Panthers alum and broadcaster, gave a brief speech and talked about "the burden and the responsibility to take positive action" to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again.

"Let us please vow to work together in love, in harmony, in unity, for the sake of humanity, for the sake of our country and for the sake of our children both living and lost," Moller said. "Only together can we bring the change to our community that we all so desperately seek."

Moller asked for a moment of silence. Not a sound could be heard for more than a minute and a half.

The names disappeared from the ice one by one. Martin Florez, 9, sang "God Bless America." Luongo spoke. A school choir sang the national anthem.

Then the Panthers played "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

Instead of their usual music, they selected 158 songs for this specific occasion, focusing on the themes of home, positivity and togetherness.

Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle looked into the stands and found his wife, Kristyn, and their two daughters: Mila, 6, and Lola, 4.

"I know for myself, just thinking of everyone that was affected by it," Yandle said. "Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with them, but from start to finish, it was an emotional day."

* * * *

Somehow, after all of that, they played hockey.

Luongo said he had trouble focusing the first 10 minutes.

But he made 33 saves, and the Panthers came back late in the third period. Forward Nick Bjugstad tied it 2-2 with 3:42 to go. Forward Vincent Trocheck put the Panthers ahead 3-2 on the power play with 20 seconds to go.

"It was emotional," Trocheck said. "It was very emotional. It was a powerful game -- powerful speech before the game by [Luongo], powerful meaning behind the game."

After the 3-2 win, Trocheck took a stick around the locker room to be autographed for the school. On the shaft was written "WE ALL STAND WITH YOU" and "#MSDSTRONG."

The Stoneman Douglas coaches and players took a photo in the hall, then went into the locker room to meet the Panthers. They were laughing. They were smiling. They will play in the state championships starting Friday in Estero.

"It was wonderful to bring most of the boys together for something …" Hauptman said, her voice trailing off, searching for the right way to say it.

"A positive way to not celebrate, but memorialize the tragic events that we went through. It was beautiful. It was powerful. It was moving. But most importantly, it was just tasteful. It was a very tasteful evening."