The South Jersey community gathered at Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester City, New Jersey, Sept. 6 to remember NHL star Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother Matthew, 29, who were killed by an alleged drunk driver on Aug. 29.

Hundreds of students, friends and fans lined up around the block to attend the memorial at the school where the Gaudreaus still had deep connections. Photos of the beloved brothers lined the gymnasium, along with hockey jerseys and memorials, as people came together to remember siblings who got their start there as students, with Matthew also coaching at the school.

The memorial was organized to give the community an opportunity to mourn, as well as to give the family a greater degree of privacy for the funeral Mass, held Monday morning at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Media, Pennsylvania.

Principal Tom Iacovone Jr. was a teacher at Gloucester Catholic when he first met the Gaudreau brothers, and he grew to know them again as adults after becoming principal. He described Johnny as quiet and reserved. “He never wanted the limelight,” he told the Register. “He just wanted to do well in school and do well on the ice. His connection with his family was amazing when he was a student here, and I’m blessed that I got to see the love he had for so many.”

He recalled, “Matty was different. He wanted you to know he was in the room, and everybody loved him. He had that ability to connect with people, and I think that’s why he became such a successful coach. I was blessed to get to know him better these last few years as a coach here, and he was so excited to be a dad.”

 

An Avoidable Tragedy 

The two brothers were biking in Oldmans Township, New Jersey, when Sean Higgens, 43, of Woodstown passed two vehicles on the right, striking and killing both Gaudreaus. Higgens had been reported driving erratically and admitted to consuming “five to six” beers before getting behind the wheel and more alcohol while driving.

Higgins told police his rage was fueled by the alcohol and his belief that a vehicle was deliberately trying to prevent him from passing. He was charged with two counts of death by auto, reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle.

The Gaudreaus were in town to act as groomsmen for their sister Katie, who was to be married in a Catholic ceremony the day following the accident. Johnny Gaudreau leaves behind a wife, Meredith, and three children: Noa, almost 2, Johnny, 6 months, and an unborn child. 

Matthew leaves behind his wife Madeline, who is pregnant and due in December. The brothers are also survived by their parents and two sisters.

“To know these two was to love these two,” Katie Gaudreau wrote on Instagram. “There are absolutely no words I have to express the bond my family shared. The entire world knows there would never have been a John without Matty or Matty without John. The absolute best big brothers a little girl could have asked for. This will never be a goodbye post because I will never stop saying your names and honoring you both.”

 

Hockey Was Their Passion 

Both brothers were legends in the local hockey community, playing for Gloucester Catholic High School and then for Boston College, a Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Johnny went on to a storied 11-year career in the National Hockey League, while Matthew returned to Gloucester Catholic as the head hockey coach after playing for teams in the American Hockey League and ECHL.

Johnny played his first full season with the Calgary Flames in 2014-15 and was selected in 2015 to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the first of seven times. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2017 for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of play for the 2016-17 season. When Johnny decided he wanted to move closer to home, both the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers thought they had a chance to get him, but in 2022 he landed in Ohio, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, with a seven-year, $68.25-million contract. His career total included 243 goals and 500 assists.

In a statement, the Blue Jackets said Johnny “was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend. Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played.”

"They both just gave back so much,” said Principal Iacovone, recalling the annual fundraiser run by the family, which provides tuition assistance to low-income children. 

Father Allain Caparas, pastor of Mary, Mother of Mercy parish in Glassboro, New Jersey, and former school chaplain, has been accompanying the family since the tragedy and was scheduled to witness the wedding of Katie Gaudreau the day after the tragedy. Instead, he concelebrated a private funeral Mass on Monday for her brothers.

“The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelmingly positive,” Father Caparas told the Register, “not just from Gloucester Catholic, but from South Jersey and the entire hockey world in the United States and Canada. It’s been a great source of comfort and support to the family. So many people have sent their prayers and condolences, and the family wants people to know they are very grateful for the thousands of people who are praying for them.”