DENVER — Just days after a deadly crash on Interstate 70 killed their driver and injured several others, a California youth hockey team found strength on the ice and returned home with a championship.
The SC Lady Flyers were traveling to Colorado for a tournament last week when their van was struck by a snowplow and sent down an embankment. The crash killed the driver, Manny Lorenzana, and sent multiple people to the hospital.
Lorenzana was not only the team’s driver, but also the father of one of the players.
“Manny didn’t make it. He was the driver, and he passed away,” head coach Todd Stelnick told Denver7 Monday. “Everybody’s still emotional. It’s been a turn of events.”
Stelnick said Lorenzana was deeply involved with the team and proud of his daughter’s growth as a player.
“He was just humbled enough that his daughter made my 12UAA-girls hockey team,” Stelnick said. “She started off as a practice player and became a full-time player and became a difference maker on the team.”
In the hours after the crash, the team faced an uncertain future. Several players were injured, emotions were raw and families were processing the loss.
Stelnick said he left the decision of whether to continue playing up to the girls.
“We let the girls decide if they wanted to play in the tournament,” he said. “It's not about me or us coaches. It's all about these girls.”
Team captain Sophia Boyle said the decision was difficult.
“When we first found out, we were very devastated, and we did not know if we wanted to play or not,” Boyle said.
After talking it through together, the team chose to stay in the tournament and dedicate their season to Lorenzana and his family and each other.
“We decided not to give up for them, and we decided to do that for them and dedicate our win to the member that was lost in the crash,” Boyle said. “Now that we played and we've completed this, we are all very like, emotional, and we are happy that we did it for them.”
Over three days, the Lady Flyers played four games — two on Friday, two on Saturday — before advancing to the semifinals and championship game on Sunday. They won the title in overtime, 1–0.
Boyle said the moment was overwhelming.
“It felt like we completed one of our greatest moments of our life,” she said. “We were in shock and we were really happy that we did that.”
Stelnick said the championship was meaningful, but not the team’s main focus.
“Winning the championship, it was great, but that was just the bonus for these girls,” he said. “Just being out there on the ice is what they wanted to do, win or lose.”
The coach said the team has been supported by hockey communities across Colorado and beyond.
“The support that we got from Colorado and all the teams there has been tremendous,” Stelnick said. “We’re all inspired and overwhelmed.”
Boyle said that support has helped her teammates cope.
“When times like these happen, we all are dependent on each other, and we all support and love each other very much,” she said.
Most of the team has since returned home safely, though Stelnick said a few families remained in Colorado for medical and travel arrangements in the days after the crash.
A GoFundMe has been established to help Lorenzana’s family with funeral expenses and ongoing support.
The team says donations and messages from the public continue to make a difference.
