Passed on the ice…
Michael “Mikey” “Mike” Lococo suffered a heart attack December 11th, 2019 and even after what one might consider a flawless or text book resuscitation efforts provided by his hockey team(even an DAWG player from another rink with First Aide/CPR/AED training), and first responders, they were not able to resuscitate him. Mike passed away December 12th, 2019 at the young age of 39. Mike leaves behind his beautiful wife of just over 3 years, his one and half year-old son, and a daughter who is due in March, along with a large Italian family and many friends.
Mike learned to play hockey in his small hometown in Gillette, Wyoming. He and his friends would wait for the cold (which came all too often) and would go to the local pond by the park and play pickup games or would go to the tennis courts in their roller blades and play all summer long. Gillette didn’t have an indoor hockey rink, until Mike and his friends decided to raise the money and build one themselves. Every day after school, Mike and his dad would drive across town to build the indoor ice rink. His commitment and dedication to his love of hockey helped build a community of future hockey players.
While Mike dedicated much of his time to being a husband, running a business, playing the occasional game of golf or hockey, it didn’t hold a candle to his newest passions in life, being a dad. There was nothing he had wanted more nor was there anything he was better at than being Hunter’s dad. Mike was ecstatic about the newest addition on the way, a little princess of his own. Mike waited patiently to be allowed to take his 9-month-old niece to the ice, we can only imagine how long he would wait to take his own daughter.
Mike was… he was everything. He was humble, kind, generous, loyal, and loving. He was a man of faith, a man who adored his wife and family, a man of integrity and strength. He was the best drinking buddy, teammate, confidant, and supporter. He was the kind of person you hope you would learn to be. He was a man who made this world better, so much better.
A letter generously offered to the family from a player on the other team read “Our team was playing against Mikey’s and we were up 7-0 with 2 minutes left in the 2nd period. The face-off was in Mikey’s zone and they lined up to the goalie right side with Mikey setting in as the left winger. The puck dropped and Mike sprung on the line like a lightening bolt. He caught a pass at center ice and smoked my defense men. He gave me a great head fake with 2 stick handles and he shelf’d the puck over my right shoulder to score his teams only goal. I am proud to say that the last thing he did was to totally embarrass me with such a phenomenal individual/team effort.”
For all of those who knew Mike this is a hard time. We will miss the laughter, the fun times, the camaraderie of a true friend, but most of all we will miss the comfort of knowing that he had your back and would be there whenever needed. That was his true strength; lifting up those around him and making them feel loved. Please keep Meg, Hunter, unborn baby girl, family and friends in your prayers during this time of hardship.
We miss you Mike, but we know you are in a better place, and we will see you again soon.
Let’s rally to make sure this young family overcomes this obstacle with OUR help.
It was a powerful presentation at this year’s Pond Hockey tournament as Mike Lococo’s widow, Megan, joined us on stage and we presented the family with a check for $40,000. It was emotional for everyone, but comforting to know that the hockey family was once again stepping up to help one of our own.
On Sunday, Megan Lococo reached out with a powerful note explaining what the weekend and support meant to her and her family. Sharing how shocked she was by the outpouring of love from complete strangers.
