Ted Scherr would have been proud of his boys Friday night. And he would have had to wipe away a tear at the show of respect the Motor City Chiefs paid him in the end.
Playing with heavy hearts, the Dubuque ThunderBirds rolled to a 9-1 victory at Five Flags Center. Today, they will bury their general manager, who passed away suddenly on Wednesday morning at the age of 65.
"It's been a lot to handle," said veteran forward Marcus Andary, who scored two goals and added an assist. "Ted has meant so much to this organization and to this town. It was important to us to go out and play the game the way it's supposed to be played in honor of him. I think he'd be proud of us."
A jersey with Scherr's name hung -- appropriately -- between a pair of banners above the ThunderBirds' bench. Scherr devoted his life to Dubuque hockey and took pride in the championship banners the Fighting Saints and ThunderBirds hung over the past 30 years.
After the final buzzer and despite the one-sided score, the Chiefs players skated toward the ThunderBirds' bench and raised their sticks toward Scherr's jersey.
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"That's class," said teary-eyed ThunderBirds assistant coach Ray Palmer.
The evening included a pre-game tribute read by radio voice Don Keck. Members of the Fossils adult hockey team wore their jersey out of respect for Scherr, who helped found their organization several years ago.
"For the first time in my life, I didn't want to come to the rink," said Dubuque coach Joe Coombs, who developed a tight bond with Scherr. "My heart's completely with Ted and his family. I'm so proud of the way the boys came out to honor Ted."
The ThunderBirds stormed to a 4-0 lead in the opening period and scored five more times in the second to put the game out of reach. Troy Conlon scored one goal in the opening period and two more in the second for his first hat trick of the season.
"Obviously, we had a lot to play for," Conlon said. "We wanted to win in Ted's honor, and we came out with just a great team effort. We're going to do this for him for the rest of the year."
Derek Tylka, Hunter Brown, Luke Swardenski and Ryan Bachman also scored for the ThunderBirds. Brown, Dan Kolenda and Blain McBirney chipped in a pair of assists, while Marty Janecke, Mike Fazio and Tylka added single helpers.
Brad Makowski earned the victory in net.
