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RedHawks honor fallen friend

By John Lachmann, CNATI.com Posted February 7, 2010 10:15 AM ET

(Updated: 2/7 2:58 p.m.)

OXFORD, Ohio - Brendan Burke's initials "BB" were inscribed on the back of every Miami hockey player's helmet for Saturday's game against Lake Superior State, and a moment of silence in his memory preceded the opening faceoff.

Miami hockey captain Tommy Wingels and the rest of the RedHawks honored manager Brendan Burke with his initials on their helmet. Photo by Cathy White

Burke, the team manager who helped analyze film and compile statistics, was killed in an automobile accident near Richmond, Ind., Friday afternoon.

The team was informed of Burke's death after Miami's 2-0 win over the Lakers Friday night.

Burke was the son of Brian Burke, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the U.S. Olympic men's hockey team.

The younger Burke recently made national news by publicly admitting he was homosexual. ESPN's John Buccigross wrote about how difficult it was for Burke to tell his father about his sexual identity.

Miami won Saturday's game against Lake Superior State, 10-4.

Burke often went on the road with the team, which is where Miami play-by-play radio announcer Greg Waddell got to know him.

"He had such a bright future, and he was so well liked and so well respected," Waddell said. "That's what makes it so tragic."

Miami coach Enrico Blasi was interviewed about Burke for the RedHawks' Web site after Saturday's win.

"We're a little bit in shock here as the Burke family is," Blasi said. "When we didn't see him at the rink Friday night, we started to get worried. Obviously we heard the bad news in the second period. The players loved him and he was part of our family. He'll be missed.

"Brendan always had a smile on his face. He just cared about not only his family but the players and everyone around him. Anyone associated with Brendan knew you could count on him. He was just an incredible person. There wasn't a day or even minute that went by that you didn't see his pearly whites."

"He was an unbelievable student--a 4.0 student. He was set to go to law school in the fall. As our student manager, he did a little bit of everything. He would do Twitter for me as a head coach and a lot of video for our director of hockey operations, Nick Petraglia. He would work with Nick to do behind the scenes stuff that no one really sees, but he was a hard-working young man with a bright future."

Burke's death made news all over North America over the weekend. His passing was mentioned on Hockey Night In Canada, the New England Sports Network, ESPN and the NBC game of the week on Sunday.

The team will fly to Massachusetts on Monday to attend Burke's funeral, which will he held Tuesday morning in Canton.

Categories: College, Featured Stories, Hockey, Miami University

Tags: Brendan Burke, Brian Burke, Enrico Blasi, Greg Waddell, Miami, Miami hockey, Tommy Wingels