John and Matthew Gaudreau mourned at funeral

MEDIA, Pa. — John and Matthew Gaudreau were remembered as loving brothers and husbands who put family above hockey and everything else at their tearful funeral Monday, a week and a half after they died when they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while riding bicycles in their home state of New Jersey. Widows Meredith and Madeline Gaudreau described their husbands as attached at the hip throughout their lives. John was 31 and Matthew 29. "Everything was always John and Matty," said Meredith, John's wife, who revealed she was pregnant with the couple's third child. "I know John would not have been able to live a day without his brother." Buses brought players and others to St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church and a crowd of hundreds walked in for the service, including several children wearing Gaudreau No. 13 jerseys worn by the NHL player known to fans as "Johnny Hockey." Columbus Blue Jackets teammate Patrik Laine, Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and longtime executive Brian Burke were among those in attendance. "It just shows the true honor and respect that everybody gave them. Just can't imagine what they're going through," said Caufield, who will wear No. 13 in honor of John Gaudreau. "Just the amount of people that are here today and yesterday, just anything we can do to help." Meredith Gaudreau singled out two of John's closest friends, Sean Monahan and Kevin Hayes, in her eulogy of more than 30 minutes. "You helped shape him into the man I fell in love with," she said. "He looked up to you both on and off the ice. You were his brothers, which means you are my brothers, too." John, an All-Star for the Calgary Flames and Columbus Blue Jackets, and Matthew, who played collegiate hockey alongside his brother at Boston College a decade ago, died on the eve of their sister's wedding. The Rev. Tony Penna, the director of campus ministry at BC, asked those inside the church to look around at how many people made the trip to the Philadelphia suburbs to pay their respects, calling it a source of comfort for parents Guy and Jane. "By the overwhelming presence and overwhelming number of people here today, they're sending a message to you loud and clear that John and Matthew's lives mattered, that they were noticed on this earth, they were loved on this earth and they were valued on this earth," Penna said. "This robust crowd wants you to know that they're here to tell you, all of you, that they love you, too, and they have your back and they're here to support you in our loss." The Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road in Oldmans Township at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 29 when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind, according to New Jersey State Police. They were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, who faces two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle, has been jailed pending a Sept. 13 hearing. "I urge everyone to not drink and drive," said Madeline Gaudreau, Matthew's wife. "Find a ride. Please don't put another family through this torture." A GoFundMe to support Madeline, who is pregnant with the couple's first child, has surpassed $645,000, with donations from nearly 9,000 people pouring in, many from NHL players and their families. John and Matthew have been mourned across the sports world, including in Columbus, Ohio, where Gaudreau signed a free-agent deal in 2022 with the small-market Blue Jackets over more lucrative free-agent offers from other teams, including the New Jersey Devils. Fans and Blue Jackets players gathered last week for an emotional candlelight vigil, and a similar gathering was held in Calgary. The brothers' lives have been celebrated on social media since their deaths. Katie Gaudreau, the little sister who was supposed to get married the day after the brothers were killed, posted pictures of her family in happier times. Over the weekend, it was an Instagram video captioned "Birds for the Gaudreau boys" over a clip of John Gaudreau opening his winter coat to flash an Eagles jersey as he went through security ahead of an NHL game. She also posted a tribute to a family slideshow called "That day" where she wrote how she would "do anything to tell my big brothers I love them one more time." ___ Whyno reported from Washington. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL