Photo by Ben Loewnau, STLhighschoolsports.com

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

ST. PETERS • Duchesne junior winger Vincent Conti whipped a wrist shot into the top corner of the net early in Monday's Mid-States Club Hockey Association contest against Fort Zumwalt East.

His eyes immediately welled up with tears as he pointed to the sky in tribute to Pioneers long-time coach Dan Rupp, who died on Jan. 9 at age 49 after a courageous three-year battle with cancer.

"I wanted him to know that that was for him," Conti said. "He helped make me the player that I am and that was a way of showing him that I never will forget what he did for me."

Conti's goal, his first of two, broke an early tie, but it wasn't enough as Zumwalt East scored twice in the final 2 minutes and 4 seconds to record a 7-6 victory on an emotional night at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.

The Pioneers were playing with heavy hearts in their second game without their beloved coach.

Rupp, a long-time fixture in the program, was on the bench as much as possible during the long ordeal. He even began the season with the team in November. 

The last few days have been difficult for the team, which lost to 2-1 to Francis Howell just hours after the entire squad attended Rupp's wake.

"It's still so emotional when we go out there," Conti said.

Hockey was such a big part of Rupp's life that his wife, Julie, attended Monday's game because, "he would have wanted me to," she said.

Rupp's son, Joe, has taken the reigns in Dan's place.

"It hurts and always will," Joe said. "But it helps to be around these guys. They all loved him too."

Julie and her daughter Samantha were not going to miss Monday's senior night activities.

"Even as bad as he was feeling, he would always do everything he could to get to these games," Samantha said. "He wanted to show them just how much they meant to him."

The Duchesne players have continued to forge ahead under the most difficult of circumstances.

"This team is playing with a lot of heart," Joe said. "Playing for him, it's helping us all get through the season."

Dan Rupp was well-known throughout area hockey circles and highly-respected among his MSCHA brethren.

Zumwalt East coach Denny Klaesner always enjoyed his head-to-head battles with Duchesne. He pointed out that Dan Rupp had a soft spot that people rarely saw.

Klaesner recalled that two seasons ago, he had a senior on his team that had never scored a varsity goal in four years. Dan Rupp found about it somehow and approached Klaesner before a late-season game between teams.

"He said, 'If this game gets out of hand, why don't we get him a goal,'" Klaesner said. "So with about two minutes left, he calls a timeout, brings his players over and explains the situation to them. He nods over my way, I put the kid on the ice and sure enough, he scores. And (Rupp's) players did a great job of making it look good."

Klaesner says the tale perfectly sums up Rupp's love for hockey.

"He was great for the game," Klaesser said. "And we will miss him."

Fort Zumwalt East sniper Gage Vierzba scored with 16.2 seconds left to break the tie and give the Lions (18-1-1) their 14th win in the last 15 games.

Ryan Taylor tied the contest 6-6 with 2:04 left.

Duchesne (13-7) bolted out to a 5-2 lead behind a pair of goals from Conti. Troy Haeffner gave the Pioneers a 6-5 lead on a goal with 2:58 left.