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No moment of silence at Zuniga Memorial game

By Michael Trzinski, 09/30/12, 2:00AM CDT

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Game is secondary as Saints drop 7-5 decision to Ft. Wayne

For nearly one minute before the contest between the Central Wisconsin Saints and the Fort Wayne Federals, an estimated crowd of 800 fans 'raised the roof' at the KB Willett Arena in Stevens Point in memory of Saints founder Joe Zuniga, who passed away unexpectedly in July.

P.A. announcer Tom King asked for the 'moment of noise' because as he stated, 'that's what Joe would have wanted.'

The game between the Great Lakes Junior Hockey League foes ended on a sad note for the home Saints, as the Federals scored four times in the first half of the final period to take a hard-fought 7-5 victory.

Diane Zuniga--wife of Joe--greeted fans before the game, exchanging hugs and receiving condolences from people who knew the popular Saints hockey czar, as he was termed by long-time friend Don Butkowski.

Three of the children (Scott, Michelle Jastromski, and Jodi Maslinski) were also on hand to help honor the man that made hockey possible for countless youngsters over the last 30+ years.

The pre-game ceremony featured a heart-felt tribute by Butkowski, who probably knew Joe as well as anyone outside the family. His recollections of time spent with Joe drew many chuckles and a few tears from the crowd.

Zuniga was a driving force in youth hockey organizations in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and Grand Rapids, Michigan before moving to central Wisconsin. He was instrumental in the building of the Goals and Dreams Arena in Arnott and the development of the Central Wisconsin Saints Youth Hockey Association.

Indeed, many of those involved with Joe were on hand Saturday night, including current Pacelli high school coach Rusty Mitch and former Saints player Rachel McNamara, who sang the National Anthem.

McNamara stated she was nervous, but 'wanted to do this well for Joe.' (For the record, she did a great job.)

After a scoreless first period, family and those affiliated with the Saints were invited to come out on the ice to pose for a group picture, which will later be presented to Diane Zuniga.

There were more people on the ice than were left in the stands, or so it seemed. That was a reminder of how much Joe meant to the hockey community and how well he was respected by the hockey families in central Wisconsin.

Although the Saints lost the game, the fans were treated to a nice tribute to a humble man who put his family and friends first and gave many youngsters an opportunity to continue playing hockey.

Or, as former Saints player Gavin Palm put it, 'Joe Zuniga, you're the real SAINT.'

Amen.