A family of fighters, winners
All probability considered, it's surprising there are only two Hanafin boys on the Burlington hockey team.
Brian, a senior defenseman, and his cousin Dan, a junior defenseman, ended their season last night, playing in Burlington's 5-1 loss to Catholic Memorial in the Super 8 final.
For Chuck Hanafin, father of Dan, the experience was surreal.
"It's absolutely unbelievable," the proud papa said.
Equally unbelievable is the amount of Hanafins in the Burlington community, as 58 of Chuck's nieces, nephews, and children live in the neighborhood around Mooney Road, enough to dub the area "Hanaville." He estimates his son, one of five children, has nearly 100 first cousins.
That offers quite the support group after a difficult day, on and off the ice.
Prior to the game, the entire Hanafin family attended the wake of Lorna Hanafin Damon, an aunt of Brian and Dan. Damon fought cancer, living two years longer than any doctor told her she'd be alive, showing the same grit that the Hanafin boys bring to Burlington's blue line.
Chuck, one of 11 children, knows about toughness. He and two of his brothers are state troopers, another is a Burlington police officer, and another a firefighter.
"She just willed herself to stay alive for her children," said Chuck. "She's the definition of a fighter."
Damon's children Casey, 7 years old, and Jack, 5, are left without a mother, her husband Todd without a wife, but they have the support of the entire family. That includes the entire hockey team, which attended Damon's wake per coach Bob Conceison's request. The line outside Edward V. Sullivan funeral home stretched halfway up the street.
"It was good because it showed what kind of team we are," Brian said. "It showed when one guy's down, everybody comes and picks them up."
Three Hanafin boys showed their colors after 9/11, enlisting in the Marines. Chuck's son Chris enlisted immediately after college. Jimmy - Brian's father - had to convince his son Steven, one of nine children, to finish high school before enlisting. After that, though, it didn't take long.
"After one semester [in college], he slipped a note under the door with three pages of why he felt he wanted to go into the Marine Corps," said Jimmy. "So I went out and spoke to him. I said, 'When are you planning on doing that, Steve?' and he said, 'I already did it.'
Sean Litchfield, cousin of Dan and Brian, also enlisted, but is on leave so he can get married. His marriage is tomorrow, hours after Damon's funeral at St. Margaret's Church. Litchfield will then complete his military training before likely being shipped overseas in the next six weeks.
Through the emotional roller coaster, one constant was the character shown by Burlington's hockey team.
"These kids are some of the classiest high school kids you'll ever meet," Chuck said. "They're good hockey players, but they're great men. I am very, very proud to have these guys as representatives to our family out there.
"As far as I'm concerned, these kids are champions." 