Countless communities and families were torn apart a year ago today when two planes ripped through the World Trade Center, another hit the Pentagon and another crashed to the ground in rural Pennsylvania.
The Boston University hockey family was one of the affected parties, as one of their own was a passenger on United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane to meet its horrifying fate at the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
Mark Bavis, 31, was a forward on the BU hockey team from 1989-1993. He played at local powerhouse Catholic Memorial during high school and Cushing Academy for one year of prep school. The Los Angeles Kings scout was flying back to California for the beginning of training camp.
Mark left behind a twin brother, Mike, who is a BU assistant coach, and had played hockey with his brother throughout their careers. Mark Bavis was also survived by his mother, two other brothers, three sisters, twelve nieces and nephews, a coach and hundreds of brothers who also donned the scarlet and white.
Mark Bavis is gone, but thanks to the work of his family, immediate and extended, his name won’t be forgotten.
Mark and Mike Bavis were two of a kind, winning the prestigious Bennett McInnis Award in their junior and senior seasons. They grew up in Boston, and their effect on teammates and coaches alike was profound.
“I think they were very committed to being the best they could,” said University of Massachusetts at Lowell coach Blaise MacDonald, an assistant coach with the Terriers when the Bavises roamed Walter Brown Arena. “It wasn’t in their definition to want to take the easy way out. They believed in work ethic and integrity.”
That work ethic made an impression on those who were part of the BU hockey program, according to Terriers head coach Jack Parker.
“Mark was such a well-liked player by his teammates and all the players here,” Parker said.
And as they usually do, when times get tough for the BU hockey family, they come together, with a little help from the hockey community.
“We’ve got a pretty special camaraderie and fraternity here at BU between players,” Mike Bavis said on Monday. “We’ve lost some people who were pretty special to both teammates and fans here at BU. Hockey people have been very special for me and my family throughout this whole thing.”
For anyone who’s connected to hockey in Massachusetts, that comes as no surprise.
“As a privileged member of that community, it doesn’t surprise me,” MacDonald said. “That’s what makes our community special, the people in it. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie and community, especially when someone needs help or support.”
“One of the things that’s been great about BU hockey for me is the connection from former players,” Parker said. “The players from the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, maybe because they’ve all played for the same guy, they all have the same experiences it’s been quite a family feeling. Guys were showing up during the Travis Roy tragedy, the JP McKersie accident, Kevin Mutch situation, all of it. In the hockey world in general and BU hockey in particular.”
That outpouring of support has not gone unnoticed to the Bavis family, Mike said.
“This is an opportunity for me to thank so many people, both locally and throughout North America, because I was traveling in Canada at the time and they certainly were very kind to me throughout those three or four days,” Bavis said. “Over the last year, the one thing that has certainly come out of this is that people can be so, so very amazing with what they want to do for you and how they want to help you through something as difficult as this. For my family, for myself, I certainly owe a tremendous amount of thanks to both people here in Boston and across the United States who’ve reached out to us and tried to comfort us.”
The support Bavis was speaking of involves the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation, which includes all kinds of Boston public figures from Mayor Thomas Menino to actor Matt Damon to hockey star and BU alumnus Tony Amonte. The Foundation has raised over $300,000 thus far, and according to Mike Bavis, it is the perfect way to carry on his brother’s legacy.
However, it is clear to those who know Mark best that carrying on has not been the easiest task for the taciturn Bavis.
“It’s been difficult because he doesn’t tell you how he’s feeling,” Parker said. “He’s kept a lot of it inside for a long time, it’s starting to get a little bit easier talking about it now.”
“Michael has always been a little more internal whereas Mark was a little more outgoing,” MacDonald said.
But both coaches agree Mike had the perfect outlet over the last year, between his assistant coaching duties and the raising of his young son, Jack.
“Mike was more driven to do his job,” MacDonald said. “Work could help block out that obviously stunning event. Whenever you’re busy and focused, it allows for a little more peace of mind.”
“He focused on his new wife and new baby and he’s got responsibilities that keep him moving,” Parker said. “I think it was nice that hockey started right after this. He’s a dedicated hockey guy and dedicated to BU hockey, I think the work ethic kicked in and he started getting his mind off what happened to his twin brother and put more effort into hockey and more effort into raising his son.”
While the past year has healed some wounds, it seems to have been a mere bandage from the hurt caused on that dreadful day to Mike Bavis.
“It’s a lot of weight,” Bavis said. “A thousand times the last year, kind of looking at a picture thinking, ‘Do you really believe it, someone you know that well, was actually on that plane?'”
“It doesn’t seem to go that far away over a year,” Bavis said.
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