MIAC Friday Feature Archive

WINONA, Minn. — College coaches and players often describe their teams as "family." With most team members away from home for the first time and extensive efforts combined into a common goal, it's natural that familial feelings emerge and even continue among teammates and former coaches long after one's playing days are over.

That's the case with former Saint Mary's University men's hockey player Josh Misiewicz. Though Misiewicz left the school in 2008 to pursue a calling to join the United States Marine Corps, he was recently reminded of the strength of his ongoing relationship with his Cardinal "family."

Last July, life changed in an instant for Misiewicz, a Lance Corporal in the Marines, when he was severely injured in a landmine explosion while his unit was on foot patrol in a tour of duty in Afghanistan. In the past few months, the Saint Mary's hockey program and entire campus has rallied to support their military hero through a pair of special events and generous donations.

Though his hockey career is over, Misiewicz is still seeing the immeasurable value of teamwork.

"It means a lot that the people [at Saint Mary's], they're like family," Misiewicz said. "They still care, and it's awesome to see how genuinely nice they are and everything they're doing for me."

Though Misiewicz doesn't remember the blast itself, he has vivid memories both before and after the moment that dramatically changed his life. He was third in line on a foot patrol in Afghanistan behind a minesweeper and a security officer when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, resulting in the loss of both of Misiewicz's legs and two shattered eardrums.
"I just stepped either left or right and stepped on a pressure plate setting off an IED," Misiewicz said. "I don't remember the blast, but when I woke up I noticed a loud ringing in my ears. It was piercing. I looked down at my legs. One was mangled and the other was missing, and I realized I was hit by an IED.

"My doctor came over and threw some tourniquets on me as we started to take some fire and mortars. The guys in my unit returned fire as the doctor worked on me and as soon as it was over, I got medevaced out by a helicopter."

When he was asked what was running through his mind immediately after he realized what had happened with the IED, he said one of his first thoughts was the sport he left behind - and hoped to return to - when he left SMU for the Marines.

"One of the biggest things [I thought about] was not playing hockey again," Misiewicz said. "I played hockey my whole life, and I knew right away I may never get to play again. That was definitely one of the things going through my head."

From Afghanistan, Misiewicz was transported to Germany and, eventually, back to the U.S. where he would begin a long and arduous recovery process at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. As expected, Misiewicz has faced countless challenges and has a long road ahead, but he's encouraged by his recent progress and eager to resume the activities of a normal life.

"I'm still working on my therapy," Misiewicz said via phone from the Walter Reed Center in Maryland. "I'm a double amputee on both legs, so I'm working with prosthetics. I've been working on walking since October and am finally getting a little better at it. It's amazing - the technology here - with prosthetic legs and computerized knees."

When news of Misiewicz's injuries reached Saint Mary's through a former teammate's parent, it sent a shockwave through the campus community. Cardinal Head Men's Hockey Coach Bill Moore arrived at the school just after Misiewicz left for the Marines, so he hadn't coached or met him prior to receiving the news. However, Moore's sentiments echoed the feeling that reverberated across his program and the Saint Mary's campus.

"It's so hard to fathom somebody being such a young vibrant person and having their life dramatically change in an instant, and the strength of him battling back and his family and all the support that he's received," Moore said. "It just so dramatically changed their lives and you have to sit back and say, 'Holy buckets - He did all that to try to make our lives better.'"

After the news reached Winona, Moore and others on the Saint Mary's campus sprung into action to determine what they could do for a young man who sacrificed so much for them. Though the federal government covers Misiewicz's medical expenses, his family faced numerous other expenses, including transportation, home improvements and a hand-controlled vehicle.

The result was a pair of events on the Saint Mary's campus to recognize and honor Misiewicz, as well as to help him with a financial contribution. The first was the brainchild of Moore and the men's hockey program, that not only put a spotlight on Misiewicz's service to his country, but also honored everyone involved with the U.S. Armed Forces. The Cardinals had already started discussing a night to honor the military at one of their games, so when they received word of Misiewicz's injury, Saint Mary's men's hockey "Armed Forces Night" became a no-brainer.

"We had started to look at doing an Armed Forces Night to engage some of the veterans around the city of Winona," Moore said. "The idea came from Junior hockey and the Veteran's Day events they have. We weren't home over Veteran's Day, so instead of doing something in November, we decided to try to incorporate Josh."

The inaugural Armed Forces Night was held at Saint Mary's on Feb. 11, when the Cardinals hosted Gustavus Adolphus College in a MIAC contest. The Color Guard was invited to render honors during the National Anthem. All veterans or current service members in attendance were given ribbons to recognize their service, and after the first period both teams lined up on the blue line for a special rendition of "God Bless America," performed by Saint Mary's students.

"It was a very good turnout," Moore said. "I would say that it was very well received. Even the Gustavus fans that came to the game were appreciative, and five or six of them were veterans that we honored as well. I can't even tell you how many people thanked me.

"The highlight was in between the first and second periods when we honored all four branches of the military ... and we had students sing 'God Bless America.' It sent shivers down my spine. It was phenomenal."

Of course, honoring and helping Misiewicz was also a big part of the event. All proceeds raised - which included ticket sales, t-shirt sales, donations and a chuck-a-puck contest - were donated to Misiewicz. Moore said that in all, Armed Forces Night raised about $1,200 that they were able to donate to their heroic former player.

"It was awesome, just the fact that they would do that," Misiewicz said. "It means a lot to me and I wish I could have been there."

"It was a really cool deal," Moore said. "It will be a continued event that we'll have every year."

The Armed Forces Night was a tremendous precursor for Saint Mary's next effort to contribute to Misiewicz's recovery. Each year, the school hosts the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance, which raises money and recognizes someone from the Saint Mary's community who is in need, and Misiewicz was a perfect choice as the recipient of the 12th-annual benefit.

The benefit dance is named for Taylor Richmond, the beneficiary of the first-ever event in 2001. Richmond is the son of Saint Mary's campus ministry and student life staff member Nikki Richmond and her husband Nick, of Cochrane, Wis. Taylor has a genetic terminal illness called Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) and the money from the inaugural event was used to fulfill his dream of going to Disneyworld.

One of the key administrators involved with the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance is Lance Thompson, the assistant activities director in Saint Mary's student life department. Around the start of the school year, he solicits nominations for recipients of the benefit. Moore had contacted Nikki Richmond about Misiewicz's candidacy and his application was ultimately selected by a student panel that makes the final decision.

"Josh was a young alum and the students just really connected with him and his story, so they decided to go with him," Thompson said.

In the months that followed, Thompson, Nikki Richmond and a committee worked tirelessly to pull off the big event. They met twice a month during the first semester, and weekly during the second semester in preparation for the March 24 dance. The Johnny Holm Band was the main entertainment for the 11th year in a row. This year, the event moved from the dining hall to the Saint Mary's gymnasium and the committee worked to create a theme that was consistent with Misiewicz's hockey background.

"[Misiewicz] was a hockey player here and we knew he really liked hockey, so we went with a 'Miracle on Ice' theme," Thompson said. "We picked our color scheme to be like fire and ice and focused on how he played hockey and was a fan of the sport.

"This was the first time we held it in the gymnasium for comfort and expansion. It was much more comfortable and, overall, everyone enjoyed it."

Though Misiewicz wasn't able to make the trip from Maryland to Winona for Armed Forces Night in February, he was able to return to campus for the benefit dance. Thompson praised the student involvement in planning and pulling off the event, and though they knew they were doing a great thing for a member of the Saint Mary's family, he said it really hit them when they picked Misiewicz up from the airport to bring him to the event.

"Meeting him and talking to him and his family and friends, it really hit them," Thompson said. "Once he was at the dance and we presented him gifts and honored him and Nikki spoke about how the dance helped Taylor and continues to help people - it all came together great and you can't help but be proud of the event and everyone's hard work. It's a wonderful thing."

"It was an awesome event," Misiewicz added. "It was nice to and see the school again and a bunch of friends that I went to school with when I was there. It was a great time. The dance in general was just an honor, and especially with Nikki Richmond and her family, they're awesome people and it meant a lot."

As part of the festivities, Moore and his team welcomed Misiewicz back to campus and honored him at the dance. In addition to the proceeds from the special events, he was presented with Saint Mary's hockey gear so he and the Cardinals could continue to display their mutual pride in one another.

"We got to introduce Josh to the crowd along with Nikki Richmond," Moore said. "We presented Josh with some stuff for being an alum of our program, as well as the money we raised for him at Armed Services day. It was great. He actually had six or seven of the guys he played with that came back to the benefit dance as well."

"That brought back a lot of memories," Misiewicz said of seeing his former teammates. "I remember messing around on the ice with the guys and it was great to have the opportunity to go back to the ice arena - some good times with some good people."

In all, more than 600 people attended the benefit, which was open to the Saint Mary's campus and the Winona community. Thompson said that admission for the dance, the silent auction and other donations - which are still rolling in - have totaled almost $18,000 according to Thompson, and all funds will be donated to Misiewicz and his recovery.

Walking together
Saint Mary's has gone to great lengths to honor Misiewicz, and they're not the only ones. Last fall, he was awarded the Purple Heart, one of the military's top honors, presented in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed in battle. "It means a lot," Misiewicz said. "It's not something you want to get, but it means a lot."

In all, the Cardinals have raised nearly $20,000 to help their former hockey player in his time of need. However, Moore echoed a statement felt across the entire campus. Anything they can do for Misiewicz still doesn't equal the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers make for the U.S. every day.

"It's been a really cool deal," Moore said. "Josh has almost been embarrassed at all the attention he's been getting, but what do you say? We all take for granted every minute we have in our country. If it wasn't for people like Josh, we don't get the opportunity to even complain.

"The freedoms we have are on their backs."

Though Saint Mary's financial contributions to Misiewicz and his family have been remarkable, his continued relationship with his former school has also offered him benefits money can't buy. It's been a continued source of strength and inspiration that has helped him persevere through an almost-unthinkable situation.

"It's been amazing," Misiewicz of the support he's received from Saint Mary's. "My family, my friends and everyone at Saint Mary's, too, have been amazing. All the help form the Richmond family and the Saint Mary's hockey team has been great, and the fundraisers have been very nice of them."

Looking into the future, Misiewicz said his immediate goal is improving his abilities with his new prosthetic legs. His recent visit to his old campus has him thinking about finishing his degree and pursuing a career, although Winona's climate doesn't necessarily fit his ideal living situation.

"Right now, my focus is on walking," he said. "I'd really like to end up going back to school and get a job somewhere ... hopefully somewhere warm."

Regardless of where his journey takes him, the last several months have proven that wherever Misiewicz decides to walk in life, his Saint Mary's family will continue to walk with him every step of the way.

To donate to Saint Mary's fundraising efforts to benefit Josh Misiewicz, send checks - payable to the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance - to Lance Thompson, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, 700 Terrace Heights No. 1528, Winona, MN 55987.


SMU Armed Forces Night | Taylor RIchmond Benefit Dance