Minnesota mother of 11-year-old girl killed in crash finding support through hockey

Behind almost every hockey player is a hockey parent.  

Emmy Loycano, a Westonka, Minnesota, hockey mom, never played the sport. But her husband did, and her boys do. Her daughter, Lily Loycano, always came along for the ride.

"Yeah, she probably spent just as many hours at a rink as my boys did because she would have to come along to watch practices when we needed to be there, you know," Emmy Loycano said. "And tournaments, she would come with and go watch those games, and yeah, she was the ultimate rink rat. She was all the little boys' little sister. And so, when everything happened, not only did it affect us obviously, but it affected those players as well because she was like their little sister."

Lily Loycano was killed by a distracted driver last year while she was riding to school. The pain was deep and wide in the Westonka community following the crash.

"The day everything happened, it was like, the association reached out right away and they just they have not, they have not left our side. You would never expect a bunch of, like, teenage boys to come together and say a prayer for Lily before a game or, you know, a lot of them still have purple tape on their sticks because purple was her favorite color. It really does, like, change your heart," Emmy Loycano said.

WCCO asked her what happens when she sees a piece of purple tape.

"It warms my heart, but it also, it makes me sad at the same time because she should still be here. She should be sitting in the stands cheering her brothers on, asking for concession stand money. She should still be here being a 12-year-old girl cheering on her brothers," Emmy Loycano said.

Amidst her grief over losing her daughter, she keeps going back to the rink. WCCO asked if being a hockey mom is part of her identity.

"For sure," Emmy Loycano said. "I would say I know nothing else right now. I mean, at the rink, I am, everybody knows me. They know my kids, they know that I'm a hockey mom."

Just like hockey players, hockey moms are tough.

"It's all you can do at this point is just try to live your best life and make your children proud, whether they're here or they're not. Like, I can feel it. I know. She's watching and cheering us on," Emmy Loycano said.

She continues to fight for Lily Loycano. She is working to change traffic laws and, like Lily, to get more people to donate their organs. You can follow their journey on Instagram at Live Like Lily.