Artwork Unveiled Honoring Late Marshall Hockey Coach Brendan Flaherty
Back in September, Flaherty was posthumously inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame and now, the program has found a new way to honor the local legend.
DULUTH, Minn. — Back in the summer, longtime Duluth Marshall hockey coach, Brendan Flaherty, passed away after a three year battle with throat cancer.
Back in September, Flaherty was posthumously inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame and now, the program has found a new way to honor the local legend.
It was emotional to see the hockey community come together on Thursday night at Mars Lakeview Arena to remember and present a tribute honoring late Marshall hockey coach Brendan Flaherty.
During the first intermission of the Duluth Marshall boys hockey game both teams paused lined up on the blue line and removed their helmets to show respect for Coach Flaherty, who passed away last summer after a three-year battle with throat cancer.
His family was in attendance, appreciative for all of the support.
“It was nice for the night to get here, we had it scheduled for earlier in the year and it got delayed so it was such a big part of Brendan’s life and all of our family’s life it’s nice to get out here and have this and know that his legacy is going to be honored at the arena,” Kasey Yoder, Step-Son of Brendan Flaherty said.
Tim Cortes, a local artist and one of Coach Flaherty’s good friends, was asked to create this piece which took about 80 hours to complete, all in colored pencil.
But he said it was worth every minute, in honoring his good friend.
“Yeah that was pretty special I got a little choked up, especially when I saw Carrie and I gave her a hug and this year’s been hard, my brother recently passed, and my sister recently passed 9 days later all cancer, so this became really special because of that, and it was emotional it really was, still is,” Cortes said.
The images highlight Flaherty’s dedication and commitment to the game and his team,and now with this piece of art, his memory will live on forever in Mars Lakeview Arena,
“Brendan was instrumental in getting this arena built and it’s only right that he’ll be portrayed in the lobby moving forward,” Yoder added.
The plan now is to make copies of the piece, and a larger version to display in the lobby for all Northland hockey fans to see.
