WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — Ryland Goude showed up to a hockey rink Saturday night in an orange suit — a detail impossible to miss among the sea of jerseys and gear.
It wasn't his typical game-day attire. But this wasn't a typical game.
"Our moms would call us dumb and dumber," Goude, Ellington's cousin, said, adjusting his bright orange jacket. "We had multiple opportunities to wear matching suits, but we never went out and really did it. So that was something that we never got to do together. I figured if I don't know what I'm gonna do it for — this is it."
Goude's cousin, 19-year-old Noah Ellington, died in a car crash late last month. On Saturday, more than 60 players — teammates, former coaches, coworkers, and family members — laced up their skates at AdventHealth Center Ice in Wesley Chapel for a memorial game in his honor.
It's the same rink where Ellington first stepped on the ice as a young kid. And according to his mother, it's where he played his last game, too.
'He Was Just a Good Kid'
Ellington's teammate and family say he wasn't the loudest voice in the locker room, but his presence was undeniable.
"At first glance, he was nonchalant," Goude, who was also Ellington's roommate and EMT school classmate, said. "He would sit there and be like, 'Oh, hey, what's up? I'm Noah.' But if you talked to him and he got to know you, he would open up and he was this goofy guy. He knew when to be serious, but he was just a little kid at heart."
Gavin Miles, who played alongside Ellington on the Clearwater Ice Storm two years ago, described him as one of the best defensemen he'd ever met.
"He was a great character to be around and he was really inspirational," Miles, a former teammate, said. "He was kind of quiet, but towards the end of our hockey year, he became open with everyone — really became one of the favorite teammates for sure."
One of Miles' favorite memories: Ellington taking a slap shot from the blue line and scoring the winning goal, followed by the entire team bear-hugging him on the ice.
Miles said before Saturday's game that the event was about more than just hockey.
"Today is not just about hockey," Miles said. "It's about celebrating him and the kind of person that he was."
'Always the First to Show Up, Last to Leave'
Michael Gennello, one of Ellington's former coaches, said the young defenseman was the kind of player every coach dreams of having.
"You could give him a little bit of advice and immediately he'd go out and apply it," Gennello said. "He was always coming into the office asking to do extra work. He'd show up at 10 a.m. for practice even though his team didn't skate until noon — he'd get on the ice with the youth team and help coach them."
Gennello said Ellington volunteered his time with younger players, staying late to help out and always showing up with a smile.
"Things weren't going well for us sometimes, but he always had a smile on his face," Gennello said. "He was the first one to show up, the last guy to leave."
That dedication didn't go unnoticed. The turnout for Saturday's memorial game included players who flew in from other states — even other countries — just to play in Ellington's honor.
"We had guys who flew in that teamed with Noah for just a couple of months and then coming from other countries and other states," Gennello said. "It goes to show you just how close the hockey community is. It's a very small community, but it's a very tight-knit community."
'He Can't Be With Us Here, But He's With Us in Spirit'
Alexa Zehall worked with Ellington behind the skate counter at AdventHealth Center Ice for three months. She said every time she saw his name on the work schedule, it made her excited to go to work.
"I mean every time I saw him on the work schedule, it made me excited to go to work, and I was never dreading it," Zehall, a coworker who also played in the memorial game, said. "Every time I showed up, he was always in a good mood. I didn't know him deeply, but I could tell he was very genuine. He was a very good individual."
The two would talk hockey during their shifts. And without fail, Ellington had a routine.
"Every shift he would buy two hot dogs from the concession stand," Zehall said with a smile. "If he was working before me, I'd show up and ask him, 'Have you had your hot dogs yet?'"
Zehall said the locker room before the memorial game was filled with emotion — hugs with Ellington's brother, quiet moments of reflection.
"Even in the locker room you can tell, you know, when they're hugging his brother, you can feel it from afar," Zehall said. "But I think everyone going in just knows what it's about — to support each other and have a good time."
Miles echoed that sentiment.
"Obviously he can't be with us here, but he's with us in spirit," Miles said. "That's really all I need."
Brothers, Roommates, Future Firefighters
For Goude, the loss cuts deepest. He and Ellington were more than cousins — they were roommates, best friends, and inseparable.
"Every day it was wake up, go to school, go to the gym, come home together, play games together," Goude said. "If I was not out with family or my girlfriend, I was basically attached to the hip with him. We were just brothers — the closest thing I had to one."
The two had just started EMT school together in early August, fulfilling a dream they'd shared for years. Goude's father is a firefighter, and ever since he was 10 years old, he'd talked about following in those footsteps.
"Me and Noah would play video games together and I would always talk about being a firefighter," Goude said. "Slowly throughout the years he was like, 'That sounds pretty cool. I'm kind of interested in that. Let's do that together. Let's be firefighters together.'"
Ellington, who was a year older than Goude, even took a gap year playing for the junior league Eels so the two could start EMT and fire school at the same time.
"That's actually why he joined the Eels, the hockey team, because he was taking a gap year to wait for me so we could go to EMT and fire school together," Goude said.
After his death, Goude got a tattoo on his ribs: a knife wrapped by an eel, with Ellington's birth and death dates. The eel represents the junior league team Ellington played for — "his first step in adult life," Goude said. "The eel wraps around the knife like the serpent and the staff, which is the EMT logo," Goude said. "For the future that he was never able to have."
A Game, A Community, A Legacy
What started as one memorial game quickly grew into something bigger. So many people signed up to play that organizers had to split it into four teams, turning the event into a bracket-style tournament.
"We have so many people signing up that we actually had to split the game into four different teams, and the one game has turned into a bracket style period type of thing," Goude said. "We've had over 60 people sign up for this, from old teammates, family members, strangers."
"The community is just such a big part to us. We have been very fortunate" Goude said.
Gennello said the overwhelming response is a testament to who Ellington was — not just on the ice, but off it.
"Noah was a guy that was respected by not just his teammates, but players on other teams, coaches of other teams," Gennello said.
Goude stood rinkside in his orange suit, watching players warm up — his cousin's friends, family, and teammates preparing to honor a young man gone too soon.
"He was just a good kid," Goude said quietly. "He shouldn't have been gone this early."
But on this night, on the ice where Ellington's hockey journey began and ended, the community made sure his memory wouldn't fade.
According to Goude, AdventHealth Center Ice held special significance for the Ellington family.
"This has been the hockey rink. Whenever he went to play hockey, it would be here," Goude said. "I watched so many games in those stands out on D-rink. He has played, I believe, for every team here, so in every stage of his hockey career it's been here."
Gennello said he expects the game to be emotional at first, but ultimately a celebration.
"I think guys are gonna go out and have fun," Gennello said. "There will be a lot of smiles."
Miles summed it up simply before stepping onto the ice.
"It's truly special to be here and to be able to celebrate him," Miles said. "He'll always be remembered."
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