KINGSTON, Mass. — Apparently Evie Reissfelder wasn’t willing to miss this.
Her parents, meanwhile, were more than happy to do their part.
Little Evie, born premature at 6 pounds, 2 ounces just 12 days ago, provided one of the highlights of Penguins coach Mike Sullivan’s public viewing of the Stanley Cup Thursday afternoon at The Bog Ice Arena.
“She came a week early and very fast,” Evie’s mother, Jen, said. “She was determined to come out.”
Paul, Evie’s father, coaches girls hockey at Duxbury High, the school closest to Sullivan’s home. He had never met Sullivan but had heard from a couple friends about his approachable nature.
Those impressions were backed up Thursday. After shaking the coach’s hand, the group posed for a picture, placing the tiny baby in the Cup.
“Looking back, when she gets older, she’ll be like, ‘All right, I was in the Stanley Cup.’ ” Paul said. “That’s everyone’s dream.”
Sullivan relished the experience to share the Cup with the community, inside the rink where he once stood behind the bench for his own kids’ games.
“I feel like it’s our responsibility. I think all of our players feel that way,” Sullivan said. “I think that’s part of the hockey culture, regardless of which team wins it. Hockey players never forget where they came from. They always want to share in their successes. This is one way that we can do it.”
Donations were taken at the door. They went to Christopher's Kitchen, a charity Sullivan’s family has grown excited about supporting that provides meals for families at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC.
One attendee at the local rink handed Sullivan a card and told him he and Sidney Crosby were invited to his birthday party, a comical moment that had Sullivan in stitches.
“Sid and I made the list,” Sullivan said. “We feel very fortunate.”
To another youngster, Sullivan squatted down and excitedly said, “You want to take a picture? … You want to do it with the Stanley Cup?”
Sullivan petted a 5-year-old golden retriever named Bruin who showed up and later exhorted a group of kids to come closer.
“C’mon over,” Sullivan said. “It doesn’t bite.”
No, the Stanley Cup doesn’t bite. But it does make people happy, and Sullivan took plenty of joy in doing that. At a special venue, too.
“We thought it would be nice to bring it back and share it with the next generation,” Sullivan said. “It’s so much fun for me to see the youth players come in and get an opportunity to see it up close and personal.”
Jessica McDermott surprised her kids with a trip to see Sullivan and the Cup, securing the first spot in line around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, 90 minutes before doors opened.
Her son Owen, however, was not a Penguins fan.
“The Preds, man,” Owen joked. “Filip Forsberg … they have a good group over there.”
Many wore Bruins colors proudly, a point that Sullivan seemed to absorb with a bit of aw-shucks Boston pride; he knew it was coming.
Another Plymouth, Mass., resident, 14-year-old Nick Ferrante, was the opposite. He’s a huge Penguins fan — he become hooked through a video game — and couldn’t wait to meet Sullivan.
“He’s a good coach,” Ferrante said. “He’s won two Cups in two years. He hasn’t lost a playoff matchup yet. It will be awesome to meet him.”
Christina Dolympio of Rockland brought her two sons, David, 12, and Nick, 10, and spoke glowingly of Sullivan, who once coached David at a mite camp.
“If you can’t have the Bruins win the Stanley Cup, at least you have a hometown person win it,” Dolympio said. “When they won it all last year and he brought it here, it meant a lot because he definitely pays it forward and shares it with everyone. That shows what kind of person he is and how he cares about the hockey community here.”
Mike Garofalo, 34, of Rockland, would agree. Even though he’s a Bruins supporter, he’s also a fan of Sullivan. A big fan.
“I think he got a raw deal when he was here,” Garofalo said of Sullivan’s time coaching the Bruins.
Sullivan has spent more than a quarter-century associated with the NHL as a player and a coach. With so much experience under his belt, he’s not about to look past what Thursday meant for him.
Every part of it was special. From walking the Cup up a set of steps, to explaining the history of it to his family members, to raising money for a charity he truly believes in.
“This trophy has such an allure to it,” Sullivan said. “With the history that surrounds it, it’s such a great trophy. For the young kids in this area to have the opportunity to see it up close and personal and read some of the names that are on the Cup, look over the years of the past teams, the past great players that have played the game, for me I think it’s a thrill.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG
First Published: August 17, 2017, 8:05 p.m.