Gustavus hockey player killed in crash ‘came to the rink with a smile’

(FOX 9) - Jori Jones' smile lit up the rink. 

On Sunday, the 19-year-old was showing off her infectious personality during the annual team bonding activity she does with her teammates from Gustavus Adolphus College. They were on their way back from Aberdeen, South Dakota when they were in a crash that killed Jones and left three of her teammates injured.

Molly McHugh, a fifth-year team captain, was several cars behind them. She and a group of four other teammates rushed to the hospital to see their friends.

"It never crossed any of our minds that she wasn't going to be okay. Ever," McHugh said. "Losing Jori was like losing a sister. It was way more than just a teammate."

Jones was two weeks away from starting her sophomore year of college, and McHugh said the loss was hard to understand and still doesn’t feel real. She put a hockey stick out on her front porch to honor Jones.

"I think the coaches would tell you she's quiet, but around us she's not at all. Like she's very bubbly," she said of her teammate.

Before Jones was a Gustavus Gustie, she spent four years in as a Roseville Raider. Jones’ death is a devastating loss to Minnesota's hockey community. Her high school coach, Craig Rosenthal, said when he heard the news, he felt "absolute disbelief turned to a broken heart."

"(Jori was) the sweetest kid you could ever have. A coach's dream. She did everything the right way. Came to the rink with a smile on her face every day," said Rosenthal, who is the head coach of the Roseville High School Girls Hockey Team.

It’s difficult to imagine about a goalie who went on to win a DIII National Championship, but Rosenthal said Jones was having a hard time getting recruited to play in college until the last section game of her senior year.

"The coach from Gustavus came down, and he said, ‘I want your goalie,’ and I said, ‘Finally. She's not only a wonderful goalie, but you're going to be getting the best kid in the world,’" Rosenthal said.

Another proud coaching moment came shortly after that when Jones invited her coach to National Signing Day.

"She had her gold Gustie shirt on, and she was smiling ear to ear, and I was just so proud to watch her sit down and sign that paper," Rosenthal said.

He said the legacy Jones left behind was wanting to make everyone around her happy, a gift he believes everyone can learn from.