Life can change in a second.

For the international hockey community, that change came on Friday, April 6. The Humboldt Broncos, a junior hockey team from Canada, were headed to a game on the team bus when they collided head on with a semi.

16 people died including 11 players, the team bus driver, an athletic trainer and two media personnel for the Broncos.

It’s a tragedy, but it’s one that has brought the international hockey community together.

A GoFundMe page set up for donations has reached more than 15 million dollars from people across 60 countries. People across the world set out hockey sticks on their porches outside their homes to pay respects to the players. People in other countries and America wore jerseys on April 12 to honor the victims and even professionals and college players paid respects in other ways.

There were numerous moments of silence across the world in different sports. Marcus Stroman, an MLB player for the Toronto Blue Jays, wrote ‘Humboldt Broncos’ on his hat for a game. The National Hockey League’s Winnipeg Jets and Chicago Blackhawks all replaced the names on their jerseys with ‘Broncos’.

Josh Moser is a hockey broadcaster from Wisconsin and has an older brother who played junior and college hockey. His father Oak is a junior hockey coach. He said the impact on the international community is vast.

“It does not surprise me that this tragedy happened in Canada but has impacted Americans in the way that it has,” Moser said. “Hockey is family, and family knows no borders. It’s affecting the entire hockey world because every single hockey player has memories from those bus rides.”

He remembered the times his family took those trips via bus and said that hearing about the accident was devastating.

“My brother played two years of junior hockey and four more in the ACHA riding buses all over the countryside. My dad has coached juniors the last two years and spent time on those buses as well. I was so thankful that on the countless bus rides my dad and brother took they always came home safely. My reaction when I first heard was complete and utter heartbreak,” Moser said.

Jack Gorniak just finished his high school career in West Salem and was just named to the USA Today All-American First Team. His older brother also played juniors and Gorniak is set to play for the University of Wisconsin Badgers this winter. He wasn’t surprised that the hockey world came together over the incident.

“It doesn’t surprise me because the hockey world is so close to each other and we all know that what happened was a horrible situation and anyone who has traveled on a bus with a team knows those are some of the best parts of your hockey experience,” he said.

“I was just in shock and sad because it was just a freak accident and that could have been any hockey teams bus and it’s just scary to think about,” Gorniak said. “Traveling with a team or even just with a teammate to a hockey game is supposed to be some of the best moments of junior, college, or youth hockey and it makes you realize something so simple like traveling can be unsafe.”

While those who passed in the accident aren’t here to see it, they can rest in peace knowing that the hockey world has their backs. The game will continue to be played, and the Humboldt Broncos will not be forgotten.