Hockey world mourns tragic loss of longtime player and coach at the age of 45

"Mike was an amazing athlete, running track and field through college. He was a life-long hockey player, playing from his earliest years through adulthood. His love of the sport overflowed to his boys and their teammates. Mike cared for his communities and loved being involved."

On Sunday, kids from the Rogers Youth Hockey Association gathered outside Maynards to raise funds for Betker's family. Many of the young athletes wore jerseys in his honor, remembering the coach who inspired them both on and off the ice.

"His speeches were just the best. He always pulled us aside for ten minutes and had the best speeches and lifted everybody's spirits to be able to be ready to play," said Langston Lehman.

Betker, who coached two youth hockey teams, was known for his positivity, selflessness and dedication. Andrew Lehman, an assistant coach, said he brought energy to the organization and inspired the other coaches.

"When he was coaching, you wouldn't know who was his kid. Every kid was his kid. And that was a very special quality of him," Lehman said.

"His wisdom was second to none, his personality was exuberant and his ability to be a fantastic friend will make him dearly missed by all of us that had the pleasure to work beside him at City Hall,".