Heartfelt Homage: Donato Scores Twice Wearing Late Friend's Tie

Although the Chicago Blackhawks lost 3-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Friday after owning a 2-0 lead, there was something special about the contest.

Sometimes, a feel-good story is needed to keep the morale high.

Upon arriving at Xcel Energy Center in St.

Paul, MN, Ryan Donato was wearing something special.

Donato was gifted a tie that belonged to friend and former NHLer Colby Cave.

Emily Cave gifted her late husband's tie to Donato and the Boston native wore it for the Black Friday matchup between the Hawks and Wild.

Ryan Donato wore a tie yesterday that belonged to his late friend, Colby Cave, gifted to Donato by Colbys wife, Emily.

Donato then went on to score 2 goals (via @emilyljcave ) pic.twitter.com/kfBbrdfdqh Cave passed away in 2020 at the age of 25.

The former Boston Bruin and Edmonton Oiler suffered a brain bleed, taking him far too soon.

Seeing his legacy live on in this simple gesture is certainly a heartwarming moment for the Cave family and Donato.

Lo and behold, Donato had a great game, scoring both Blackhawks goals.

The first goal came just minutes into the first period.

Tyler Bertuzzi worked a puck out of the corner and dished to Donato in front of Marc-Andre Fleury.

Donato ripped a shot past the goaltender, giving Chicago the lead.

Ryan Donato gets the party started early pic.twitter.com/pUykNAbx8p In the second period, Donato cashed in on the power play.

Donato clapped a shot from the left circle to collect his second goal of the game.

The tally also marks Donato's 10th goal of the season, setting him on a pace to set a new career-high .

Donato is having a career-best season in a contract year, building off of some momentum he generated at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Ryan Donatos second of the game is a power play tally pic.twitter.com/Z9g46wVtXx Despite Donato's stellar day, the Blackhawks blew the 2-0 lead as the Wild stormed back.

Three second-period scores gave the host Wild the lead and they never looked back, holding off the Hawks and securing the 3-2 win.

Although it wasn't the desired outcome, Ryan Donato's stellar individual performance appeared to be fueled by the memory of his late friend, Colby Cave .

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission..

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