On January 14th, longtime Bridgeport Sound Tigers/Islanders fan Debbie Lietuvninkas passed away. Debbie was the President of the Bridgeport Hockey Booster Club for eight years, and she was known as “Mama Tiger”, for her willingness to open her arms to the players, and was given a tribute by multiple members of the organization. Debbie was a special person, and this is a tribute to someone who I got to know very well throughout the years.

Always Involved

Debbie wasn’t an original member of the Booster Club. My father was one of the co-founders of the Booster Club. Her husband Ray, a Canadian native, who grew up in the states, loved hockey. They joined the booster club in the mid-2000s. She was involved early with the Booster Club and their fundraising efforts. The members got to know the players at the monthly meetings over at the Rinks at Shelton, which at that time was the practice facility for the team, so players would stop by and chat with the boosters. Debbie joined the board, and ultimately became the President. With that came the show of her love and support to the players, and each year, she would host multiple Booster Club events, including the Snowflake Dinner, which was held right after the new year, and the end-of-season awards dinner. Even after her run as President, she would still host these events. During the last awards dinner, which was in 2019 due to COVID-19, she announced the “fun awards” with superlatives like “Most Likely to Be Late” being, shockingly Josh Ho-Sang.

My memories.

“Mama Tiger” opened her arms to me at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. Now, I should say this, as a little kid I’d sit wherever I wanted, I didn’t care. The arena was and still is to an extent a second home to me. I knew everyone who worked there, my grandfather and his twin brother were both original ushers at the arena. Well, someone had complained about people sitting wherever you wanted to, even though the arena was never packed, so Debbie and Ray had asked me to come to sit with them during that game if I remember correctly, it was against Providence in 2011-12 season, the early part of the year. The 2011-12 team was very special, with future NHL regulars like Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson showing up later in the season, Debbie would always open herself to those players. She was great to me, and as a young kid, I was basically the “co-host” of those awards dinners. One memory that sticks out is when the team gave Debbie a “Mama Tiger” jersey during the 2012 dinner and the whole team took a picture with her.

Reaction

After Debbie’s passing, members of the Islanders organization remembered her for her love and care of people inside the organization. In an article by Mike Fornabaio, current Islanders forward Casey Cizikas said; “She wasn’t just a fan, she was a part of our family.”, and current Bridgeport captain Seth Helgeson said “She lit up the room at the Booster Club events we went to.” Head Coach Brent Thompson said she was “just one of the sweetest ladies you’d ever meet”. Other former players like Pascal Morency among others sent their condolences to the family.

Tribute

The Bridgeport Islanders honored “Mama Tiger” with a tribute on the home game on January 22nd. Debbie’s jersey was put onto her seat, and before the game, the Bridgeport Islanders took a picture with her jersey. During the first media timeout, the team honored her while every booster club member held up a picture of Debbie.

Debbie was someone that I won’t forget, and many other people with the same. My condolences go out to Ray, her sons Brian and Andrew, her brother Greg, sister Nancy, as well as Brian, Jessica, and Allison who are all still involved with the Bridgeport Hockey Booster Club to this day.

Christian Gardecki

A Native of Danbury, CT. Christian is one of the longest tenured Drive4Five writers, Christian Gardecki began writing for Drive4five In May of 2017. Christian covers Minor League Hockey and the Bridgeport Islanders for Drive4Five. Outside of Drive4Five, Christian was the captain of his High School Hockey team and currently attends Hofstra University with a major in journalism. Christian was the play by play broadcaster for the Danbury Westerners summer collegiate baseball team during their 2021 NECBL Championship. Christian also was the Public Address Announcer for the Danbury Hat Tricks Minor Pro Hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and NAHL Junior team from 2019-21.