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Friday was a tear-filled day at Berkeley High. Tissue boxes lined the steps to the Community Theater where students—some slumped against the building, their faces cupped in their hands—gathered to mourn the passing of classmate Nic Rotolo. 

On Thursday night, Rotolo, a Berkeley High junior, and hockey player with the San Jose Junior Sharks, collapsed on the ice while his parents and four grandparents watched from the stands. His mother, Christine Rotolo Stevenson, rushed to the rink and held him in her arms, but Rotolo, 17, never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 8:50 p.m. at San Jose Medical Center. 

The Santa Clara County Coroners Office said the cause of death is still pending the results of further tests, but Rotolo’s parents said medical examiner Judy Melinek believed Rotolo, a robust 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound defenseman, likely died of commotio cordis.  

The medical rarity occurs when a blunt blow to the chest disrupts the heart’s rhythm and is not detectable by an autopsy. When it strikes, the ailment is nearly always fatal, according to a report by Dr. Michael Vincent, though had a heart defibrillator been available within a minute after Rotolo collapsed, his life might have been saved.  

His parents said film of the game showed he collapsed seven seconds after an opponent’s shoulder smacked into his chest while Rotolo was applying a check.  

Conrad Stevenson, Rotolo’s step-father remembered his step-son as a “great kid who loved life. He was a totally funny guy, a total goofball and he loved hockey.” 

Rotolo started skating as a three-year-old at Berkeley Iceland and worked his way up to the Junior Sharks, an elite youth team that crisscrosses the western United States and Canada. 

Two of his grandparents had flown in from Texas for the rare home game, Stevenson said, which the Sharks needed to win to advance in a league tournament. 

Jolyn Overton, a close friend, said Rotolo was in especially high spirits on the day he died. “He had a really great day Thursday,” she said. “His grandparents were here and he had gotten an A-plus on his Spanish exam.” 

Rotolo lived in Berkeley with his mother, step-father and step-sister Raven. He also had a step-brother Paolo Brooks, a fellow Berkeley High student. Brooks was so upset by his step-brother’s death that on Friday he broke his hand punching a school locker, said his mother Natashya Brooks.  

Rotolo, who was born in Walnut Creek, spent most of his childhood in Piedmont before moving to Berkeley as a ninth grader when his mother remarried. 

At Berkeley High, he befriended a tight-knit crew of about six classmates who spent most of their time watching movies, playing hockey, football and lacrosse, and battling with water balloons and air pressure guns. 

“We were all aggressive with each other, putting one another through physical pain,” Overton said. “Since Nic was so much bigger than everyone, we just took turns picking fights with him.” 

Though Rotolo cast an imposing presence, with his size and love of hard-edged punk rock, the variety not played on mainstream radio, his friends described him as a fun-loving, demonstrative and caring person, who didn’t fit the mold of a jock.  

Overton recalled one evening stopping by Rotolo’s house at a time when she was dealing with personal issues. “We talked the whole night,” she said. “You knew he would never tell anyone what you said. He would just listen and always try to help make you feel better.” 

Stevenson broke the news to his friends Thursday night. On Friday, with the help of some teachers and parents, they set up a memorial that celebrated his unique, offbeat spirit. 

Plastered on the glass exterior of the Community Theater were a series of pictures of Rotolo, bare-chested, offering a different engaging facial expression in each shot. 

On two fold-out tables sat an empty bottle of Guinness beer with one lily inside, a blown-up picture of Rotolo, middle finger extended and sheets of construction paper covered with messages written by classmates. 

Though it’s hard to be well-known at 2,700-student Berkeley High, Rotolo’s death shook students beyond his small band of close friends. Several of the most emotional testimonials scribbled on the paper came from students who misspelled his name. 

“Thanks for all the good times, RIP Superman,” read one message. 

Rotolo, who aspired to play college hockey in New England, was a fitness guru, friends said, often running with the lacrosse team and working out regularly at the YMCA. 

He joined the Junior Sharks at their inception four years ago and played for various teams in their program. 

His coach Derek Fisher said of him: “He was a quality human being with a strong head on his shoulders. It was wonderful just to watch how he played the game and the enjoyment and learning he took away from it.” 

In honor of Rotolo, Southwest Youth Hockey League Commissioner Ron White announced the championship trophy in his division-Midget Tier 1- would be renamed the “Nic Rotolo Memorial Trophy.” 

Since his death, Rotolo’s friends have spent much of their time at his mother’s house to grieve with the family. “I’ve realized there’s going to be a tremendous amount of people who miss him,” his mother said. “I’m in shock of his death, but I’m also in shock of how many people loved him.” 

Charitable donations in Rotolo’s name can be made to the Iglehart Wilderness Foundation, which gives underprivileged children opportunity to explore nature and the Norcal Rep Club Youth Hockey Program. 

A memorial will be held at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Community Theater.