A jam-packed Thayer Arena, filled with young hockey players and former NHL stars, took the time on Sunday to honor one man who has called the arena a second home for much of his life.

Yogi Gardiner has been coaching hockey in Warwick for 50 years, and with the Warwick Junior Hockey Association specifically since the late 1970s.

As part of the day, Gardiner got to see the coaches of the WJHA — a group, he said, that includes many of his former players — face off against a team of Boston Bruins alumni.

“These guys have made me look good over the years — they’re a great bunch,” Gardiner said. “To me, I was doing what I really loved, and I had already gotten the appreciation over the years. But this is something special.”

Gardiner’s journey as a coach began when his son was old enough to start playing hockey. An aficionado of the sport, he decided he would coach. 

Gardiner’s son eventually grew out of the program, but by then Yogi had fallen in love with coaching, and he remained with Warwick Junior Hockey.

“I didn’t think it was going to last anywhere near this long,” he said. “It was always ‘Just one more year.’”

A lot has changed in those 50 years, but Gardiner said there has been one constant.

“The kids are the same today as always,” Gardiner said. “They just have a lot more pressure on them, a lot more media … Every kid you coach, that’s the future of the world. People forget that.”

More local connections abounded in the arena, with Bruins national anthem singer Todd Angilly, a Warwick native, returning to his hometown to belt out The Star-Spangled Banner before the game.

Over the last 50 years, Gardiner has connected with countless kids interested in the sport and has won countless games at Thayer Arena. 

Seeing his former players become good citizens and start families of their own has made him proudest. 

“I’d say 99% or more did real good and ended up being good parents, and that’s all we want,” Gardiner said. “There are very few players or anybody that I’ve had trouble with.”

Gardiner also thanked his family for allowing him to continue coaching. He said his late wife, Linda, had to put up with his being away with the team frequently, and she did it like a champ.

“I was always gone,” he said. “I’d be at tournaments, and [she and the kids] would be at home — they’re the ones who really let me do it.”

Gardiner said he’s willing to coach hockey for as long as his health allows and as long as the Warwick Junior Hockey Association will have him.

Given the tributes he received Sunday, he likely doesn’t have to worry about the last part.

“You’ve not only been a hockey coach, more importantly, you’ve been a mentor on life,” said Rob Jackson, a WJHA alum and head coach at Smithfield High School. “What you’ve taught us, what you’ve given us, is absolutely unbelievable. Thank you.”