EAST ALTON — On a Senior Night that was even more special than usual, the Alton Redbirds rolled to an 8-2 victory over Belleville Tuesday night. And in the process, they honored a fallen teammate who’s been gone two years but whose memory has remained alive with the team.

Alton got three goals from Kain Henson and finished the regular season at 12-4 with the Class 2A Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association victory at the East Alton IceArena. The win gave the Redbirds momentum at the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs following next week’s MVCHA All-Star games.

“This is the most complete game we’ve played in a long time,” Alton coach Abram Henson said. “It was a very special night all around.”

Indeed. The Redbirds honored 10 seniors, including Jordan Klope, who was killed in an automobile crash two years ago during his sophomore season. The team has honored him during the last two years and continued to do so during the pre-game Senior Night ceremony.

Klope’s parents, Chris and Sonja Klope, were present with the rest of the seniors’ parents to receive the same acknowledgements as the others. His Back