Chance Wolf had a heart of gold and the wit to match.
As a UF telecommunication senior, Wolf joked about his professor’s New England accent. In turn, his professor would tell Wolf he never heard of a hockey player from Florida.
On Jan. 31, at the age of 20, Chance Wolf fell to his death from the sixth floor of Social 28 apartments.
Now, in the basement of Weimer Hall, there is an empty chair in professor Tim Sorel’s lab.
It reminds him of the long nights Wolf spent editing videos and audio for class projects.
On Thursday afternoon, Sorel shared memories with about 50 of Wolf’s friends and family members in the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art.
Sorel remembers the first time he met Wolf.
“First thing I said to him then was, “Are you behaving yourself?’ He said, ‘Absolutely not’,” Sorel said.
• • •
There did turn out to be a hockey player from Florida.
After moving from Weston, Florida, to Gainesville, Wolf spent a lot of time in vans.
He joined UF’s hockey club team and befriended Mark Finkelstein in a van headed to Alabama.
Wolf was a forward and Finkelstein, a 20-year-old UF accounting junior, played goalie.
They hardly interacted during games, but it was a different story off the ice.
“Instantly, that weekend, he became one of the boys,” Finkelstein said.
When the team took a van to South Carolina, Wolf made it his mission to find a party.
“He was just a really fun-loving kid,” he said.
Less than three months later, as Finkelstein took a van to Tampa, he received a text from his friend.
“I heard something happened and there were a bunch of ambulances around Social 28,” his friend texted him.
“Chance is dead.”
The team honored Wolf’s memory with a win against the University of South Florida the same day.
A week before, Wolf scored his first-ever goal against the University of Miami.
Finkelstein heard Wolf celebrate with his coach.
“I told you I could do it,” Wolf said.
• • •
During Thursday’s ceremony, UF President Kent Fuchs mourned.
“At the University of Florida, our students are our spirit,” he said.
Wolf’s friends later presented his family with a large, colorful tarp emblazoned with the face of a Florida Panther, set inside the logo of his favorite band, Sublime.
UF student Mackenzy Tejeda wiped tears from her eyes and addressed the audience.
“Looking around, he really did love every single person in this room — so much, so much,” she said. “And he’ll take care of you every day.”
Contact Martin Vassolo at mvassolo@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @martindvassolo.
