OGDEN — On Friday, the Ogden Mustangs opened their second season in the United States Premier Hockey League’s tuition-free tier II competition, the National Collegiate Development Conference, or NCDC.

And while the team sought to acknowledge its litany of accomplishments from an overwhelmingly successful maiden voyage in 2023-24, it also took the opportunity that night to honor those responsible for the team’s move to and evolution in Ogden.

David Miller who, with his wife, Lori, purchased the team that would become the Mustangs in 2009, relocated it to the Beehive State in 2011 and fostered its growth for a decade-plus, died of a heart attack Aug. 11.

The Mustangs celebrated his life and the Millers’ contributions to the team and the sport of hockey in Utah during the opener against the Idaho Falls Spud Kings at The Ice Sheet.

“All our fans, all our players, our coaches, our staff — they’re all part of the herd,” Sean Wilmert, the Mustangs’ owner (with his wife, Kimberly) since 2020, told the Standard-Examiner. “We have a saying, ‘Once a part of the herd, always a part of the herd.’ … (Lori) and David are the two founding members of the herd and they’ll always be there.”

During the ceremony, Wilmert dedicated the Mustangs’ ’23-24 season — during which the team won the NCDC’s Mountain Division title and pushed the eventual 2024 Dineen Cup-champion South Shore Kings to the brink in the Finals — to the Millers.

“None of our accomplishments could have happened without them,” Wilmert said. “We really — the community and ourselves, as newer owners — owe everything to what they built.”

Lori and other members of the Miller family were in attendance for the game and ceremony. Meanwhile, one of the Millers’ grandchildren dropped the opening puck for 2024-25 campaign.

Wilmert described David — who also owned the Bakersfield, California-based DMW Industries, a service provider in the drilling industry — as a “behind-the-scenes” partner in his wife’s hockey endeavors.

“David was really the backbone and kind of allowed her to spread her wings and build the Mustangs to what it is today,” he said. “It has been one of the most successful programs in the Western United States as far as not only results, but helping young men go on and chase their dreams.”

Through the Mustangs, the Millers embraced Ogden as their home away from home. And Wilmert added that Lori continues to be invested in both the team and the local community.

“I talk with her a few times throughout the year; she still spends a lot of time in Ogden,” he said. “It’s always nice to have that support and if questions or things come up, being able to reach out to her from time to time if needed.”