The moment Dominick Critelli lifted his soprano saxophone at UBS Arena, the building fell quiet. Minutes later, it erupted — and then the internet did, too.
Critelli’s rendition of the national anthem before Saturday night’s Islanders–Rangers game didn’t rely on flourishes or modern twists. The 104-year-old World War II veteran from Floral Park played a traditional arrangement, choosing reverence over reinvention. That restraint is precisely what made it unforgettable.
“You can’t add to that,” Critelli said afterward in Newsday. “You can’t touch that.”
What he did add was feeling. As he played, fans sang along, voices filling the arena before chants of “USA!