Just like everyone else connected to the Emerson College community, the men’s lacrosse team spent much of this week with bated breath, waiting for an update on Daniel Hollis’ condition.

The uncertainty was the difficult part, Lions coach Matthew Colombini said.

“There’s no playbook for this or how to deal with this or the right thing to do,” Colombini told US Lacrosse Magazine. “We were just trying to keep the guys together.”

Hollis, who was in a coma due to brain damage sustained in an altercation that occurred after a party in the early-morning hours Saturday, died Wednesday afternoon. A teammate who was involved in the confrontation told the Boston Herald that Hollis was attempting to stop the fight. Boston police are investigating Hollis’ death as a homicide. No charges have been filed.

Hollis, 20, was a sophomore goalie for Emerson, a Division III program that competes in the NEWMAC and is located in the heart of Boston. Hollis is from Mendon, Mass., a Boston suburb about 40 miles southwest of the city.

Colombini said the team remained in a state of shock and uncertainty after the tragic news.

“It’s been an up-and-down few days, a lot of unsure feelings,” Colombini said. “Now it’s sort of strange, knowing he won’t be there. It’s very hard to deal with.”

Hollis didn’t play much at Emerson. He registered just 2:15 of action as a freshman, all in a lopsided loss to NEWMAC powerhouse Springfield on March 30. A path forward might have proven tough, since classmate Malcolm McGrath was the de facto starter between the pipes.

Still, there will always be a lingering question of what Hollis could have been for the Lions. He committed early in his senior year at Hopedale High School, eager to study marketing and communications. Colombini said Hollis was “all arms and legs” and still growing into his body, but hopes were lofty.

“He had so much potential athletically, pretty raw in terms of his style,” Colombini said. “He was left-handed, had all these things that went into being a good goalie.”

Hollis wasn’t discouraged by the lack of playing time, Colombini said. Instead, he brought boundless energy to practices, on the sideline during games and in the locker room. Colombini described Hollis as positive, fun and upbeat.

“He was just someone you wanted to be around,” Colombini said. “His teammates fed off of that, and it was just really special that he provided something even if wasn’t playing. He was always adding, whereas a lot of kids can subtract if they’re not playing. He was always laughing, having fun, smiling. Teams need that when the season gets long and it gets cold up here, maybe some results don’t go your way.”

The Lions are still determining how best to pay tribute to Hollis. They’ll put stickers on their helmets with his No. 27.

Colombini, now in his fourth year as Emerson coach, has a past experience to call upon. He was an assistant coach at Colby College, a NESCAC program in central Maine, when head coach Jack Sandler died after collapsing on a treadmill. Sandler was just 35, his best coaching days still ahead of him.

As with Sandler, Colombini hopes to help establish a legacy that outlasts those who knew Hollis.

“I know we want to do something for him and with his family, so they’re part of the idea process when that becomes appropriate,” Colombini said. “It’s also important to me that it isn’t a one-year thing or until he graduates, until the guys he was with all graduate. Nothing like that.”

There’s also the matter of fall ball, which gets underway during the last week of October.

“It’s a tricky balance,” Colombini said. “We want to make sure we’re doing everything to help the guys heal. But we also practice to be a release and a space to clear your head and just play and enjoy lacrosse like Dan did. We’re still figuring it out.”