60 Minutes Until Nationals

I haven't had Internet connection the past few days, but here's what I wrote last night after the game:


After our pregame skate, Coach challenged us to play to our potential. He asked, “Where is the team that played in Wenatchee?” (I wasn’t here then, but they took the Wenatchee Wild of the NAHL to overtime in an exhibition game and played their hearts out in that game.) Something has been holding us back the past few weekends. We hadn’t been committed to our forecheck, and we hadn’t been physical enough. We won games, but we did not pay the price that needs to be paid to win close playoff games. We could beat teams like San Diego or Arizona playing that way, but from here on out, our opponents are only going to get better. We tried to do things the easy way and beat teams with our skill game. That was before tonight.

60 minutes until nationals. That was our war cry tonight. Everyone kept saying that before our game. And if that’s not motivational enough, I don’t know what is. We came out tonight and played to our potential. As a team. The Phoenix Polar Bears were not stopping us from winning, no matter what. We weren’t going to let them take us to a 3rd game. We were determined. Before the game, my heart was pumping. I knew I had to play well for our team. And I knew I was ready to play. I wasn’t nervous. I was confident. The puck dropped, and immediately we controlled Phoenix with our physical play and forecheck. We played the first period like we wanted to, and we dominated. Phoenix had only one good shot in the 1st. We rolled 4 lines, pounded them with our forecheck, and when the puck came into our zone, we broke their trap, and got the puck out. Every time. They had no answer, and we came out of the 1st period with a 1-0 lead, just like in the first game, but this time we felt like we deserved the lead and probably should’ve scored even more. Coach came into the locker room between the 1st and 2nd period and told us that was the team he envisioned we could be. But he also said that a hockey game is not decided in 20 minutes, that we had to be ready to play another 40 minutes, just like we played the first 20.

40 minutes until nationals. The locker room was quiet in between periods. We all knew what we had to do. We were focused. We were ready to come out with the same determination we had in the 1st period. I was in the zone. Nothing mattered, except the next 20 minutes we were going to play. We got on the ice and played our game. We rolled 4 lines and pounded them with our forecheck. They were wearing down. We scored again to make it 2-0, and then they scored to make it 2-1. Even when the score was close, though, I was never worried. Throughout the game, we were in control. And it was fun. We went into the locker room after the 2nd period with a 2-1 lead. Nothing was going to stop us now.

20 minutes until nationals. One more period. 20 miles to go. Not much was said in the locker room again. We knew what was at stake, and we knew if we let Phoenix back in the game, the momentum of the series would turn around. The second game in a 3 game series is pivotal. We weren’t going to let them back in the game, or the series. The puck dropped and, again, we were all over Phoenix. This time, they were pretty much out of gas. But we kept rolling. I never once felt tired during the whole game. That’s what short shifts and a solid forecheck will do for you. We pounded them in the 3rd period. We got a few quick goals, and the game was over. Everyone on the bench was going crazy when we scored to go up 4-1 because we knew it was pretty much over. I had so much fun, and I think that translated into how well I played individually.

I played physical, I got shots through to the net, and I managed the puck and the game whenever I was on the ice. I’ve never had so much fun in a game in my whole life. And I’ve never played better. After the game, our equipment manager came up to me and said, “Teddy, I don’t know if anyone’s told you this yet, but you just played by far the best game of your life. If you play like that every game, no one will beat us.” I don’t know how much truth is in that; all I know is that I had a lot of fun. Our team owner came up to me after the game and said, “Connor, if you’re not careful, you might just turn into a hockey player after all.” It’s wild to hear how many people can see how much better I’ve gotten in just a few short months.

After the game, the crowd in McCall was going crazy. They appreciated our effort. We had an awesome celebration out on the ice after the game. It felt like a weight was sort of lifted off our shoulders, knowing that we’ll be going to nationals. But now is definitely not the time to get complacent or lazy. We have a lot of work left to do, and we still have a lot of goals to accomplish. We are the champions of the Western Division of the WSHL, but we are still hungry for more. We are where we want to be, but really there’s no reason to celebrate right now. There are more challenges ahead, and we still have some great things to accomplish this season. I’ve never been on a more determined team, and it’s been so much fun. I’m ready to have even more fun, though, in the next few weeks.

Next weekend, we’re going to El Paso, Texas to play the El Paso Rhinos for the Thorne Cup. We want that thing. Oh, and one other thing too: we’re goin’ to nationals, baby!