The Most Upsetting Day of My Life

Mitchell Dohle

Mr. Jennings

3rd hour

September 18, 2013

The Most Upsetting Day of my Life

The day in which my hockey team lost in the semi-final championship game was the most upsetting day of my life. It was heartbreaking because we had worked so hard throughout the season and it was just taken away after one game. I still get chills whenever I think about the game.

I was playing for the Lutheran South Lancers High School Varsity ice hockey team. I was a sophomore and one of the best defenders on my team. Our team was one of the better teams in the state and we knew it too. We had three seniors who were one forward line; they were good leaders and knew how to score. All three of them played for a select team so during the season we had to play some games in which they were not there, but they were not going anywhere else to play except Lutheran South. Our next best forward line was our freshman line; all three of them were freshmen, had great chemistry together, and just like our senior, line they knew how to score. Our third line was our line of juniors; they weren’t the best on the team but they played their hearts out every time they stepped onto the ice. Our defense consists of 4 of the best defensemen in the state, in my opinion. My partner’s name was Jared but we called him “Tuffy” because he was one tuff guy and if you tried to hit him you would fall down instead of him. Tuffy was a sophomore just like me and our partnership actually worked out better than I thought it would be. My playing style is more of an offensive-defensemen and he is more of a “stay-at-home” defensemen in which he would play more defense while I joined the offense from time to time. The other two defensemen were Drew and Sarah; they were both “stay-at-home” defensemen like Tuffy. Drew was a sophomore and his playing style most resembled a bulldog. He was short and stocky and if you made him mad he would let you know. Sarah was our only girl on the team but don’t get fooled by her pretty looks. She is the glue of the team and whenever the other team goes after her our whole team goes after them. And finally our goalies; Tyler is our starting goalie and he is phenomenal! He also plays for a select team and more times than not if you need a big save he will give you one. But with him not at some of the games we needed a good backup and we defiantly got one. Josh, a freshman, came up big a lot of times in the regular season and is an extremely dependable backup goaltender.

The date was February 24th, 2013. The way the tournament was set, was that you played the team twice and if you win the first game then you have to win or tie the second game. If you don’t win or tie the second game then you play a 10 minute mini-game (not sudden death), and if you are still tied after that then you go to a shootout.

Our opponent was Wentzville Holt. On the 23rd we faced them for the first game and lost 3-2. It wasn’t that we played bad it was just that our forwards couldn’t scores goals and eventually Holt scored a couple goals and we lost. We weren’t as disappointed as you would expect a team to be but we definitely knew that there was some pressure on us. So going into the second game everyone was focused and knew what we had to do. The game started bad, I mean out of all the ways the game could’ve started out it had to start off bad. Holt came out flying and we just weren’t ready. By the end of the 1st period we were down 2 – 0. They scored a lucky goal in which a shot came from a defensemen and it hit a player in front and went in. The second goal in which they had was a decent goal; the player made a couple of good moves around our defense and had a good shot. But our team knew that if we just got one goal then the momentum would turn to our side and we might be able to make a comeback. And sure enough with just about 3 minutes left in the second period we got a goal! It was quite lucky if I do say so myself but by that time we didn’t care how the puck got in. So most people watching the game were expecting us to go into the period down by only 1 goal, in fact I thought that too. But with about 1 minute and 30 seconds left the unbelievable happened.

I was on the ice, in fact at center ice to be precise and the puck was in our offensive zone. I was just chilling there being the last man back but then I saw an opening. The puck got shot up the boards where there was a group of players at, and I was thinking to myself (this is all happening within a second or two) if I can get to that puck then I might be able to get a good scoring chance. And sure enough I went for it. I suppose everyone wasn’t expecting a defender to come from center ice with the speed and acceleration in which I was skating at. I picked up the puck before it went out of the zone and I looked up to see no one in my way between the goalie and I. At first I was shocked but that didn’t last long because I was closing onto the goalie and I needed to make up my mind on what to do. I had a teammate in the middle but a defender was blocking the passing lane so that option went right the window. I have never been the best shooter but I knew how to place my shots, so I thought what the heck, why not shoot it? So I looked up to where the goalie was setting up and I notice the “five-hole”, which is the space in between the legs, was wide open. So I just let a low but hard shot right at that open space thinking that if the goalie did save it that there might be a rebound. And after I shot it I saw nothing, and as I skated by the net I saw the puck hit the back of the net and I went crazy! Like “OH MY GOSH” crazy. So after that adrenaline rush it was 2-2 and it was going into the 3rdperiod. The momentum completely turned and we scored 2 more goals in the 3rd period to make it 4-2 and everybody cheering us on was astatic! We had a chance to go to the State Championship Finals in which we would be playing at Scottrade Center!

Thus the mini-game occurred; I’m not going to go into because there are no details. It was one of the most boring 10 minutes of my life. Each team didn’t want to give up a goal so there was a lot of defense going on. After the mini-game we had shootouts. I have never liked shootouts because it’s way too intense and if you lose it is just heartbreaking. We had the first shooter; our 3 seniors were to go first and if the shootout continued coach would tell us who is up. So our first shooter comes up and hits a laser into the net and we were up 1-0 in the shootout, so things were looking pretty dang good. But that all changed whenever there first shooter came up and did the exact same thing our guy did and scored, 1-1. Our 2nd shooter comes up and this was when it took a turn for the worst; when he got close the goalie dove at him in which he wasn’t expecting and knocked the puck away, still 1-1. But there 2nd shooter came up and made a brilliant move but lost the puck right before he was about to shoot so we dodged a bullet there, again still 1-1. Now our 3rd shooter, comes in and tries to make a move but gets stuffed by the goalie, 1-1. Now all there guy has to do is score and they would be moving on and we would be going home. He comes down and makes a move in which Taylor was not expecting and scores… through the “five-hole”. It was devastating, they celebrating like crazy and all we could do was just watch. This is the most upsetting day of my life because of the fact that I played my heart out and so did my team, and I even scored, but in the end I had no control over the outcome. Holt went on to win the championship and now every time I think about February 24th, 2013 I replay all of the other outcomes in which could’ve happened and I get goose bumps every. Single. Time.