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A Game To Forget / A Moment To Remember By: Joe Ball, Publisher

Personal Thoughts…An Open Diary

A Game To Forget / A Moment To Remember

By: Joe Ball

My soon-to-be 13 year-old grandson, Max Meyers, is big on ice hockey.

He’s a player. More so, he is a Goalie.

He is the starting goalie on an organized Montgomery County, Pa., team, “The Bulldogs”.

It is within an established league: Uniforms, Practice, Scheduled Games and Play Offs.

He is so into it.

He practices on his driveway. He takes goalie lessons.

He loves ice hockey and especially loves being a goalie.

He’s a good goalie, very good.

I’ve coined a nickname for him; “Max “The Wall’ Meyers.”

So, it was highly exciting recently for him, his team, and the team’s families to learn the team would be playing a three period exhibition game inside the Philadelphia Spectrum.

And, on the same ice where Bobby Clarke led the Philadelphia Flyers to many championships.

The game was a preliminary to a “Philadelphia Phantoms” regular game.

Max’s parents, Rob and Nan, and his sister, Jessica, prepared go-go signs and were there to hold them up from the stands.

His aunt, Yelane, and cousins, Eric and Eriya, were there also with signs.

Also, present, bursting with enthusiasm ready to cheer him and his team to victory was a host of friends and neighbors. But…

Ugh!

His team lost.

“They were really nervous,” his mom said to me.

“Think I want my money back from his goalie coach,” his dad laughed. (His sense of humor.)

We didn’t hold up our hopefully victorious signs during the game.

It was disappointing. Depressing.

But before the teams left the ice, unexpectedly the opposing coaches decided to have a “shootout” using all their players.

It went to a score of 5-5.

The goalies were the last to participate.

Max, in all his heavy goalie attire, started his approach to the opposite net.

On his way…he lost control of the puck.

“Uh, Oh” I said, softly.

Then he regained the puck, his composure, and his determination.

He shot.

He SCORED!

His team won the shootout.

They patted his helmet. They leaped on him. They mobbed him.

The camaraderie was there.

It was so emotional.

It was a moment to remember and talk about.

Splendid. Quite splendid.