My greatest moment as Pelican was during my junior year in our varsity Ice Hockey playoff run. We were playing Rye High School in the section semifinal. On top of the fact that Rye is one of our biggest rivals, we were super anxious because it was a single elimination playoff game. The week leading up to the game, the whole team was only focused on one thing, preparing to beat Rye. We practiced every day before our Friday game as if it were the last time we would be on the ice. 

Showing up to the rink and walking into the locker room my heart was racing. The puck dropped and it quickly became a very physical game. We wanted to both pound each other into the ground and move on to the section championship. For most of the game it was pretty even with both teams having strong offenses and defenses. Near the end of the third period we were trailing by one with a score of 3-2. We heard the announcement for the last minute of play in the period and our hearts just sank. 

Then with 26 seconds left we miraculously netted a goal to tie the game up! Our head coach, Ed Witz, called a time out. The energy of the whole team completely shifted. In the huddle, coach gave us a play to run where we would win the puck back off the faceoff, shoot, and then crash the net and hopefully get a rebound.

The faceoff was deep in their zone, the puck dropped and we did not win because they won it into their corner. Two of our guys went to the corner and got possession of the puck. Freshman Henry Smith brought it behind the net and higher into their zone. The clock was at 5 seconds and winding down fast. He saw that and just threw the puck at the net. Rye’s goalie thought it was going across the creese and made a bad adjustment and the puck slipped through and across the goal line just as the clock hit 0. We won the game! 

We could not believe what we had just accomplished.  Only a mere minute ago we had our heads down thinking that it was all over. At such an important time in a high schoolers career, it gave me lots of motivation and determination in the upcoming stressful times. I was able to transfer this mindset into my everyday life and my school work. The mentality that it always is a do-or-die situation pushes me to apply all that I have to everything I do. My coaches taught me this trait and I am forever grateful to them for instilling this incomparable quality in me.