I covered another game tonight.
Sometimes I feel the need to justify why I enjoy covering high school sports far more than any professional or college sport I have covered.
They mean more.
Number. 22 missed last season due to cancer. This year he was back for his junior year. Now the cancer is back too. No more hockey. Monday was his last game before going back to chemo therapy. He made it count scoring his team's only goal. He was at the game I covered Thursday against his team's cross-bridge rivals, just not in uniform. That hung behind his teammates on the bench.
Before the pre-game warmups he came out to the bench by himself, wearing a suit and tie. His teammates were still getting ready in the locker room. Alone, he spaced water bottles evenly apart along the bench, then stacked the team's warmup pucks in a neat pyramid along the boards.
After his team's victory he wasn't on the ice for the celebration. He watched as the two teams shook hands on the ice, unhooked his own jersey from behind the bench and carried it back to the locker room. You can't help but feel that it just isn't fair.
I made no mention of this in my game story— it isn't the place. Here it is if you'd like to read it though. And the Press Herald story is here. It can be fun to compare.
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