Every once in awhile, there comes a game that makes me proud to be a teacher and coach. This was such a game. Even though we allowed ourselves to be tied in the last couple of minutes, we played with a lot of pride, special in the fact that we were without so many of our players. As you all know, I believe this is the true measure of a sportsman. Facing special circumstances, without a full team, we asked those remaining to play at another level, for the sake of school, friends, team, pride, and unity. I'm proud. I'm especially proud that our players continue to show responsibility in the face of consequence. This is what sport is all about. We played well. We asked much of all of you and you didn't disappoint. With only three players and a goalie 'skating out' to hold down the bench, our effort against an older, more physical team was worth remembering. Playing with a lead of 1 or 2 goals for most of the game, we tired in the third period. Our DZ coverage was strong, even being outshot by quite a margin in the third. We do need to work on chipping the puck out of the zone, forcing our opponents to regroup. I think if we had been able to do that a little better, we could have 'hung on' for the win. Every time we can chip it out, we use about 25-30 seconds of valuable time. The blue line can be a 'friend' or an 'enemy'. We allowed it to be used against us today.

I know we are all getting a little tired as we near the end of the season. Let's refocus, work hard, and make sure we finish the year in strong fashion. A winning season is within our reach.

Boys must learn that the one thing that is important is their self-respect. Keep your self-respect and you win. Lose your self-respect and you are defeated, no matter how the world looks at you.-- Red Grange

You can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.-- Jerry West

You have to want to do it yourself. If you're the kind of guy who has to be primed every week for every game, you aren't going to stay in the league very long.-- Johnny Unitas