Man, what a ride this hockey season turned out to be. Still buzzing from last night’s big win, honestly. Let me walk you through how this whole season unfolded, step by gritty step.
The Early Grind
First thing back in October, I knew our Shawsheen guys had potential. Saw it during those early morning ice sessions when nobody else was around. Coach gathered us all at center ice that first practice, frost coming out his mouth as he laid it down: “This season ain’t gonna be a cakewalk. We earn every inch.” Truth. Started with brutal conditioning drills:
- Skating suicides till our legs felt like jelly
- Weights three times a week, groaning through deadlifts
- Puck handling drills that left wrists screaming
Honestly thought my lungs might give out that first week. Felt like trying to breathe through a straw while being punched in the gut. Team bonded quick over shared suffering though.
Mid-Season Wall
Hit December and man, the injuries piled up. Jonesy took a puck right to the kneecap during a sloppy defensive drill. Watched him crumple, heard that sickening thud. Then Collins separated his shoulder blocking a shot – bench saw that bulge under his jersey instantly. Worst part? Our momentum tanked. Lost three straight games:
- Got demolished 5-1 against Chelmsford
- Let Acton-Boxboro sneak one past in final seconds
- Played like zombies against Westford
You could taste the frustration in the locker room. Gear stunk, guys weren’t talking much. Coach went quiet for days before cracking open the whiteboard. Rewrote our entire power play setup right there. Smelled like despair and stale sweat.
Turnaround Spark
January rolled in bitter cold. Remember the Tuesday film session when everything clicked? Coach played clips from the Westford disaster on loop. Embarrassing stuff. Saw O’Reilly shrink down in his seat when his defensive lapse froze on screen. Then came the comeback game against Billerica – down two goals going into third period. Something flipped. Felt it first shift back on ice:
- Murphy won a brutal board battle
- Passed clean to Peterson at the blue line
- Peterson faked like he’d shoot – defenders bit hard
- One touch pass to Jenkins crashing the net
Bang. First goal back. Bench erupted. Momentum swung so hard it felt like we shoved the whole rink downhill. Won that game in overtime. Never looked back after that night.
Playoff Pressure
Championship week was pure madness. Could barely sleep. Practiced our zone coverage until skating patterns got burned into our eyelids. Last minute of the final game… puck came sliding towards me on the penalty kill. Felt everyone’s eyes like lasers. Made myself huge in the net:
- Dropped into butterfly stance fast
- Blocked low shot with right pad
- Rebound kicked straight to their star forward
- Threw glove hand up blind… puck thwacked right into it
Horn blared. Teammates swarmed me. Cold ice under my knees, sweat dripping off my helmet. Barely standing at this point. Final scoreboard blinked: 4-2 Shawsheen. Whole season flashing before my eyes while they piled on me. All those bag skates, frozen fingers, crushing losses… damn. Worth every bruise.
