W-erie, My Dear

Late the next morning, a busload headed out for some serious shopping. There was another 8 hours before the next game. Mark and I found North Coast Hockey for some player's skate tune-ups. The owner, Don Marinucci, has a monopoly on hockey equipment and supplies in Erie. His store is well-stocked and the service is exceptional. Don's a transplanted Canadian, from Niagara, and ships product to several regular customers in Canada.

There, we met a parent from Webster, NY whose daughter plays for the Cyclones. Another parent from his team drifted in with some skates that needed sharpening. They were entertained and shocked as Mark recounted our Friday night game.

Turned out the Cyclones drew the quarter-final game at the Igloo and played just ahead of us Saturday night. They lost 1-0. The parents we met at the skate counter considered staying for our game...since we were up against that GTA team from the night before!

Our bench would be without Rachel. The refs determined she needed a game off to reflect on Friday's events. Our opponents were without one skater and one bench staffer. The staffer hadn't done any reflection. If he had, he wouldn't have stood in the corner during the warm-up skate hitting the glass, yelling at the players and swearing like a trooper.

The behavior of some dolts associated with that team was despicable. The epitome of what's wrong with coaching a play to win attitude into a team. A parent from that team actually stood outside our dressing room taunting our players. I was embarrassed for them....and I had embarrassed myself the night before as The Fan From Hell...so that's saying something!

We're lucky that our coaching staff isn't like that. Mark told the girls to keep their heads in the game, not to retaliate and stay out of the box. He reminded them that we play tournaments for fun. Mark expects a well-played game from his players. On the bench, sometimes we hear him holler out "Boards" or "Back" or "Go to the net". He gets emotional, sure. One time, I even saw him take off his hat!

I wasn't up to being the #1 Fan tonight. I tried. I really did. I used the thunder sticks, I stomped my feet. I whistled and clapped. Partway through the third, I had to excuse myself. It wasn't the game, I just wasn't feeling well. And what happened next?

Liz took a check and an elbow to her head then went down hard. She stayed down. The paramedic assigned to the arena sprang to action. With our trainer, they braced her neck and she went off the ice on a stretcher...straight to the hospital. She'll be OK.

Shaken, the team finished the game and boarded the bus. We didn't advance to the semi's.

Pittsburgh went on to win the tournament. My reign as #1 Fan lasted just 24 hrs.

Guys- even Miss USA was given a second chance!