Moment #8: October 7th, Taking My Kids to Mercyhurst vs Saint Lawrence
I was overdue for a trip to Mercyhurst so my family and I made the hour and a half drive to Erie for game two of the home opening series versus St. Lawrence. Before the game we shopped at the bookstore and visited with the coaches and some former teammates who had also came back to cheer on the Lakers. It was my four-year-old daughter’s second Mercyhurst game, and my one-year old son’s first game. Kind of a big deal.
My daughter was a baby at her first game in 2014 so it was especially fun seeing her enjoy what a college hockey game has to offer. You know, like eating junk food, running around and climbing on stair railings, making friends with other little kids, and cheering.
The game started and the Lakers got off to a decent start. I barely got to watch since I had my kids with me but I was ok with that. It was special just to be back at the rink with my husband, kids and former teammates. My son climbed up and down the bleachers and as I followed him around I ended up chatting with a coach of a Chicago U12 team that had played in the morning and stuck around for the game. Their team made up a portion of the 437 fans that showed up for the Mercyhurst vs Saint Lawrence game. At the end of one period the score was 1-0 Saints.
My four-year-old wanted to high five the Lakers as they went on the ice, so we made our way toward the gate for the start of the second. As we descended the stairs, a group of U12 kids with the same plan zoomed past us. This made things a bit chaotic, but the U12’s welcomed my daughter to the front of the group so she could actually see, which was very sweet.
The Lakers assembled, waiting for the signal to go on the ice. For the twenty or so seconds that it took them to file past us, it was a thrill. For the U12 kids and my daughter, but also for me watching. My daughter held her little fist out just like the big kids. She was a bit tentative about getting too close, but she hung in there.
It was a classic hockey scene: my girl in pink nestled among the U12 kids in their matching track suits, the towering Lakers marching by in their home whites, fist bumps along the way. My daughter missed most of them, but she didn’t care. She was happy, standing there amidst the action. A handful of players took a step out of line to fist bump my kid as they went by and it made my weekend. The last Laker stepped on the ice, the gate swung shut and the crowd dispersed.
Mercyhurst scored in the second period after a minute or so of sustained pressure in the Saint Lawrence end. Celine Frappier passed to defender Morgan Stacey who took a shot from the point through traffic, and it was tipped by Jennifer MacAskill into the net. That old familiar horn blasted, and us Laker fans cheered. The third and a five minute OT were scoreless, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie vs then sixth ranked St. Lawrence;
We took some pictures, said our good byes and headed home. A few days later, I was watching the Blue Jackets versus the Rangers. My daughter should have been sleeping, was fighting bed time per usual. The Jackets won in regulation, an entertaining one goal game with an empty net goal in the dying seconds. We cheered, the crowd cheered, Foligno and Bobrovsky hugged. As I clicked off the tv and the room went dark, my daughter said, “hockey’s fun.”
It sure is, kid.
TIE GAME! @jennmacaskill_ gets a stick on it and finds the back of the net! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/AkgZZFfMRw— Mercyhurst W. Hockey (@HurstWHockey) October 7, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment