The moment the final whistle blows concludes everything I could have dreamed for. It is a moment of reward, a moment of relief and certainly a moment to remember.It is this moment that put an emphatic end to a process of three years. Finally, we are the champions!
Three years ago, hockey started in this school. Although BC teachers were passionately advocating this sport, nobody treated it like other sports such as basketball, soccer and frisbee. As a newborn team, we lost most of the games at BCOS and Team 2 missed the bronze medal by a narrow margin after a close shootout loss.
The following year, hockey developed quickly in our school. More students participated in the intramural league while hockey clubs were set up. After some early success in warm-up games, we came to the tournament believing that we were the top seed. We rolled through the first few games and reached the final. For the first few minutes, our opponent made it hard for us to score. Then we experienced a tough break. Eric Liu gave up a goal for the first time through the entire tournament and we were behind for the first time. Having never experienced that before, we got lost and our faith wavered. Then there was the second. Alan Xiao scored for us with 7.2 seconds left, but that wasn’t enough for a comeback. After the game, I watched Alan crouched with tears in his eye. It was heartbreaking for me to see that and as the captain I told myself that we must win it next year.
After a year of waiting, we were back on the starting line. We defeated Luwan by a score of 5-0 and kept advancing with a 2-0 win over SIP. However, not everything went according to the plan. Leo Zhou was slashed in his leg during the first game while Alan’s hand was hurt. Losing two key players was a big challenge for us. Soon after the semifinal began, we fell behind. This time, we had confidence that we were playing in the right way and quickly tied it. As neither team was able to score for the rest of the game, we came to the breathtaking shootout. John Ma scored three times and Eric made some great saves. As the shot from the final Sino player hit the side of the net, we surrounded Eric and celebrated going back to the Final.
As we approached the Final, good news started to come. Both Leo and Alan became eligible to come back. Sports are about winning, but there is a lot beyond winning. The applause that broke out among the group when Mr. Sutherland announced that Leo would come back touched me deeply. As I walked toward the center of the field for the opening faceoff, it was hard to describe the emotions in my mind – a blend of excitement with a feeling of nervousness. However, as the ball was dropped by the referee, there was only one goal – WIN! It didn’t take us long to score. About 2 minutes after the game start, I collected the ball in front of the goal and snapped it into the top right corner. As I watched the ball hit the net, I turned back at the bench, opened my arms and celebrated with a roar of excitement. Right before halftime, John extended the lead for us with a super powerful shot from long range. Knowing that the trophy was well within our reach, everyone celebrated together. Then there was the third goal as the ball bounced its way under the opponents’ goaltender and into the net. The second half became the longest 10 minutes of my life. Finally the whistle blew and we all put our hands into the air and celebrated with each other. It was a moment to remember for life.
It was for one moment that our hard work paid off, but all the efforts have been put in for three years. It is one championship that we have won now, but there will be more to come as we keep working hard. Lions spirit is to be inherited.