The music was loud once again in the Isles locker room. The win didn’t mean much, but it was still a win, so the mood was jovial, but not over the top as they packed their gear bags in anticipation of the final game in Columbus.
Everyone wanted to crowd around Steve Staios, the 1000 game man. Everyone but me. I wanted the kid next to him, Travis Hamonic, who set up the game winning goal. I was tripping over bags and skates.
“Do you want to get in there?” Travis asked me.
“No. I’m trying to get to you.” I told him. He moved his bag to the right of him enough for me to step forward with my recorder.
The last few minutes of the game against the Winnipeg Jets were very intense as the teams had played all night evening up the score within minutes of each other. I asked Travis what he was thinking when he took the shot.
“Honestly -- I was just trying to shoot it. You know, I don’t know who the guy was coming out at me, the fore checker, I think I got it right though his legs. You put pucks on net and good things happen. And obviously Grabner got in the lane.” He smiled showing off that still vacant front tooth. “I got to celebrate it like I scored for a second. I was pretty happy.”
The win was a good way to end the season on home ice where they hadn’t been so successful during the season. “It was a pretty good game. They kept battling. We kept battling. It was a see-saw match there for a little bit. It was a good one for our home fans, they were energized there with the penalty shot and all sorts of plays, so it was good.”
Yes, it was.
Matt Donovan was next to Travis, putting the skate guards on his skates before putting them in his gear bag.
“Matt! Second game; how’d you feel?” I asked as he smiled down at me.
“I felt a little better. The nerves weren’t there as much. But I was still pretty nervous. A big game in front of the home crowd.” Travis interrupted him, he had to rib him about his Oklahoma accent. That just made Matt blush like the good country boy he is “I’m a little nervous.” I couldn’t help but laugh at his charm. “It was fun. I’m glad we got the win.”
Matt made one play that stuck in my mind -- and his. He slid into Montoya’s net and a goal was scored around him. I asked him what was running through his head making the play.
“I was trying to block it. I kinda put my head down. Tried to get my body in front of it. I knew I kinda took Monty out of it ‘cause I slid into him. I kinda just lost my footing and prayed to God it didn’t go in, but -- it did. So…” he shook his head.
His parents were at the Coliseum on Thursday night as well. They have now seen their son in his first two NHL games. They won’t see him tomorrow in Columbus because after all, “they gotta go back and go to work.”
Tomorrow is a must see game for any Islander fan, even if it doesn’t mean anything. PA Parenteau and Mark Eaton did not make the trip due to injury. I imagine Casey Cizikas will be back in the line-up tomorrow.
It will also be the final game that my good friend Katrina Doell will be covering as an employee of the NY Islanders. Her love of the team has not diminished, but it’s time to take the next step in her career path. So, jump on the Islanders Live Blog tomorrow and say “Thanks.” Without her, 99% of the social media connections that have been made in the last two years would not have happened.
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