Heartbreak

Fermi played in the Connecticut Division I Ice Hockey Final Four last night against number 1 ranked Hamden High School. After a long and hard fought game, Hamden proved victorious, 4-2, over the Falcons.

The past few weeks have brought a lot of excitement and anxiety to our house. Fermi ended their regular season with a tie and a loss and got the 2 seed in their conference tournament. The boys bounced back, played hard, and won two straight games to be crowned the CCC Champs for the '08-'09 year. After that, it was on to the state tournament. As the fifth seed in the tournament they were lucky to have a familiar first round opponent, but the second round proved to be more difficult. The team handled them well, and a Final Four trip was earned.

As 24 hours have passed since the heartbreaking loss, we have been able to reminisce about the season. At the game last night, parents were asking how Frank was doing. I really couldn't answer them. Frank and I have been unable to speak over the last week or so, we are too excited and in awe of this huge opportunity. We had been looking at each other and grinning! Hard work, long hours, persistence, and great teamwork payed off for a bunch of extremely talented kids from a Northern Connecticut public school.

I can say that I do not believe there is another coach who works as hard and cares as much as Frank does. Some may say that he is a high school hockey coach, it's a part-time job, doesn't pay all the bills, blah, blah, blah. But when you have a job you love and a team you are part of, it makes it that much easier to show up every day and put your all in it. Which is why getting this close to a state championship and not making it all the way there stinks even more.

While I would like to say it is so much easier to live without all the anxiety, excitement, and superstition, it would be a lie. All of us here would welcome a few more days of that feeling. All I can say to Frank is be proud of what you have done, there are no regrets, nothing to be ashamed of, and Ty and I are both so proud of you. We had a great time watching a wonderful team this year and look forward to many more seasons. We will see you again at the "Whale's Tail"!