At first, it seemed like just any other summer day. My brother, sister, and I had a roller hockey game, however, which didn't happen every day (we were all on the same team). Still, not too out of the ordinary, right? But no. This day would stay implanted in my memory forever.
     We arrived at the rink late afternoon, goofing around and laughing at stupid jokes as we united with our teammates in the locker room at the Cheektowaga Recreation Center. Our team, the Tornadoes, was decent, but we were evenly matched with the other team, the Lightning, even though statistics didn't show it. So, about 10 minutes before the game, we settled down and focused on hockey.
     Our team got off to a good start, and we jumped to a 3-1 lead early in the first half. But, we must've eased into our lead too comfortably, because that's when it slipped away.
     The Lightning pounded our goalie, Stevie, with shots. Since each team rotated their goalies each week, there were no real experienced goalies in the league. This was proven right, because Stevie eventually let the Lightning's weaker players score. Suddenly, the Lightning were winning, 5-3, at the end of the first half.
    We hoped that the break before the second would slow down the Lightning, but they scored right away - and didn't stop. Our team fell apart. Players on the ice slammed their sticks in frustration, and players on the bench watched with horror and dismay as the Lightning compiled goal after goal. By the time our coach, Coach Dan, called a timeout, we were down 9-4.
    "Listen up, guys," Coach said "I know it looks really bad right now. I mean, it's 9-4. 9 to 4. But I think we can do this. We can win this game. Who's with me?"
    No one said anything at first. But then, a feeling arose in my gut. A sort of instinct, you could say. An instinct that said that Coach was right. And I decided to speak up.
    "I am," I stated.
     My teammates looked at me with a look that said "Seriously, dude? There's 10 minutes left, and you think we can score six goals without giving up one?" Then they felt it, too, and nodded in agreement.
     "Then let's do this!" I yelled. "Tornadoes on three! 1, 2, 3, -"
     "Tornadoes!" we shouted in unison.
     We were pumped, but still losing. So we decided to do something about it.
     Hockey is a team sport, like you probably already know, so you need many team members to succeed. Everyone on our team stepped up and played like one. Breyden, our speedy winger, outsped the Lightning's defense and snuck the puck passed their goalie. Tyler, our team sniper, did what he did best: rip the puck bar-down, leaving the goalie confused about where the puck even was (until he looked behind him). My siblings, Maya and Reed, set each other up for nice plays that eventually led to goals. And me? I just helped out in any way I could, scoring a couple goals of my own.
    With about 30 seconds left, I hopped onto the rink for a defensive zone faceoff. The score was an astounding 10-10 at that point. I knew I had to make something happen-I just wasn't sure how.
    Our center lost the faceoff, and the puck stayed in our zone. Then my brother got the puck in the corner. Seeing pressure coming, he shot the puck off the boards. I raced to gain control of it, so I could carry it out of the zone. I turned to look up the rink-and I saw a Lightning defenseman bearing down on me. I quickly bounced the puck off of the boards past him, and I accelerated to go get it. It was just me and the goalie now.
    I skated in, looking for an open spot to shoot. Since the Lightning goalie was small, the top corners were open. But could I accurately shoot the puck that high? I opted not to try.
    I snapped the puck at the lower-left corner, and it hit twine. Goal! I shouted and jumped for joy. I looked at the scoreboard, and it read; Home: 11, Away: 10, Clock:2.9. My teammates mobbed me, because that day, I was the hero. And I'll never forget it.