As the summer wore on, Joe was hanging on to hopes of a miraculous recovery from the Lyme disease that was weighing him down. He was losing a lot of weight. Barely eating, food just had no appeal to him. Fevers were a daily occurrence, especially later in the evening. The “Chowder Cup” in Boston was approaching quickly and Joe was not going to be ready. The second and last prestigious Ice hockey tournament of the summer was usually attended by the top players in the country and you played with the players that would most likely be on your Junior team. We had not informed Coach Goulet of Joe’s situation yet, hoping for a miracle. Joe begged me to let him go. It was such a sorry situation. Everything that he had worked for, for so long was in peril. We headed to Boston. I couldn’t deny him.
We got to the hotel that the team was staying at and checked in on Thursday evening. The first game was Friday afternoon and he would need a good night’s sleep. He had a very slight fever and I gave him Ibuprofen to help him control his temperature. The team was meeting for breakfast in the morning and Joe’s condition would be revealed. Coach Goulet was in shock! Joe was so skinny and pale. Coach took me aside and I filled him in. He was heartbroken. We all were. Joe played the game and held his own. It was a good start and a great feeling for him. Tomorrow is another day. We got some dinner and hit the hotel room early for Joe to rest. He needed it. Saturday was not a good day. Joe was running a high fever and we had to stay back at the hotel room to his dismay. There was no way that I was going to let him play. Coach Goulet understood fully. Liquids, rest, sleep and more Ibuprofen. Hopefully, Sunday he would be good to go.
The next morning Joe was feeling much better with no fever and had some breakfast. We made our way to the arena for what was a very big game to end the tournament. Nepean was playing another top Junior team and players were jostling for Main Camp positions and invitations. Joe was already signed at this point but things were quite tenuous now with his illness. This game was just great. The teams were flying, huge checks, a few goals and Joe was right in there. Until…well. He picked the puck up at the Blue Line at full speed and tore down the ice. He approached the first defenseman and made a great move right to left and cut horizontally towards the slot. At that moment, a huge defenseman hit him forehead high with his elbow. Full speed. The crowd gasped as I tried to see what happened. Joe jumped up and headed right to the bench. He was bleeding profusely from his head. The trainer grabbed him and removing his helmet, placed pressure on the wound. No penalty called by the officials. Coach Goulet went ballistic on the referee, grabbing Joe by the jersey to stand him up and show the blood pouring down his face. The coach vaulted over the boards, getting in the refs face screaming at him while Joe was tended to. It was he first time that the coach was ever ejected from a game in his twenty five year coaching career. And Joey? After the trainer got him patched up, he undressed and we got right in the car for a five hour ride back to Pennsylvania and directly to Doylestown Hospital where Lori would meet us. It only took seventeen stitches to close the gash. The ER doctors also did a head CT to make sure that he didn’t have a major concussion. Lucky for Joe, it would just be another scar to add to his repertoire.
Next Up: Main Camp And Beyond