by I was recently asked about my favorite all time game that I covered as a reporter and this one instantly came to my mind to share. This night I think about often and it keeps me motivated on those long nights away from home.
Or when I’m sitting in a frozen press box that doesn’t have heat. These are the moments and memories in time that I will forever cherish.
It was Saturday June 11, 2016 and it was the Lake Erie Monsters defeating the Hershey Bears 1-0 to capture The Calder Cup. It was a four-game sweep that culminated on home ice in front of 19,000 screaming fans at the then Quicken Loans Arena.
Making the game extra special was that it was my first as a reporter for professional hockey. I had covered plenty of high school and even some college, but it was my first foray onto the big stage and I was loving the moment.
I was a life long Cleveland sports fan, and fondly recalled the Cleveland Crunch winning the NPSL championships back in the late 1990’s. But no league championships since on the big stage. People can say that this was “only minor league hockey”, but damnit, this is Cleveland and we needed it badly.
Making matters even more desperate was at the same time, our beloved “Dream Team” Cleveland Cavaliers were down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals and all hope looked to be lost in that series. Now, 8 days later, that story wound up a bit different, but that night it seemed pretty impossible.
A crazy side note to this night was the dry socket I was suffering from. I was in incredible pain the whole night and kept sucking down countless bottles of water to keep it moist, but the pain was insufferable.
The worst of my entire life in any form or fashion. The only thing keeping me going in the late moments of the game was the 0-0 tie and at any moment a shot could bring Cleveland a championship.
As fate would have it, the game would go into overtime scoreless. It appeared to be headed for double overtime still scoreless when destiny finally struck. With 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime, Oliver Bjorkstrand found the back of the net and the Cleveland crowd exploded!
Someone from the Monsters PR staff came up and starting screaming at press row to follow him on the ice for the post game celebration. For my first time covering pro sports, this was all too surreal and almost seemed like a dream.
A couple more side cool notes from that evening. The first was that this was the last time I worked alongside the late great Matt Medley. A true pro’s pro and a mentor in this business.
The other was getting lost in the parking garage at 1am afterwards with my good friend Eli Mooneyham. That night would be the first of many crazy adventures for Eli and myself over the coming years.
My happiest moment was standing on the ice after the win with Matt and Eli. I fondly remember looking up and seeing 19,000 hardcore fans screaming as loud as they could! I felt the energy in my veins and didn’t sleep that night! The energy was too much to be ignored!
I miss Matt Medley to this day, and think about him every time I cover a game of any kind. It means a lot to me that we saw such a great moment in Cleveland sports history together. It was in the middle of such a great time in Cleveland sports lore.
Stipe Miocic winning the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The Cavaliers pulling off the miracle comeback in the NBA Finals the following week. The Indians making it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series later that year. A great time, a great memory and one that I will always cherish.
