In December of 2021, I lost my stepdad, my dad, my confidant, my cheerleader, my rock, the man who taught me to shoot a bow, forage for fiddleheads and owl pellets, and take care of home when my mom was traveling and driving me all over the Northeast for travel hockey. He didn't care much for hockey, so he said, but he was the first to ask if my team was champions again, to cook his special meat pies, which were always saved for Christmas breakfast, to take to the State Championship Tournament because he knew I ate very little at tournaments. I would catch him by chance every once in a while watching hockey video shorts and making comments or jokes. So, perhaps I helped him love hockey more than he would admit. I lost him a week before Christmas, in the middle of my first 16U season. My mom, my little brother, and I were devastated. We never got to say goodbye, that last hug, last I love you. See he caught COVID-19 and then pneumonia then his heart began to have trouble. He had bad asthma and the virus made it difficult to talk because taking the oxygen mask off to speak would cause his O2 to drop dangerously low. He tried to fight without being intubated but on his 52nd birthday he chose to, that's when my mom started to have to make all the decisions. I know that being put in that situation still haunts her. After he passed away the only normalcy I had was hockey. Being on the ice gave me my safe place, my time to forget that my life had changed forever. It was my time to dig deep and make him proud because he always loved those bragging rights when my team won. That season proved to be my most challenging, one of my most accomplished. I competed at our state tournament, and left states as one of the top 2 female goalies in my state, my team won a top seed to compete at the National Championships. Though we didn't win nationals I know he was with me. Since then I truly believe he has put some of the most important people in my life, they helped me through learning to navigate life without him, but knowing I can honor him by making the most of my life, my love for hockey, holding on tight to my family and his memory, our memories. My goals for my future include growing the game for young women, making sure hockey is available for female athletes, growing the game, and giving back to the one sport, the position that has sculpted me into a strong, confident young woman. This sport has given me so much more than medals to hang on my wall, it gives me support, a second family, a place where I can just be me, leave the stress of the world behind for a couple of hours, to breathe in the cold air, feel my dad's presence.