Believe in Miracles

Yesterday, the State of Hockey watched Benilde-St. Margarets defeat Hill-Murray 5-1 in the boys Class AA state hockey final. And as the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard, the Red Knights fans began chanting "We've seen a miracle", as a tribute to Jack Jablonski. The statement "Believe (Or Bel13ve) in Miracles" was often seen around St. Paul this weekend, as wristbands, shirts, hoodies, or caps were all in circulation (Found at the Jabs booth at the Lets Play Hockey expo) to help raise money for the Jack Jablonski fund.

But also, the hockey team itself was a miracle. They weren't even supposed to come out of their own section (seeded #3 in section 6AA, behind Minnetonka and Eden Prarie). But, the Red Knights did (beating the tar out of #1 'Tonka 5-1), and they never looked back. The Red Knights watched all the four seeded teams in the tourney fall on day 1 (beating #4 Edina themselves, 3-2) clearing a path to the title. They knocked off Lakeville South 10-1 in the Semifinal, and then their infamous 5-1 defeat of the Pioneers, lead by Grant Besse scoring all 5 goals. This was a miracle. Not many expected BSM to win it all. But once again, they defied the odds and did.

Now, we all get to sit back, and watch Jabby defy doctors odds and walk again.

"There is no doubt in my mind that I will walk again. I don't know how it's going to work or how far down the road it will be. I'm going to walk, and I plan on skating at least once. To skate is very important to me. The fact and maybe the realization that I could never play hockey again is kind of shocking to me. I feel like that just can't happen. There's no way that's going to be. I don't know how or when, but I know I will do all that eventually."-Jack Jablonski

This One's For Jabs

This past week, I have been pondering many things to write up on this blog. I touched on one of them on Monday with the Wild and the possibility of hosting a Winter Classic. Then I have been wanting to touch on the Wild's power play woes, Dany Heatley's lack of scoring, and more recently the fact the NHL realignment was put on hold. But everytime I get close to writing one of those posts, I get sucked in to another story that has captured the hockey world: the story of Jack Jablonski.

As we all know, Jablonski (or Jabs as he is more commonly refered to) suffered a serious injury to his spinal cord, after being checked into the boards during a HS game on December 30th. Since we have learned that he will never be able to walk, let alone play hockey, again. And he has received tremendous support from everyone involved with hockey across the globe.

My friends over at First Round Bust did a post on this the other day, and I felt compelled to do the same here today. If you wish to donate to the Jack Jablonski fund you can click here or here or send a donation to:

Jack Jablonski Fund

Wells Fargo
8200 Golden Valley Road, Golden Valley, MN 55427

Ill always keep a link to this on the right side of the page as well.

My thoughts and well wishes continue to go out to Jabs and his family. No one should go through what he is going through, especially at the age of 16. Here's to hoping Jabs can overcome the doctors prognosis and some day walk again.