I am so proud of every member of the Burrell High School hockey team. I was hoping you could win just one game in the USA Hockey tournament, and you went to the national championship game against a team that you beat in the first preliminary game. You barely had enough players to fill the roster and you were going against some state champions.
The Long Island team looked like the New York Rangers out on the ice. They scared me and I’m not scared of anything. Reminded me of the movie “Hoosiers,” about the small-town 1954 high school basketball team that became state champions. But they were going for states, and Burrell was going for nationals, which is a huge difference for Burrell.
Which brings up the 2004 documentary “Miracle,” about the U.S. men’s hockey team that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Burrell came up one win short of another “Miracle on Ice.”
My hat is off to the players and coaches. Words can’t describe the incredible run that you will remember for the rest of your lives.
Harry N. Sopko
Lower Burrell