A woman steps foot on a chilly white surface. She digs her steel-bladed boots in the ice as her lungs to fill with the aura of competition. Patiently she contemplates what the next hour holds in store for her as she makes the first of many circles round the rink. Most people hear this and assume this is a figure skater, but for the brave-hearted, our passion is ice hockey.

We live for a sport that makes us push ourselves to new limits. Theres the heartaches; a loss in overtime, a shutout, practices that make you puke, the pain in losing a teammate, the stereotypes. Sprains, breaks, bruises that last for weeks, and injuries that end your season. Then there are the moments that make it all worth it. A gut-wrenching moment when you manage break lose and snap a puck in the air. You hold your breathe as you wait for the block, save, or hopefully a rebound. Then it happens. The smallest object on the ice manages to slip by a padded wall of flesh. Like a flash of the lighting half of the arena explodes in screams, pats, and cheers while the rest of the world is overcast in self-condemnation; heads shaking in disbelief, "Fuck", and the occasional goalie's stick rejectedly left lying in two pieces.

We play for that feeling. We play for the ecstasy of a win, the fulfillment in killing off a penalty, proudly earning 1st place as well as being able to graciously accept 2nd, grinding in the corners, and the ability to find the energy at the end of a game to chase down a forward heading towards your goal. What we live for are the hours spent bonding with teammates that become your family, the post-game (and sometimes pre-game) beers, searching for the answers to some of lifes trivial questions- like what is ketchup?, earning respect from the boys, and loving a coach who, at times were plotting his doom. We all stepped into what we thought was just a sport, and what we received was something that has shaped who we are.

We live for a sport that can break us at any moment and thats why we play like its our last goal, save, breakaway, championship, time spent with our teammates, and last moment we ever step foot on that chilly white surface.