I remember my first NHL game like it was yesterday. I remember the tears of joy of opening the Christmas present and seeing the two tickets to see the New York Rangers vs. the Minnesota Wild. I remember not being able to sleep the night before, and not being able to sit in my seat for the drive up to Minnesota. I remember taking all the photos to try and remember this night forever. I remember getting to the hotel across the street from the arena, and just starting at the rink thinking “how is this even happening right now?” I remember getting into the arena, finding our seats, and sprinting to the glass that surrounds the ice so that I could watch the players warm up. I remember standing in front of the people I idol. I remember looking at these players as if I have just seen a ghost; shocked and astonished. I remember the pucks dancing around the player's stick, and flying into the net. I remember watching all the goals go in and cheering. I remember not wanting this amazing night to end.

The reason why I love this team so much is that they are like a big family, and they were the team that made me want to try hockey out. The New York Rangers have this famous saying “No Quit In New York” which this saying has gotten me through everything. The time my mother passed away I kept telling myself that famous saying because I couldn’t quit in life just because my mother passed away I had to keep going. Another time I kept saying “No Quit In New York” is my freshman year of high school when I got onto the girl's varsity ice hockey team, and my coach played me on 3rd line which I was fine with because as a freshman I got playing time, but out of the blue he moved me up to forwards and never played me again for the rest of the season. When I tried talking to him to find out what I did wrong, I got no answers. This made me question whether or not I should continue playing the sport that I love which is hockey. My father reminded me of the New York Rangers saying “No Quit In New York” which got me through that tough season, and this incident made me work harder than ever over the off-season. The coach got fired that season and a new head coach saw my potential and made me one of her captains, and she made me starting lineup, power play line, and penalty kill line. 

The New York Rangers isn’t just a team it’s a family that showed me ways to get past tough situations, and they were the people that got in to fall in love with the sport that I play today.