This is a submission from Hoss:
I don't know if the players read the boards, but I wanted to say a BIG ``Thank You'' to Jonathan Goodwin and JC Ruid. Today they came in to our school and spent time with over 200 3-6 year-old students because we are going to the Komet game as a school Friday.
I know the players are ``expected'' to come out to things like this by the team to promote games, but they were not expected to answer question after question from the kids. After such a bad loss last night in Rockford and a long bus trip with guys in bad moods and after a hard practice today from a coach that was disapointed in effort, the guys went above and beyond what they ``needed'' to do.
They answered every question, listened to every student tell them about their dog or whatever was on their minds, and were very funny and the kids could tell they were not being fake, but enjoying their time with them. One kid asked Goodie, ``What happened to your head?'' (asking about a red mark above his eye.) and Goodie answered, ``One of the players on another team did it, but he didn't mean to." The next kid, five seconds later, asked him, ``How did you hurt your face?'' With a little laugh from the teachers and players, Goodie said ``I fell off my bike.''
Another kid asked JC if it was harder to ``play goalie or another player'' and it turned in to a quick goalie lesson from JC showing him how to ``be a butterfly goalie and close your five-hole.'' The look on the child's face, when a ``real'' hockey player was showing him how to play, was priceless!!! WAY
TO GO GUYS!!!! THEY MADE EVERYONE'S DAY!!! NOW THEY JUST NEED TO PICK UP THE WIN FRIDAY!!!
This is from Blake again: I happen to know for a fact that Jonathan and J.C. would do this kind of stuff all the time even if it wasn't expected. Both have ALWAYS given their time generously to kids and things like this. What's even more impressive to me, what time did they get home from Rockford on Thursday morning? And they still got out of bed and did this? You gotta respect that kind of extra effort.
