“A shootout really is just a matter of just trying to eliminate the angle and if they can get one under, over or through, but I just tried to get as big as I could and eliminate any angle that they have,” said Yaeger, whose left wrist was still throbbing from the first shot of the shootout. “I’m 52. I’ve got a job, I’ve got a career, I’ve got a family.”
While he will still be around to watch what the Wild do this season and step between the pipes for a few practices, Yaeger knows the time is right to step back.
“Most of my teammates, their parents are younger than me,” joked Yaeger. “We’ve got a lot of kids now that are just finally into college, some are still in high school. I got three kids. One of them is in college. The other two are basically out, so it’s time for me to hang them up and become a goalie coach perhaps.”
The Wild and Flames are two of 23 teams that represented 16 NHL franchises at the USA Sled Hockey Classic. Just like Yaeger, there were inspiring stories everywhere.
In Tier 5, Casey Bellofatto, a 28-year-old native of the Washington, D.C., area now living in Denver, plays for the Colorado Avalanche sled team that lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 7-0 in the tournament’s opening game. Being part of this event, surrounded by other para hockey players, brings a sense of normalcy while enjoying the sport he loves.
“I think because it just inspires you to begin with,” Bellofatto said. “You see everyone like yourself, and it really lets you know that there is life after being disabled, injured. You’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, everyone is doing the same thing I can do, we’re on the same level.’ And it’s fun and it really inspires you to get back into it and be active again, not be judged. You can walk, wheel or whatever down the hall and no one’s like looking at you. No one’s acting weird or on edge. We all get it.”
For Kevin Hanusin, that meant a 4 a.m. wakeup call Thursday to catch a flight from Chicago. He and his Blackhawks teammates arrived following a four-hour flight and played a pretty good brand of hockey despite the two-hour time difference from the Midwest and the long day of traveling.
