Island goalie back on skates 30 years later: The Story Line

"What'd you say your name was again?" asks the man on the other end of the phone.

"It's Dave," I tell him.

"Dave," he repeats.We're friends now. He's ready to tell his story. "Well, I played hockey a lot as a teenager. Yeah. Then I went truckin'."

I'm sitting in the studio at CBC in Charlottetown, talking to a stranger on the phone as Ido every month.

"Everybody's got a story" is the theory I'm working on, and to prove itevery monthI open the P.E.I. phonebook to a random page and stab my finger at the first name I find.

This month it'sSeanGracey. He's in the Morell, P.E.I., section of the book andpicks up on the second ring.

'The goalie always gets it in the neck'

"I trucked allover North America from Florida to Texas to Alberta," Gracey says.

"I was gone a lotand I gave up hockey. For 30 years, I never had skates on."

Giving up hockey forGraceywas a big deal. His dad had him in skates at age three on a backyard rink built just for him.

"He bought me a Boston jersey because I was a bigBobby Orr fan and I've been hooked on Boston ever since."

Gracey found his home on the ice in front of the net. He was a goalie, knowing full well the goalie is everyone's favourite and least favourite player.

He remembers the year in the late 1970s when his Morell Peewee team made a run for the provincial title. First round of the playoffs, Souris took them all the way to game five in a best-of-five series, he says.

Heading into the third period, it wasn't looking good for Morell.

"We're down 6-1 after two periods, and, like if we don't winthis third periodour season is over, right?" he says.

"So they all started atme the team. It was my fault. The goalie always gets it in the neck, Dave."

'If that was today, there'd be people in jail'

The assistant coach, who just happened to beGracey's dad, stepped forward to remind the team the goalie hadn't had much support the whole game.

"We went out that third period and won the game 7-6," Gracey recalls. "We got six goalsin the third period, and I didn't let in one. Andthen we went to the semi-finals in Tignish. Beat them in five games."

Then came the finals against Kensington, which went to five games.Game five was in Kensingtonand it was a rough one, on and off the ice, he says, with parents even spitting and swearing at the kids.

"'If you win this game, we'llkill you!'" Gracey recalls parents saying."This was back in the 70s, right? If that was today, there'dbe people in jail."

Gracey's team lost and,four decades later, it still stings.

For the love of the game

After 30 years driving long-haul truck,Gracey was ready for a change. He'd missed too many birthdays, too many funerals. Nine years ago, he took a job driving a school bus in Morell.

They get a real kick out of firing pucks at their bus driver. Sean Gracey

"I work with great people," Gracey says. "And the kids are great. You give them respect, and they'll give 99 per centof it back to you."

After his morning school run,Gracey meets a group of friends every morning for coffee in Morell. One morning three years ago, a friend mentioned his shinny hockey team was looking for a goalie.

But Gracey hadn't donned skates for nearly 30 years.

That is, until Gracey discovered one of the kids on his bus was selling his old goalie gearand that was itthe decision was made.

He was a bit shaky his first time out,he says,and had to lie down after 20 minutes, but he eventuallygot his goalie legs back.

Graceynow plays a minimum of three games a week. Some weeks, it's as many as ten. A good goalie is hard to come by in small towns, especially one who is available to play any time he's not driving a bus.

He's even the practice goalie for the local Peewee girls' team.

"They get a real kick out of firing pucks at their bus driver," he says with a laugh.

He rolls straight into a story about the recent P.E.I. over-55 games. He's two years shy of 55, but they allow for goalies as young as 50.

"Every year, Charlottetown puts this high-powered team together, and they come out and beat us. This year, I had apretty good game. And the guys played hard. I mean, seven guys intheir 70s. We beat them 5-3," he says.

I can hear him smiling.

Graceyis in it for the love of the game.

Winning isn't everything, but it sure doesn't hurt.

Dave Atkinson's The Story Line column runs monthly on CBC Radio One's Island Morning.

More P.E.I. News