Pulling the goalie, Vince Lombardi and 2nd place

I've known Kentwood Coach Todd Bell for four years, and my son played for him for three years of travel hockey. Like any coach, Bell hates to lose, but he hates ties even more. So when Bell pulled his goalie with about 25 seconds left in a 3-3 tie against Mona Shores, I wasn't surprised -- even though most everyone else in the Kentwood Ice Arena seemed to be, including the Mona Shores players.

When Mona scored the game-winner into an empty net with 1.7 seconds left to win the Conference title, the Sailors faithful went nuts and the Kentwood fans went even nuttier. Actually the word "apoplectic" might be more fitting.

Honestly, who pulls their goalie in a 3-3 game against their fiercest rival with the league title on the line?

"I knew I was going to pull my goalie last Tuesday," Bell told me after the game. "We had a team meeting and I told my guys that if the game was tied, we were going to pull the goalie and go for the win."

Here's why: Bell knew that a tie a the end of regulation would have given Mona 1 point in the standings and at least a share of the conference title with the chance to win it outright in OT, or in its remaining conference game against Grandville (which now won't be necessary). So Bell and the Falcons decided to go for it rather than settle for, at absolute best, a tie. "We didn't play 23 games to end up kissing our sister," he said.

So the Falcons finish in second place in Bell's rookie year as Kentwood's coach. And second place, as Vince Lombardi once said, "is hinky dink." Like Lombardi, Bell hates to finish second. He is a relentless planner, student of the game and an exceptional bench coach. He tries to create chaos and confusion on the ice, and then capitalize on it. I once saw Bell pull his goalie (who happened to be my son) with 12 minutes left in a game. That's 12 minutes, not 12 seconds. The team was down 4-0, so Bell started changing the goalie on the fly. It was kind of ridiculous watching my son skating back and forth to the bench, but it totally confused the other team. We actually tied it at 4-4 and had a chance to win it with a half-minute left but couldn't bury it. After the game, Bell told the team: "It's a game, fellas. You do what you can do to try to win it."

Here's the rest of that Vince Lombardi quote: "There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win."