In our preparation for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Canada invited three teams to come in to do a test run of the facilities that will be used in Vancouver. This tournament was going to be a huge step in helping to grow our sport because something was going to happen that had never been done before; the gold medal game was to be televised live on TSN all across Canada. So our goal was simple, to come into Vancouver and be a part of history.

When we first arrived in Vancouver we had the night off before our first practice early the next morning. After getting to the rink we all walked around and checked out what the facilities had to offer. And, the one thing that really stood out to us all were the benches. The benches were ice level and inside them was all ice, so that not only could we skate in and out without having to worry about going up a small ramp or skating on synthetic plastic ice we could easily move around inside with little effort. With all of the excitement surrounding the tournament all we had to do was focus on our first game against Japan.

Japan is a team that over the years we have played really well, so all we had to do was go out and play a solid game and we would come out with a big win. Or, at least that's what we thought. Japan came out and shocked us with a 3-1 upset win. And our second game wasn't going to be any easier as we had to play against our archrival Canada the very next day. So that night we all just went back to our hotel rooms and tried to take our minds off the game, I decided to go to bed early so I could get some extra sleep. And on my way to my room a few of the guys were giving me a hard time for going to bed at 9:30 saying that I was an old man and could use a few more hours of beauty sleep. Only being 23, I had to laugh, but then again the two "kids" that were joking around with me were Adam Page and Josh Pauls both of whom weren't even born until the 1990's.

The next day we played against Canada, this was a hard hitting affair with little scoring. In the first period we came out shaky and fell behind 2-0. But we bounced back in the second period and outshot them 8-2. The lead was cut in half when Mike Hallman took a shot and Chris Manns redirected the puck into the net making it a one goal game. In the third period things really heated up, being down by a goal and having already pulled our goalie the puck was dumped in on Canada's goalie Paul Rosen who held the puck in an attempt to kill out the clock. But trying to knock the puck loose, one of our players bumped into Rosen causing a huge brawl. Fortunately, no one received a game misconduct so we could play the Germans with a full bench.

With a solid defensive effort we took down the Germans 2-0, leaving us with a chance to play Japan again in which the winner had a shot at playing Canada for the gold. But first we had a day off, to rest and have a little fun. The staff had set up a trip to go to an aquarium where we got to see a dolphin show and a few other cool things, though my teammates were disappointed that I couldn't see any of my family there (the penguins). After we left the aquarium there wasn't a whole lot going on, some guys played poker while others just hung around in their rooms. After a good night's rest our time had finally come to take the next step towards our goal, and that was making it to our second consecutive gold medal game.

We came out flying against Japan gaining a 2-0 lead just seven minutes into the game, but with two fast goals of their own, Japan managed to tie the game up after one period. In the second period our captain Andy Yohe scored his second goal of the game and with solid defensive play that one goal lead was all that we would need to finish off Japan. Now the question was could we manage to do something we had only done once since I made the team in 2003? And that was to win gold.

Showing why he is one of, if not the, best goaltenders in the world Steve Cash had a phenomenal gold medal game. Even though Canada took the lead almost eight minutes in, Cash made 23 saves in the game and several of them were huge!! But after a scoreless second period, with several huge hits we still found ourselves in a hole to start the third period. It wasn't looking good until eight minutes into the third, while on the power play, Chris Manns slid a pass to Jimmy Connelly in the slot; he made no mistakes on this shot tying the game at 1-1. Going into overtime the team was confident and ready to go. We knew Canada would come out flying in front of their home fans and they showed it taking the only seven shots in overtime. Now it all came down to a shootout.

In the shootout Steve Cash once again stood on his head stopping the first four shooters he faced, the only problem was that Rosen did the same for Canada. The fifth shooter for Canada managed to put a move on Cash and slid the puck into the net for the game winner. But even though we didn't come out on top the game was a huge confidence builder for us. And it also did one other thing; you could see the fear in the Canadians' eyes knowing that we were only going to get better as the 2010 Paralympics get closer. After receiving our medals we went back into the locker room and everyone knew in a few weeks when we played Canada in my home town of Buffalo, New York we would not only show the Canadians what we could do, but we'd do it in front of the 40 disabled hockey teams and around 600 athletes that would be in attendance.  

I would like to finish with an interview that I did with one of my teammates, Andrew "Taylor" Lipsett from Mesquite, Texas.

(Brad)- What is your favorite Paralympic memory?
(Taylor)- Rolling out at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Torino Paralympic Winter Games.

(Brad)- What does it feel like for you to represent your country?
(Taylor)- It's indescribable, I'm overwhelmed with pride

(Brad)- How do you mentally and physically prepare to get ready for a big game?
(Taylor)- Mentally, just picture in my head what my role is on the ice and handling different situations, and physically just get my blood going in warm up and get my heart pumping.

(Brad)- Do you have any superstitions when it comes to hockey?
(Taylor)- I listen to the same music in the same order before every game

(Brad)- How did it feel to win a bronze medal in Torino?
(Taylor)-  It was bitter sweet. Bitter because we wanted the gold, but sweet because winning any color medal for your country, your team, and your family is a huge accomplishment!