An Amazing 8-0 Loss

Now that title may not make sense, and I'll get to that in a minute...

I live in a small community near Cleveland...Our town is Brooklyn, Ohio...So close to Cleveland that I can spit there from my front porch...Put far enough away to send my kids to better schools...Brooklyn is a small close-nit community...It was also thought of as a hockey town...But the Brooklyn Hurricanes High School hockey program fell on hard times...But due to hard work and determination the program has started turning around...

That said when the 'Canes take the ice there are only 8 players...One of those, who has been a key to the turnaround is Goalie "Ish" Qasem..."Ish" short for Ismael...

Goalies are often known for being different...Ish would fall into that category as well...While being a black high school hockey player is rare in Cleveland , that isn't what makes this young man special is how he plays, and how he played last Monday in a 8-0 loss against Chagrin Falls...Yes I said 8-0 loss...It wasn't just how he played, but how he handled it...

You may be wondering how well can a goalie play in a 8-0 loss...Well what would you say if I told You Ish faced 105 shots...That's right...He faced 105 f**king shots and stopped 97 of them...That's a hell of day at the office...

Like I said The 'Canes only had 7 skaters and Ish, going against a highly talented Chagrin falls squad...

This is what Qasem said after the game...


"It was crazy, getting shot after shot. They just kept coming, and every save was different, but it was awesome. I enjoyed it. Afterward hen they told me 100 shots, I laughed. I thought it was funny."



Qasem is a hard working kid, and a good student...He wants to be a doctor after studying biology...There is no doubt that the good head on his shoulders and his great work ethic come from what he has learned from his mother,Denise, who has raised Ish, and his brother while working two and three jobs...Qasem's father, whom he is named after...was murdered in a Cleveland grocery store when Ish was 2 years old...

I have seen this young man play both Hockey and Football, and he is an exceptional goalie...I'm sure that he will be exceptional at whatever he puts his mind to....


Screw A-Rod....We need more stories like this in sports....

Later, The Beeze.