A breakaway is the most thrilling play in hockey. Separating from the pack, going one-on-one with the goalie, and firing a shot on net is exhilarating. It sets your heart racing and lifts the crowd out of their seats. There’s no feeling like it.
Even the word “breakaway” sends me back decades. I still remember the thrill of my first one: as a peewee with Abbeyview Taxi at Don Mills Arena, in Toronto, racing in alone only to see the puck dribble wide after colliding with the goalie. The next time was sweeter. Playing bantam for Thornhill United at the arena in Bradford, I broke free again — and this time the shot beat the buzzer with two seconds left.
Breaking away and finding open ice is also a powerful metaphor for the emotional high many women felt on Saturday, April 20, 2024, when the Professional Women’s Hockey League welcomed some 21,000 fans at Montreal’s Bell Centre, the sport’s equivalent of Mecca. The so‑called Duel at the Top, between Montreal...
Paul W. Bennett is an author, education columnist, and regular guest commentator on talk radio. He lives in Halifax.
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