Our goalie Paul “The Lobster” battled leukemia for 7 years, during which time he had two extended remissions.

In his honor, several of us on all three Rebels teams have been wearing “Lobster” patches on our uniforms for the last year.

This past winter, Paul announced he had a relapse, and wouldn’t be able to play for “a while.”

On March 30, we had a “Lobsters Against Leukemia” game after the Sharks played at HP Pavilion. We raised over $1500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Paul was not able to play, but he was the bench coach for the Teal team. (He’s the one in the tie in the photo, and I’m next to his right, in white.)

On May 20, Paul lost his battle. He was 25 years old. People who knew him better than I spoke at his memorial service of his penchant for getting into predicaments and his fondness for practical jokes and wicked sense of humor.

I knew him not only for his wicked sense of humor, but for his love of the game and his competitiveness. Unlike many rec players, Paul never got angry at any of his teammates, or himself, when we got down or lost. I can’t begin to tell you how important that is for team morale!

In fact, the only time I remember hearing him complain about a loss was a game in which I officiated. He believed that my insistence that he wear the proper color uniform caused them to lose. He mentioned it frequently, but I think the only time he really cared about it was right after the game, and the rest of the time he was only giving me a hard time.

Last night, in league play, Rebels 2 met Rebels 3 for the first time since we heard about Paul’s passing. (The other time we played each other was the day after, and we hadn’t heard yet.)

At the beginning of the game, we had a moment of silence “for the Lobster.” The first shift of the game we played without goalies, to honor our missing teammate. Fittingly, the game ended in a 4-4 tie.

Lobster, I’m so glad to have known you, and wish I’d known you better.