Goalie inspired by flame

Goaltender Adam Long might hear jokes that he got ‘lit up’ last Sunday in net. But it’s worth it.

Long, a 14-year-old on the Nanaimo Hurricanes bantam house team, admits he could have played better in a 6-3 loss at Lake Cowichan. He could be excused for having a bit of a letdown – he was up before dawn that day to carry the Olympic flame.

“I went back to sleep for a couple hours, but it wasn’t enough to get me through my game,” he said.

The Coca-Cola contest winner said it felt great to jog his 300 metres along Highland Boulevard.

“You can feel the warmth of the flame right on your face,” Long said. “It was exciting. It didn’t last long enough.”

Long said the experience was made even more special because the torchbearer who passed him the flame was Brian Sugiyama, a family friend through the Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association.

The teen thanked the NMHA for buying him his torch as a souvenir.

+More Sports Headlines
<Back to Mobile Edition