Then I was invited to substitute for the goalie on the last-ranked team in the division ... for a game against the Wolf Pack, the top-ranked team. The centers and wingmen didn't have their heart in it and the defensemen ... needed more practice. Even at my best, I knew I would not be able to carry this team. So I treated it as practice and a scouting mission: I knew that my regular team would be up against the Wolf Pack in a few days.

I watched the Wolf-Pack's coordinated attack: the man with the puck always waited at the red line until the other two forwards could join him, and then they would all three advance on the goal, passing back and forth as my defense tried to stop them. I'd face the man with the puck, and he'd pass to the other wing man, who'd then shoot and score.

We lost by a wide margin.

In the lockerroom with my regular team a few days later, I made a short speech. I accepted responsibility for the previous loss and apologized for my poor performance. I told them the story of the game I had just played against the Wolf Pack. I described their coordinated attack and explained what I wanted my defensemen to do: cover the passes and let me take the direct shots.

I must have been covering the net very well because the Wolf Pack almost always opted to pass the puck around me rather than shoot on the net directly. And my defensemen efficiently cut off those passes and prevented those goals. We played well and won the game.

It took a big ego for me to recover from a game I played very poorly, and a few days later tell my team what I wanted them to do. But it was through that strong ego that I helped my team to victory.