West Lebanon
But any animosity on the ice was temporarily put aside for someone who wasn’t there, but whose presence was keenly felt.
Lebanon-Stevens held on for a 4-3 victory, its first in a season that has been dedicated to sidelined defenseman Julie Barber, who is recovering at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center from her second surgery last Friday to remove a cancerous tumor inside her spinal cord that has left the junior paralyzed from the waist down.
The teams joined at center ice to shake hands, then joined together to pose for pictures, holding white posters reading “Julie Barber, #17,” and “#BarberStrong,” smiling and waving as Raiders assistant coach Katie Bradford held a white iPhone that had broadcast the contest and the post-game scene via FaceTime to Barber, who was in a hospital bed 4½ miles away.
Some things are bigger than hockey.
“Everyone wants to win; that’s why you play the game,” Kingswood head coach Tom Cayon said. “But what we’re doing, especially in girls hockey, where it’s new to a lot of people, if we can’t come together and support each other, we’re not doing it right. I felt it was the right thing to do.
“It’s actually how I prepped my girls,” he added. “If you think you’re having a bad day because your boyfriend was mean to you or maybe you’re not going to play much tonight or you didn’t get what you wanted, this girl has got to fight. There’s perspective for you. They took it to heart.”
Barber’s presence was felt all over Campion Rink on Tuesday. Fundraising for the Barber family’s medical costs took place at the door; attendees donated a total of $259 by the end of the game. Light purple T-shirts, designed by Julie with a heart on the front and “Barber Strong” on the back, were sold for $10 each to help the family; eight had sold by the end of the second period.
The Raiders, many of them close friends with Barber, donned a “JB 17” patch on the backs of their helmets. Behind Lebanon’s bench, a green poster reading “We Play For Julie #barberstrong” was signed by every player, some adding hearts to their signatures. The sentiment was echoed before taking the ice as teammates repeated their message.
“Let’s do this for Julie,” they said.
Goaltender Adrianna Maccioli, a Stevens High student on the team via the co-op program and currently sidelined with a torn meniscus, kept the iPhone’s camera pointed in the right direction as Barber, not able to attend Tuesday’s game, watched her team’s victory from afar.
Tom Barber, Julie’s father, stood by rink’s entrance throughout the night, talking to friends and spectators who asked about his daughter. Julie’s younger sisters, Lily and Greta, sat in the stands, wearing Lebanon No. 17 home and away jerseys.
In the lobby, “#BarberStrong” displayed on the screen listing Campion Rink’s schedule of events. The hashtag could also be seen on the Campion Rink sign off of North Main Street.
Long-sleeve shirts, sweatshirts and sweat pants with Julie’s unifying message are on their way and will be sold at both Hanover and Lebanon hockey games throughout the winter, as well as at Lebanon High, the Meriden Deli and other places throughout the Upper Valley.
The response, Tom Barber said, has been “overwhelming,” particularly from his daughter’s teammates, who have done everything they can to make their season a 2½-month-long dedication.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “Hockey is her favorite sport. She was actually playing when it happened, for a U-19 team in Concord. … The whole Upper Valley community has been incredible. It’s amazing how many people she’s touched.”
The Barbers have gotten responses from places like Germany, Korea and Montana in support of their daughter. The Dartmouth men’s and women’s hockey teams have both visited her in the last week.
A GoFundMe.com campaign, started by family friend Meg Tenney, had raised $38,250 as of Tuesday and is still trending 20 days after it began.
Shaw said his team played inspired hockey in the first period. The shorthanded Raiders, who dressed only nine skaters, scored two goals in 43 seconds to take an early lead over a Kingswood program in only its third year in existence. Lebanon launched 17 shots on goal in the first period and 45 for the game. Halle Drew, in her first varsity start for the Raiders, made 12 saves.
The Knights responded with two goals 50 seconds apart in the third period to tie the game at 2-2. But the blown lead jump-started the Lebanon offense, as Grace Lindsey and Isabella Harriman netted back-to-back goals to give the Raiders all the offense they needed.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it,” Shaw said. “You could tell right along, from the size of the team, they’re going to have to be supportive of each other. … They knew they were going to get a ton of ice time and they knew, in the second and third period, they were going to be tired.”
Barber, eager to take the next step in her recovery, travels to Boston’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Center on Monday for six weeks of intensive rehab. Tom Barber said doctors at DHMC are confident that they’ve removed the remainder of the tumor from Barber’s spine.
“She’s confident she can get back out on the ice before the season ends,” Tom Barber said, nodding to the Lebanon girls warming up for the third period. “Their season ends in February.”
For Cayon, solidarity is a given. Even with some of its athletes injured and frustrated, Kingswood donated $50 to help the Barbers when they arrived and added another $20 after the game.
All for Julie.
Notes: Maccioli is scheduled to have surgery to repair her torn meniscus this morning. If the tear is complete, she will need eight months to recover. The sophomore goaltender is hoping for a partial tear, however, with a recovery time of only four or five weeks. … The Hanover Improvement Society will be holding a special Skate With Santa event on Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. at Campion Rink. Admission is free, but a donation bucket will be made available with all proceeds going to the Barber family. Skate rentals are available. For more information, call Campion rink manager Dick Dodds at 603-643-1222.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.