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The first time is special. As Ric Flair once said you can never be first, but you can always be next.
John Marino scored his first NHL goal the other night, in special fashion. Defensemen don’t get too many breakaways. Let alone a climatic one at the end of the periods to complete a three goal comeback...And basically in their hometown too.
“I was just trying to skate as fast as possible, get away from the defender,” Marino said after the game. “It was a special moment there with family and friends, something that I’ll always remember. That was pretty cool.“
And while everyone is happy when a youngster gets his first goal, the Penguins all seemed extra happy for Marino. Perhaps it was the circumstance of the breakaway or the comeback against the Bruins or they just like him a lot. Maybe all of the above, but the celebration seemed extra-fun and special really from the moment it happened.
John Marino scores his first career goal on a breakaway with 3 seconds left in the period and the Pens all react like their favorite little brother just scored. Won’t find a more wholesome moment tonight!! 4-3 Pens roaring back with a great 2nd period
— PensBurgh (@Pensburgh) November 5, 2019
So now, let’s review the video.
Remember that one for the rest of your life, @j_marino03. pic.twitter.com/NFCyW6J2Yc
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 6, 2019
And now, a complete listing of the people who lost their mind after John Marino scored:
- John Marino
- Jared McCann
- All of John Marino’s friends and family in the arena
- Jaroslav Halak
- Kris Letang
- The scouts in Edmonton who were smart enough to draft him in the sixth round in 2015 only for their organization to be unable to sign him (probably)
- Brian Dumoulin
- Pensburgh commenter jstr2112
I saw a stat, which of course I cannot find at press time, that Marino becomes the first Massachusetts born player to score his first NHL goal @BOS since 2002, which is a pretty cool trivia fact, and kind of surprising since MA produces so many hockey players.
But while you can always get the next one, but you can never again get another first. This one will be tough to top, but hopefully there will be plenty more celebrations still to come for Marino.