In mid-December, Colin Hagstrom was told by doctors he might not play hockey again this season.
The diagnosis didn't account for Hagstrom's tenacity. Or grit. Or lack of quit.
"I just told myself there was no way I wouldn't come back," said Hagstrom, a Mahtomedi senior who crashed into the boards and broke his leg in a Dec. 10 game against Monticello.
So Hagstrom, the Zephyrs' top goal scorer last season and a lacrosse standout committed to play at Maryland, did what he always does. He went to work.
He attended every Zephyrs practice and game. He filled water bottles. He attended team meetings. He studied film and absorbed game plans. He cheered louder than anyone.
"I had to support my team," said Hagstrom, whose overtime goal against Hermantown secured a 3-2 victory Saturday in the Class 1A championship game.
With the Zephyrs absorbing a relentless Hermantown attack — they were outshot 42-12 — and forced to gather themselves after the Hawks scored to tie it with 22 seconds left in regulation, it figured that it would be Hagstrom who would make school history.
His one-timer in the slot 2:44 into overtime sailed into the upper right corner and sparked pandemonium on the Xcel Energy Center ice and in the massive Mahtomedi cheering section.
