Prior to every game, Elmira senior forward Chance Gorman (Flemington, N.J.) goes around the ice and the bench and gives everyone a fist bump.
And then he gets to senior forward Bailey Krawczyk (Elmira, N.Y.). The two friends don’t only share a love for ice hockey; they also have been following professional darts together. When a darts player reaches the set number of points with the fewest darts necessary, that’s called a nine-darter. In one heated World Championship final, Michael Smith and Michael van Gerwen were locked in a heated battle where both were on pace to accomplish a nine-darter going into the final few throws.
Gorman will go to Krawczyk and give him his fist bump, but as he’s walking away, Krawczyk yells back to him, “They’re both on a nine!” referring to the commentary on the viral video. Gorman turns back around and yells, “Michael may miss! Michael may hit!”
The typical ice hockey fan might overhear them and not understand what they’re talking about, but for Gorman and Krawczyk, it’s a way for them to stay loose. It’s also an example of how tight-knit this Elmira team — featuring 13 seniors — is, and that chemistry is a big reason why they’re having success this season.
This week, Elmira earned a bid to the Division NCAA tournament. They'll play Endicott in the first round on March 9.