Jake Pullen still has trouble believing that it’s real. His father, Drew, was a physical specimen, a former star athlete who wrestled at the University of Michigan in the 1990s. When he took off his shirt, women swooned and younger men felt envy.
“He would never have a shirt on,” said Jake, a senior forward on the Williamsville East hockey team, which won the Section VI small schools championship last Friday night. “He was the healthiest guy I knew, so … “
So, it was a shock for Jake and people at East to learn that Drew Pullen had died in his sleep on Feb. 16, just hours after watching Jake and his Flames teammates celebrate Senior Night with a big win over Amherst at the Northtown Center.
Drew was 50, young at heart, a man who coached his son and the other kids in youth sports and a friend to everyone he came across. Every son believes his dad is indestructible, but Drew, who was a vice president at M&T Bank, truly was a rock to all those boys.
“He was like a second father to me,” said Noah Hoffman, a senior forward and captain for Will East. “It’s the same with a lot of these kids. He’s coached a lot of us and he’s super close with a lot of us. Jake is part of my family. We’ve been close since we were 5 years old, playing baseball with his dad coaching us.”Hoffman said kids knew Drew had wrestled at Michigan, in the Big Ten when legendary Dan Gable coached at Iowa. He said some of the boys joked about challenging Drew to wrestle over the years, but never got around to it. Knowing Drew, he would have let them win.
“He was hard-working, dedicated, cared for everybody, coached everybody,” Jake said of his father. “He was just a great guy. He was awesome, a motivator. He coached me in travel. He didn’t play hockey as a kid, but he knew his way around sports. Yeah, he pushed me through everything.
“He was there for everything. He was my best friend. He was that guy.”
Jake was an only child. He lived alone with Drew, who had gotten divorced from his mother when Jake was younger. Hoffman has made a point to remain close to his good friend, while the Flames continued their title run.
“He’s putting on a good face,” Hoffman said. “It’s obviously hard to tell. He’s shouldering a lot, but it seems like he’s doing well. There’s a lot of people there for him, trying to help him out.”
Head coach Mike Torrillo, who has been coaching at the school for 34 years, said the hockey team’s title run helped take Jake’s mind off the tragedy. Torrillo said the entire Williamville East community has been there for him. The crowd at the sectional title game was the largest he can remember.
“The support group here is awesome,” Torrillo said. “Not only the hockey players, but his friends in school who are not hockey players. I see it in school as a teacher. He’s got a great senior class supporting him. At the wake, there was a line out the door.”
The biggest name in the Buffalo hockey community stepped up, too. On Feb. 19, Lindy Ruff sent a recorded speech to the Flames before they took on Frontier in the sectional quarterfinals at the Northtown Center:
“Hey, Williamsville East. Lindy Ruff here. I hear you guys are playing a game tonight in your quest for the state championship. What’s even more important, though, is playing for a teammate that just lost his dad. Jake, I know your dad is up there. I know your dad is going to be watching. So, for all the teammates of Jake, play well, play with fire, play for Jake — and go out and kick some ass tonight, boys!”
That night, the Flames beat Frontier in overtime, 4-3, on a goal by Nathan Sucher. Three times they trailed by a goal, and three times they fought back to tie it. Considering the circumstances, the swirling emotion, it was a remarkably resilient performance by a bunch of teen-aged boys.
Having survived an early scare, Will East found a higher gear. They beat Hamburg in the semifinals, 5-2, at HarborCenter. Finally, they knocked off rival Williamsville North, 4-1, in the final last Friday at KeyBank Center to capture their first Division II sectional championship in a decade.
Hoffman told reporters are the win that it felt like a blessing from God.
“That’s what the win felt like,” Hoffman said. “It feels like we’re playing for more than a game, that’s what it is. We’re playing for Jake. We’re all there for him, that’s really what it is, being there for a teammate, as a team coming together. We’ve definitely come together and grown closer as a team because of it, which is awesome to see.”
The Flames are playing solid, fundamental team hockey, expressing Torrillo’s belief in a sturdy defense and an opportunistic offense that creates scoring opportunities by throwing pucks at the net and keeping the pressure on teams.
“The kids joke that we’re playing 'Torrillo hockey’,” said Torrillo, the career scoring leader at Canisius College. “It’s not Torrillo hockey, it’s East hockey. They’re buying into little things and doing them well. They’re having fun with it, realizing that pucks to the net give you opportunities. I go back to what Wayne Gretzky said, the only shot you don’t like is the one you don’t take.”
Now the Flames have a shot at a state title, which they won in Torrillo’s second season as head man in 2004. They’ll face Victor of Section V at 3 p.m. Saturday in the regional final at Harborcenter. Win that, and they move on to the state championships at Harborcenter on March 15-16. Nice to be at home.
Torrillo said it’s all gravy now. His team is loose, with the grim reminder that there’s more to life than a game. He knows what kids can do in improbable circumstances. He scored the winning run for the Sweet Home baseball team that won a state title in 1983, without four guys who stayed home for the prom.
The guy has done his share of winning through the years. Torrillo won two state football titles as a Sweet Home assistant. He coached a state champion in the girls high jump. His ’04 Will East team won a state hockey championship. This one would be truly precious, because his son, Kevin, is an assistant coach. More than ever, he and his team appreciate the importance of a father-son bond.
“Oh, there’s nothing better than that,” Mike Torrillo said. “With the dad being an athlete and being involved in his amateur sports and things like that. It’s like Lindy Ruff said in his video, his father is watching over the top, there’s no question. He’s as proud as he could be right now.”
Jake believes Drew is watching, no doubt with his shirt off. He said it feels like the sectional title was meant to be, a sign of something bigger.
“Oh, it’s unbelievable,” Jake said., “And we’re not done yet, that’s for sure.”
It would be amazing if the Flames could win it all. If only this run could go on forever. Hockey is only a game, but it’s a sanctuary, a momentary haven from grief. Jake admits he’s a bit afraid for it to end, because when the cheering stops and the games end, his father’s death will be a little more real.
“Yeah, it will,” he said.
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