My Turn: A dream come true

Throughout the season, stlouisblues.com will feature first-person accounts of stories from within the St. Louis Blues organization. The series, titled "My Turn," will give fans unparalleled access to personal stories from current Blues players and alumni. This one comes from defenseman Vince Dunn, who shares his feelings about scoring his first career NHL goal in Florida on Oct. 12.

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I spent years dreaming about scoring a goal in the National Hockey League. I had a little celly planned in my head. I imagined some yelling, some high fives from all the boys and a big smile on my face.
It didn't happen like that, though.
I had to keep my emotions intact since we were trailing 5-2 in the game, even though inside I was thinking about everyone that helped me get here.
I'll never forget that goal. Petro was skating up the ice and Uppy was posted up on the blue line. Uppy drew a few guys to him and the puck spit out to the middle. It was loose, so I jumped on it. I pulled it around the D a little bit and shot through a screen.

It happened fast, and it was a dream come true. Scoring on Roberto Luongo who just moved into fourth all time in wins was cool for me, but I didn't know how to celebrate. After the game, they asked me to take a picture with the game puck in the locker room and I wasn't even sure if I should smile.
Now that I've had time to think about it, it's starting to set in. It feels pretty real now. We've got a lot to be excited about being 4-1 through our first five games. The goal was a big moment for me, and it happened in the rink I was drafted in, so maybe it was meant to be.
After the game, I looked at my phone and had a lot of messages, way more than I did for my first NHL game last week. I guess everybody is pretty proud of me for getting my name on the scoresheet and that's a good feeling. My parents, trainers, family, friends and old coaches, but it was my poppa's text that might have been the one that hit me the most. He's been my biggest fan and one of my biggest supporters since I was a little kid. He invested a lot of time into me being a hockey player by taking me to practices and stuff, and he came to my first NHL home and away game. I owe a lot to him and I know this goal mattered more to him than anybody.
At the end of the day, I'm pretty happy inside. To be 4-1 and have a goal in just my fifth NHL game, that's something to be proud of.
Maybe I'll save that celly I planned for my next one.