Long Island's own Marshall Warren lived a dream, dominating his UBS Arena debut with a stellar performance and an Islanders victory.
ELMONT, NY -- New York Islanders rookie defenseman Marshall Warren has been living out a childhood dream since joining the organization he grew up idolizing.
Tuesday night was a special one for the Laurel Hollow, Long Island native, as it was his first game at home. He played his first four career games on the road.
Warren spoke pregame about the excitement. He couldn't remember how many friends and family he had in the building.
Not only was his home debut a successful one for the Islanders, who defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1, but the 24-year-old also played extremely well. He recorded three shots on four attempts with two hits and a block in 14:24 minutes.
“When you're a kid, you dream about this," Warren said. "So for me, that was awesome. And we got the win too. So that was really cool.”
The Hockey News asked Warren if he noticed any of his friends during warmups.
"I noticed a bunch of my buddies. It's cool. It's really special," Warren said. "Happy we got the win too, because it definitely makes it better. But yeah, I thought a good game is played well. So it was really good."
THN asked head coach Patrick Roy what he saw from Warren on what clearly was an emotional night.
"He played really well. He's fast. He skates well. I mean, he sees the ice well. I really love the way that he played today. Before coming in, this is exactly what I said to [Bob] Boughner about his game. I said, 'Wow, I'm impressed with him,' because I feel like he's playing with a lot of confidence and a lot of poise out there."
Prior to the game, the Islanders had Warren read out the starting lineup:
"It's great. I mean, how cool is this for him?" Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "I think it's awesome. And I think he's come in and played really well. He's so solid back there. There's, you know, it's not flashy, but it's calm and collected, and I think he's playing with a lot of poise in just his first few games in the National Hockey League. And he's a really great player and a great addition to our room right now."