By Scott Arnold

Twenty-five years later, the former Peterborough Petes star still gets chills thinking about what he witnessed in New York City that morning.

For Jason Dawe, September 11th, 2001, wasn't something he watched unfold from a television screen.

He was in Manhattan.

Dawe, who played for the Peterborough Petes from 1989 to 1993 and helped the team win an OHL championship in 1993, was in New York as part of the Rangers organization when the terrorist attacks happened.

On the 25th anniversary of September 11th, Dawe shared his memories of that morning on Facebook, offering a glimpse into what it was like to experience the events from inside New York City.

He was at Madison Square Garden for New York Rangers training camp when, according to Dawe, he watched the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

At that moment, Dawe says, there was no way of knowing what was happening or what was still to come.

Then another plane hit.

The events of the morning continued to unfold, and what initially seemed impossible became a terrifying reality for those watching from Manhattan.

Dawe remembers the moment the towers came down especially vividly.

Madison Square Garden, several kilometres from the World Trade Center, felt like it had been hit by a massive earthquake.

His hotel room was at 34th Street and Lexington Avenue, giving him a view toward the Hudson River and the area around Ground Zero.

He was suddenly witnessing one of the most devastating days in American history from the heart of New York City.

Twenty-five years later, the memories haven't faded.

Dawe described September 11th as the craziest day of his life and said he still gets chills thinking about what happened.

For Peterborough, Dawe is best remembered as one of the greatest offensive players in Petes history.

He remains the franchise's all-time leading goal scorer with 169 goals and ranks second in career points with 337. After his time in Peterborough, Dawe was selected in the second round of the NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and went on to play in the NHL with Buffalo, the New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens before joining the New York Rangers organization.

But on September 11th, 2001, none of that mattered.

He was simply a hockey player in New York who found himself watching history unfold from inside the city.

And 25 years later, he still remembers exactly what it felt like.

We remember September 11th, 2001, through the stories of the people who were there, and Dawe's is one that brings that day a little closer to home.

Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

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I had just moved to a place in Orillia, Ont., on the Saturday (September 8th) with three buddies who were attending Georgian College for the professional golf management program. We didn't have phone or cable yet and we didn't have radio (just our CDs) but we didn't care; we were brash 20 years olds with a sweet place right on Lake Simcoe and that was all we needed.

Our house was in the boonies (a couple minutes from civilization), so there were no neighbours around; it was just us and the lake. We had enough beer and snacks to last us the week so we just sat in the water on the shoreline with a cooler and we didn't move for a week.

On the Friday, September 14th, we finally got our phone hooked up and my first call was my father, Ed Arnold, then Editor of the Peterborough Examiner. After asking how I'm doing, he asked me what my thoughts on the States were. I was confused and thought what a random and strange question. I replied "Why are you asking me that?" He said, "Cause I just wanted to get your opinion on it." I answered, "Ummm, it's a great country." He said, "Can you be serious for a minute; this is serious stuff, you guys might be drafted to go fight."

I said what the hell are you talking about. I could tell he was getting frustrated when he quickly snapped back, "I'm not kidding, this is a serious situation Scott." I again asked him what he was talking about. He took a very serious tone at this point as he said, "the States is what I'm talking about; the situation there is very serious right now!"

For the 3rd time, I told him I had no idea what he was referring to. "You're kidding me," he said before quickly running over the details—but as he told me you could tell he thought I was still just messing around with him. After briefly filling me in (and I mean briefly as I would later find it he skipped on a lot of info), he said "You've got to be kidding me if you really don't know what happened there; if you're serious, you're the only person on the planet who hasn't heard yet."

I laughed and said I highly doubt that. "I'm dead serious," he said, "you are the only one." I then asked my roommates if they'd heard about any planes crashing in New York. "They all looked at me up at me dazed, like I was an idiot, replying "NO" in unison. I said, "See dad, I'm not the only one!" Dad replied: "Sorry, the only FOUR people on the planet who haven't heard yet than!"

After that we got dressed, had our first shower and went to a local pub to find a TV. We watched the repeat coverage in awe over a few pints.....three days after the actual events had occurred.

So when anyone asks me what I was doing the moment the planes crashed into the towers on September 11th, I can honestly reply, I have absolutely no idea.

—Scott Arnold

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Former Petes Star Jason Dawe Was in Manhattan When 9/11 Changed Everything