A Year in Hockey... I hope. Part Twenty.

So... here we are.  It's been nearly a year since that first time on the Evergreen pond ice, when I decided to start on this crazy quest- to play hockey in a beer league.  Tonight is the beginning of the end of that quest.  I say beginning of the end, because I'll be playing my first hockey game in a league, but it's an 11 week season, and I plan on playing in the future.  Wow.

The team that I've been assigned to is Icemen.  It seems that it's the team that beginners and 'free agents' play on.  I've received a few emails that indicate the team is filled with new players, and they have a load of spare sweaters- for all the new faces.  When I was skating last week, there was a guy skating with his daughter.  On Friday, I went to get a pre-game sharp on my skates, and he was at Player's Bench doing the same.  We recognized each other and chatted a bit.  He plays in the D2 league, but he started out on Icemen.  He told me that Icemen always dresses a lot of skaters.  For him, as an experienced player, it made for a frustrating game, because he didn't get a lot of ice time.  For beginners, like me, he thought it was ideal, because we can ease into the flow of a game and a team.  In the end, he and a bunch of Icemen split and started a new team.  As a joke he emailed the captain and told her he was sniping me.  Oh, for fun.  It did make me feel a little more comfortable- knowing I wouldn't be the only newbie, or playing every shift, and being able to watch how the game is played.  

There are only 4 teams in the D4 league, so we'll basically be playing each other over and over.  We play late Wednesday games, so Pub Quiz is going to have to go on the back burner, which is a bit of a bummer.  I'm excited though!

I should clarify on something in Part Nineteen- the reason I'm nervous after listening to so many NHL and hockey documentaries is because of the part of the game called chirping.  I'm not good at it, and although I'm not terribly sensitive to taunts, I'm afraid it will keep me from really pushing things.  I know I can change my attitude to a 'not give a fuck' one in camps, but am unsure how it'll transfer to a game, when other players may count on my performance.   We'll see at 11.15 tonight!