Noob

I missed our game on Wednesday, but played in a pick up game last night.  I played with a few guys on the team, and they told me we won, which is pretty cool.  I was afraid we'd go without a win this season.  Tony said the team we played- Punx scored within about 30 seconds of the opening face-off.  We came back within a minute though, and Tony said we had a flurry of goals. We won 6-3.

I'm glad I got a night playing anyway.   Pickups are pretty crazy, but really good for working on skills.  Since there's no lines, no stoppage, or no score keeping, you get a lot of ice time, in a lot of different situations.  There was also a large range of skill levels playing last night.  For the most part, that's a really good thing for a beginner, like me, but it can lead to some annoyance as well.  Without lines, and no score tally, there's not much accountability for positioning- especially for players that just want to keep the puck and make a run up the ice every shift.  I was on the ice a lot, but was never really playing the position I was supposed to play, because everyone else on the ice was just chasing the puck.  There was some passing, but it was mainly, follow whoever had the puck- whether they were a forward or a defenseman.  Still fun.  Another thing that sort of puts me off is the complaining from some of the better players.  I've never felt unwanted on the Icemen bench, but did feel that some of the guys I was playing with last night would rather I'd not been there- because I was messing with the flow of their game.  Whatever.  We had a great conversation about Star Wars in the dressing room, so there was that. 

The reason I missed the game on Wednesday was because Alisha and I saw Belle and Sebastian at Red Rocks.  Alisha is a huge fan, and I like most of what heard from them.  We thought we'd gotten there late, but we ended up in the 2nd row, right in the center.  It was a pretty amazing show.  They've been together for nearly 20 years and have an amazing and varied collection of work.  They also put on a brilliant show- with dancers and audience participation.  It was worth missing a game for!