Streak ends at two...

Holey crap!  What an intense game!   Although our steak ended, and we lost 5-2, we played hard and physical.  

Now, it's pretty common in sports (GO SPORTS!) for platitudes about getting off to a slow start to go flying around the dressing room.  That's our excuse, but for the record, it was true last night.  Our opponent of the night- Low Down Dirty Shame- scored on us twice within the first few minutes and once more before the first period ended.  We weren't skating, screwing up our changes, and having defensive breakdowns.  We finally got our game together about midway in first period, and frankly, our two goals were much more impressive than their five.  Justin, one of our best right wingers, finally broke out and scored our first goal.  It was a great close in shot, with loads of bodies banging in front of the net.  Our second was an amazing backhanded shot from the left point by Jim- probably our most physical defensemen.  A brilliant shot!  We pressed the play fully from then, but weren't able to score again. 

Aside from the scoring, there was also a lot of bad blood in the game.  Low Down have a few really good players, but they were a touchy bunch.  One of our wingers, Ty, kept bumping one particular player, we called him number 9, in the corners, and he took exception to it every time.  Towards the end of the third, they finally went at it.  It didn't come to blows, no gloves dropped- which would have led to them be kicked out for the rest of the season- but it was something new for me.  Unfortunately, Mike, another of our defensemen got involved after the initial whistle, so both he and Ty went to the box.  We killed the penalty, but there was no more scoring.  

What could have really put the bad feeling over the edge happened right at the buzzer.  One of our centers, Ben, was clipped in the face with a high stick as he made a last second rush up the ice.  He's one of the players on our team that doesn't wear any kind of a shield and he went down like a rock.  He was bleeding pretty badly, and everyone was a bit panicked.   He got a towel and some water on it and after a few minutes was able to get up.  We're lucky to have a doctor on our team- Herman.  He thought he could use a couple of stitches, but, luckily, the cut was to the side of his eye and his eyesight wasn't threatened.  The player that clipped him was one of the first people to make sure he was ok and apologized profusely.  It was just a regular hockey accident.  Full cages, boys and girls!  Ben was able to join us in the handshake.

I hung out for quite a while in the dressing room after the game.  Someone brought beer!  While talking about the game, we realized that number 9 didn't participate in the handshake, which is hugely disrespectful, since we play for fun and comradeship.  Vicki is going to bring it up to the rink.  Ben got some ice on his eye and when he left, you could barely tell he'd been injured.   I am feeling pretty comfortable with a lot of my team.  I haven't been part of a group like this since I was in a scooter club, and it feels good to be part of a group again.  Even though I know I'm one of the team's weakest players, I don't feel at all like it's held against me.  Bad plays may elicit complaints on the ice, but it never follows us into the dressing room.  I do have to say in my defense- I don't make many horrible mistakes- just am not a great player.  Who knows what's said when people leave, but nothing negative about any player has been said when I'm around.  This continues to be an amazing experience!  

Knee wise- I'm heading to the Doctor today.  Of course, my knee feel better than it has since I injured it all those weeks ago.  

We're on a gawd damn winning streak!

We won our second game last night!  We played Realty Source, and like our first game, we ended regulation in a tie.  We could have won outright- we led 4-2 at one point, but had a couple of defensive breakdowns towards the end of the game.  That was because we were really pushing them.  It was awesome!  We won the shoot out this time though- 1-0.  Because of the crap score software at the rink, ties aren't recorded, and it'll be a straight win for us.  We're still in 4th place, but it feels great to win some of these hard fought games.

It was a great game for me.  I played pretty damn hard and was in the right place at the right time more than once.  I was even able to finally skate the puck into the offensive zone a few times!  I did miss one pass that ended in a icing and when crashing the net once- I collided with the Realty Source goalie.  No penalty though.  Today... I'm really sore, but wanting to play again! 

One negative- my knee is still causing me pain.  I went down a few times last night, and bashed my knee pretty good once.  I need to see my doctor in the not too distant future, but am afraid that it'll be something that causes me to miss out on some play. 

Go hockey team!

The headline would read...  Icemen hands undefeated team it's first loss of the season!

Yup- we finally won one!  We beat a group of guys no one really seems to like, to boot.  Even their name makes people cringe, including me- She Hit Me First.  Horrible.

We played our guts out, but the real reason we won was because of Tyler- our goaltender.  He was amazing! I was pretty much a non-entity in most of the game, but got to play the spoiler in a few situations, getting in the way of passes, and clearing the puck.  I consciously tried to put myself in the play more as the game went on- which worked a bit, but we were skating so hard, that there were a few times I went in deep, that I struggled to get back.  I am also having real trouble keeping the puck on my stick.  Luckily I didn't pass to opposing players, but there were a couple of times when I should have been able to skate out of the zone, but ended up having to chase around our defensive zone some more after loosing the puck.  In my defense- I always try and play the point defenseman really closely- and getting a pass is sometimes not a possibility.  Backwards skating and puck handling- those are the two things I really need to work on- more stick and pucks!
I also got chirped at for the first time- well, not directly.  I was covering the point when the defenseman I was covering kept asking for the puck, saying he was open- which of course, I took as an insult.  I spoiled the pass he finally got.  Heh...

The game was one of those defense battles.  We scored first, pretty early in the first period.  They came back and scored, not long after we did.  Within a quick span, we scored again.  Mike, the guy who scored, was amazed.  The goal was a pure 'garbage goal'.  He just kept whacking at the rebounds until the puck trickled in.  That was it for the scoring.  The rest of the game was back and forth with great defensive play and goal tending.  We played really well- probably the best we have ever played as a team.  Everyone played their positions and we kept the points really well covered.  It was a great game, and a great experience! 

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

This is the last post for the title- A Year in Hockey... I hope- because it's been a year, and it's no longer a hope, but a reality!  And what a great year it was.  After twisting my ankle on the ice last New Years Day, we went back up to Evergreen Lake to skate and play some pond hockey.  It was a load of fun!  Sam, Jared, and I drove up after brunch at our friends Gary and Amanda's house.  Last year Gary, another friend Keith, Alisha, and Laura went up to the lake as well, but Alisha wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home with Vibs. Laura doesn't skate so she stayed at the brunch.  Gary had foot surgery a couple of months ago, so he can't skate- and it's driving him crazy.  Keith had to go to California at the last minute, so he missed out as well.  Mike, a guy who plays hockey with Gary, also went up.  He's an incredible player.

We got up to Evergreen at about 3 and Sam, Jared and I got ahold of half a rink with pond hockey goals.  We goofed around for a good 30 minutes, before moving to another rink with full goals.  Sam really wanted to play goal, but we told him it wasn't a good idea without pads.  After Mike showed up, we got into a pick up game with a bunch of other players.  It was 5 on 5 and they were really good.  We only played for about 30 minutes though.  It started getting dark, so we decided to head home.  It was a brilliant way to spend the afternoon and is now a tradition.

I've gone from not being able to skate very well last New Years Day to being able to play in a pick up game this New Years Day.  There is still so much to work on though.  I still need to work on basic skills and may take a skating course and another Learn to Play Hockey class.  The year in hockey is over, but not the rest of my playing hockey life!

Hockey in the wild!

Getting artistic to cover up my bad passing.

Sam on his new skates for only the second time.  The kid's pretty good.

I'm guessing that if Sam ever plays hockey, we're going to have to in trouble, because he wants to play goal.  Expensive!

This is the best way to work off a hangover ever.

Jared on D.

I'm not a great stickhandler, but the snow didn't help..

A hell of a day!  A hell of a year!

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

I got in on a pick up style of game with a couple of the guys on my team last night.  It was a lot of fun!  It was a bit of a long drive, and since my car sucks in the snow, I nearly spent the evening in a ditch- thanks dark downhill S curve covered in ice and snow!  The game was set up by the other Paul on my team and it was only $10 for 90 minutes of ice time.  We basically played the entire time, with players swapping as needed- sliding down the bench- so I got a shift about every 5 minutes or so, with a decent mix of time on the wing and on defense.  I really really need to get much better at backwards skating- especially transitions- it's really affecting my play. 

I played on the dark team, and as it always seems to be- the light team was the better.  I think we were playing with a couple college or semi pro players.  Both the scheduled goalies cancelled at the last minute, so we played by what I'm going to call 'clank rules'- a goal was scored if the puck hit either the goal post or crossbar before going into the net.  I think the final score was about 7-3.  I wasn't really part of the play all that often- but did make a few decent passes and had quite a few good defensive plays.. i.e., I got in the way of everything.  

On a related note- I've always sort of thought that the inch or so padding on the top of hockey gloves seemed a bit excessive.  I no longer feel that is true.  While I was in the defensive zone, I crouched down to block a shot and the guy taking the shot smacked me right in the hand with his stick.  My right index finger went numb for a second and then hurt so bad, I was afraid it might have been broken.  Of course it wasn't, and a few rigorous shakes of my hand, and I was out again.  It's sore today, but not too bad.  The player who clipped me immediately stopped his play and asked if I was ok, which is why I love this game, at this level- we can beat the crap out of each other for an hour and a half, but everyone is looking out for everyone else and having a great time.  

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

Well, the year is almost over.  We played our last game of 2014 on the 17th of December, since Christmas Eve and New Years Eve fall on Wednesdays- the night we play.  We had a tough loss last week.  We played hard, and were able to score, to keep ourselves in most of the game.  Then we started letting the other team get breakaways, because our defense was pinching in.  The team we played- Low Down Dirty Shame- has two or three excellent players who scored on the gaffs.  The final score was 10-5.  It was the first game that I was upset at the end of.  Even though we've lost each game, we've been playing hard and doing well.  We played hard in this game too, but we made some dumb mistakes.  Since we have a few weeks off, some of the guys on the team are setting up stick and puck practices and drop-ins, which should be fun.

We are also planning on going to Evergreen on New Years Day again!  It's going to be a great way to end this year long quest.  But it won't be over.  We still have 6 more games of the season, and I plan on playing for as long as I can! 

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

We are still playing tough hockey, and I think I'm still making good progress.  Our ragtag team has come together pretty well, and some of the more animated players on the team are getting everyone involved.  We've lost all four of our games, but we're never being destroyed. 

I've noticed that I'm playing a more physical game and am skating better.  I really need to work on transitioning- so more public skate time.  
One thing that made me chuckle was something that is true in pretty everything.  When I finished a shift, the guy who was playing center with me (I still don't know everyone's name yet- no one has really done introductions) told me that if I was passing or moving the puck out of the zone, just hit the fuck out of it.  He said, forget trying to push the puck.. .like we were all taught, but just whack it.  So, all preparation falls apart.  Heh...

I did pull a hilarious and notable move- which got laughs and comments from the other team and the ref.  We were in the offensive zone, when the puck got knocked into the neutral zone.  In turning, I hit the opposing defenseman and went down on my back, offside.  The puck got knocked back into the offensive zone- and right at me, still on my back.  I heard the ref behind me say 'offside' and he was getting ready to blow the play dead, as soon as the puck hit me.  I lifted my back up on my shoulders. and the puck zipped under my back- without touching me.  I jumped up and got back into the neutral zone, and we got another rush.  Ha!