In instituting a new rule for this blog, I've also unintentionally delayed my writing of this post. See, I decided that I would wait at least 24 hours after a disappointing game before writing about it. Lucky for you that I did that, or you'd have been subjected to an introspective and moody post on Tuesday morning. Part of my melancholy may have been brought on by the fact that I had very little sleep after drinking quite a bit of beer, but that's neither here nor there.
The Hawks went into the league finals pumped up and determined to win, but it was not to be. The final score of 5-1 doesn't reflect the offense's efforts; the other team's goalie was hot that night. I've analyzed the 5 goals scored against us and found myself wanting on several of them, but I won't bore you with the details (even though this is a goalie blog). A few of my friends came to my aid and lifted my spirits when I was really down in the dumps on Tuesday morning though and I've left the gloominess behind.
What lingers is a nice warm fuzzy feeling, not unlike what one might experience after having a beer or two in the arena parking lot at 1 a.m. Our team had excellent chemistry, both on and off the ice. It's unfortunate that we'll be losing several players- some for financial reasons, but others because of a much-needed levelling of the playing field across the board in the league. I'm hoping those who can't join us this fall because of funds will be able to come back in the spring. Because it might be after that season that we get to move up to the D level.... but I'm getting ahead of myself.
By the time our game was over and everyone was changed (and we suffered through- I mean smiled graciously for- our team picture), we meandered out into the parking lot probably by 11:30. Several people had brought libations for the occasion, and we all stood around in the cool evening, rehashing events of the season. We were soon joined by the rival goalie and some of his teammates, who we welcomed with open arms (and open beer bottles). Even later, when most of us were still standing there, we were joined by members of the teams that had played the game after ours. By the time the rink manager shut all the lights off at 2 a.m., there were only three of us remaining. It was an awesome end to an awesome season: 7-3-1 in all, and one that I think I'll remember for a long time.
The "Captain" (so designated by the coach who was behind our bench the most, who we'd been calling by the wrong name all season) printed out a copy of the team picture, complete with names, and gave it to my husband and I as a keepsake. Everyone looks pretty happy, despite having just lost by 4 goals. That, folks, is an indicator of a good bunch of people.
Unfortunately, some chick with wildly messed up spiky hair, red cheeks, and fire in her eyes kinda ruins the picture. Oh yeah. That's just the goalie...
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That's why 2/3 of the team was wearing hats in the team picture. Who said there's no vanity in hockey?
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