"I think I have a tired goalie"

I was back on the ice at the butt-crack of dawn this morning, slaving away under my coach's instruction. He did some different things with me this time, which revealed that I can do a certain move to my right but not to my left. Bingo- something to work on. He also ran me through a drill that was intended to get me moving the same way I did in that open game where I was playing so well and getting up on the correct leg every time. For some reason though, my brain wasn't having any of it, even though I knew what he was looking for. I told him about that game, and told him I knew it was in there, and I knew what I should be doing, but I guess not being in a game situation was making me overthink it. He agreed- but kept at it.

For the last few minutes we played the "rebound game". He told me as soon as I made 10 saves I could go. (He takes a shot and if the rebound doesn't go off into the corner, he plays it and shoots again, etc.). I did great- stopped the first six cold. Then as I wore down he racked up a few points. With the "score" 9-4 I completely flubbed a save and landed on my butt. I said "Ugh!" and flopped down onto my back and laid there. He laughed and said "I think I have a tired goalie. Excellent! That's how I like it, it's the only way I can score!". Happily for me, I jumped back up and made the next save.

Next week, at my request, we'll be working on stickhandling and stopping the puck along the boards behind the net. I mentioned that I was pretty bad at that and my friends have told me it's ok to emulate Lundqvist in my game, just not in that regard! He agreed and said Brodeur's the guy to watch for that technique. Then he paused and said "just don't pay attention to anything else he does." I got a huge kick out of that. Obviously, what he does works... even though he's the one who insists "Lundqvist is weird".