Catching Up

I’ve been on the illness merry-go-round again, but for now things seem back to normal. My last lesson before I got sick again was a frustrating one, but frustrating in a way that I grumblingly have to admit is probably good in the long run. My coach pinpointed a weakness (dealing with rebound control) and honed in on it. He had another coach there (the dreaded “Johnson”) flinging pucks at me, so he could stand closer to me and watch what I was doing and give me feedback. Unfortunately I just wasn’t getting it right, and it frustrated the hell out of me. At one point when one got past me, I just looked at my coach and he said “Well you know what you did… so at least you can fix it”. I responded “Yeah but it’s still in the net!!!” He pointed out “Yeah. But it’s in the net in practice.” Grrrrr I don’t care. Since that was my last lesson before ending up with the flu again, I’m kind of itching to get back out there with him and work on it some more. However, I emailed him to ask about adjusting my time slot, because I think having the lesson first thing in the morning, working all day, and then playing a game late at night might be contributing to my being so worn down. We’ll see what he says. If he doesn’t have any other time slots, I guess I’ll just suck it up until Spring.

On the team front, we’ve played – and won – two more games, bringing us to an amazing record of 7-0. Last night we played the team that’s shaping up to be our rivals, if only because we all get really pumped to beat them because they are such a bunch of whiners, divers, and cheap-shotters who get away with a lot. The game was very chippy, as expected, but a pretty good one for us- most of the play was in their end. I only faced 15 shots (thanks to a team-mate’s dad for counting!) and fortunately only one got past me. Woo hoo .933 save percentage! (Hey I’ll take it any way I can get it!).

Unfortunately, I was also forced to do my best impression of a pancake, thanks to #17 falling “accidentally on purpose” on my head/neck. Ouch. I was fairly stunned but rolled over and removed my mask, since it had come partway off and was squashing my ear. I heard one of my D telling me not to move, there was a skate right by my now-exposed head. Maybe not the brightest idea, taking off the mask, but that was my instinct. Luckily she guided the guy’s foot away from my head, and after taking a minute to collect myself (and yell “who the f*** FELL ON MY HEAD?!”, as if that would do any good), I shook it off. I heard team-mates arguing with the ref, trying to get a goalie interference call, but apparently the guy who used my head as a chair had tripped over his own player’s stick. Later accounts from my team-mates informed me that it was sort of a Sean-Avery-esque “ohhh look at that… I’m falling into the goalie” kind of move. No matter, he got a nice firm shove from my husband on the next shift, on which even though he tried desperately to draw a penalty, did not succeed. (He tried so desperately that he lay there on his back, waiting for the ref to come over, at which point he squeezed his eyes shut. The ref had none of it.)

Other than the dramatics, it was a good game. I played solidly (except for that one that got by me… kind of a weird bounce/roll), as did the whole team. The other team had a substitute goalie, someone I know from around the rink. I think we have a pretty friendly competition going, and he’s a good goalie, so when our team beats his it’s always that much sweeter. And I will leave you with perhaps the Best Goalie Quote EVER:

“I don’t fear stopping a 100 mph slapshot. I fear not stopping it.”
-Roberto Luongo

Damn, that’s one badass goalie.

There are no words for this

Those nutty Czechs again...

So this is how it's supposed to fit!

Wow, I had no idea just how poorly my old chest/arm protector fit. I used the new one today during my lesson and other than a little bit of stiffness from just being new, it was absolutely perfect. I didn't even know it was there- which is I think how it's supposed to be. Not having to think about readjusting it as I went along was really nice.

Along with becoming more comfortable on the ice, I'm becoming a little more comfortable with my coach as well. I started out incredibly nervous around him, but today I actually made a little jab at him. He'd complained several times about how cold it was in the rink (it was brutally cold this morning outside, close to 0 degrees, so I guess the rink didn't adjust their heating system). Each time I laughed, because as usual he was working me so hard I had sweat dripping everywhere. When he complained about his toes getting cold I offered to switch places with him. Strangely, he declined.

It was around that time that he described the next drill to me. He'd shoot the puck towards my glove, and I was to catch it and then place it on the ice (in our imaginary circle, since he had no markers) as if setting it for a D-man. He would then skate down, pick up the puck, go around behind the net with it and come out and take a shot from the opposite side circle. He ran through all of this and I nodded my head like a good student. But as he skated away I couldn't resist.

Me: You're assuming I'll actually catch it.

Him: Yeah, well, if you don't I'm going to have to do a lot of skating. And I don't feel like skating.

Me: Well you were complaining about being cold...

Him: (silence) True.

*whack!* There went the first shot.... right past my glove. Ooops.

Invention made obsolete... and an invitation

My snuggly fleece arm protectors got one use... and already they're being retired. What started out as a routine trip to the pro shop for some skate sharpening turned into a much more expensive endeavor than I had planned, and also got me an invite to check out a traveling women's team.

When I handed the young woman behind the counter my skates and requested a half-inch cut, she looked at them disbelievingly and asked "Are these yours?" Yes, my feet are that big. I confirmed that indeed they were, and she asked who I played for. I told her that I was currently playing in a beginners league, and she went off to find someone who was more familiar with sharpening goalie skates than she was.

During the requisite meander around the store while waiting for my skates, my husband started nosing around the rack with the chest protectors. I joined him and discovered that in addition to a few junior sized pieces of equipment, there was also an "intermediate". You got it- as in, between junior and senior. As a matter of fact there was an intermediate Large. I didn't need much prompting to take it off the hanger and fiddle with the adjustments to see if it would fit. On first glance I could tell that it was a much better quality upper body protector than the one I'm currently using. The one I have has very few adjustable straps- this one was absolutely loaded with them. After about a half hour of tweaking and tightening and some assistance from a very helpful store employee, my husband and I left the store with a brand new RBK upper body protector. Yes, it was expensive. But I think my husband and I both realized that what I'm wearing now is not adequate protection, so out came the credit card. Now I have a piece of what looks like armor and feels like it was custom fitted to my body, protecting all those vital organs and jutting-out-elbow-bones. Plus, it's neon green and black, so it looks really cool.

But in addition to walking out of the shop $200 more in debt, I left with a seed planted in my brain. Apparently while I was busy fiddling with straps and velcro closures, my husband had picked up my skates when they were finished and the gal at the counter told him about the team she plays for and asked him to mention it to me. I've heard about this team, and part of me thinks it would be a really neat experience to play for them if they'd have me, but part of me is extremely hesitant to play on a women's team. I did talk to her about it a little, and since it didn't seem like they were in need of a goalie I think I'll sit tight for a while. But she mentioned what night they practice and gave me the coach's name and told me to check out their website for more information. I might contact the coach, or I might wait until the fall and contact her before their next season gears up. If it would conflict with the league I'm in now, all bets are off, because I love this group and want to keep playing with them. But if they needed a goalie next season, and it didn't get in the way of the league I'm in now, I might consider it. Nothing says I have to play more than one season if I don't like it.

But this is how my brain works. I have this little piece of information, and it will sit and simmer on a back burner somewhere for a while, and then when I'm good and ready I'll act upon it. But I suppose it couldn't hurt to send the coach an email. Maybe they'd need a goalie to fill in now and then... you never know.

Not entirely a success

My home-made sleeves, that is. But not a complete failure either. I played some open hockey this morning, and while they did exactly what I wanted them to, they also were extremely hot. Yeah.... forgot about that whole "fleece is warm and snuggly" thing. The discomfort wasn't too bad, but the big problem was that my glasses fogged up more easily than usual- I guess because of my higher than normal body temperature. I think I can cut them down a bit so they're mostly just around the elbow, leaving more of the skin on my arms exposed for sweat evaporation.

I know this is incredibly important information, so I had to share it immediately!

Arts and crafts- goalie style

Hockey equipment manufacturers are starting to realize that there's a sizeable female contingent among hockey players, and it's now possible to get gloves, chest protectors and "undergarments" designed specifically for women. Unfortunately this revolution hasn't yet reached goalie equipment - or if it has, I'm unaware of it. I don't have a problem with any of my equipment fitting me improperly except for my chest/arm protection. If I was a bit beefier of a gal, I probably wouldn't have this problem at all, but because it's designed for men, the arms on my c/a are quite loose, width-wise. Because of this, I end up with the equipment twisting around out of place during games, and as I discovered recently, even if it's in the right place it might do more harm than good.

I wasn't sure how to remedy this until I discovered a thread on a goalie message board, written by a woman asking if there were any female-oriented c/a's out there, because she's having fitting problems as well. It was from that board that I got the idea of creating inner sleeves to wear under my c/a, to artificially bulk up my arms and keep the c/a's sleeves in place. I dithered about the idea until I took a shot in my last game that has left a very large, very ugly bruise on the bone of my elbow- and that's from the impact of the puck hitting my elbow protection, which then slammed into my elbow. Given the fact that it broke the skin in two places, I'm sure a harder shot would have actually broken the bone. With that in mind I hit the local fabric store last night and purchased a yard of thick, soft fleece and some velcro.

Since in my "other life" I enjoy the very feminine persuit of quilting, I know my way around a sewing machine. I set up shop last night and created a sleeve that I can wrap around my arm (with an extra width of padding at the elbow) before putting my chest/arm protector on. Hopefully it will be thick enough to fill in the space left by my scrawny arms, and absorb some of the impact of shots.

Now if I could only do something about the fact that, in spite of the fact that I don't have much in the chest department, my c/a also makes me look like a very well endowed, albeit much older lady, I'd be a lot less self-conscious. It must not look as bad as I think it looks, because there have been numerous occasions (some documented here) when other players have been completely unaware that I'm female, and that's just fine with me.

Goalie Gal grows a set

I'm afraid to write and say we won our last game, and remain undefeated in this still young season, lest I jinx it. But, indeed we did, a good solid game all around albeit over a lesser opponent. Sorry if that's blunt, but we did outplay them most of the time.

One area they had no problem with, however, was aggressiveness around the net. Most of them were pretty big, and although our defense did a good job of tying them up or moving them away most of the time, there was the odd time that I'd find a big hulking opponent in my space. So I added something I don't normally have in a game; a little bit of elbow grease. Not in terms of literal elbows to other players, no I wouldn't do something like that! Even if there was only one ref and he didn't have a clear view of what I was doing, I wouldn't use my elbow. I think the edge of a blocker does a good enough job.

There were several occasions where I felt I defended my territory and myself pretty well. Whether it be just a good healthy shove (while maintaining my own balance- that's critical), an eye-for-an-eye style whack to the back of the legs, or letting my feelings be known about being slashed on the wrist after I already had the puck in my glove... I think I started to be a little more proactive in defending myself and not leaving it all up to my defensemen. I knew I was getting the message across when I nudged one particularly large player who was in the blue paint, and he actually pressed back. That's when I gave him as hard a shove as I dared with the side of my blocker in his back, and he let up. There's only so much I can do against someone who outweighs me by 50-75 lbs, but I'm learning how to do what I can.

All within the rules, of course.