Road Trip Win and Big Fat Goalie Bag

Danbury, CT isn't nearly as far away as it seems. It took less than 2 hours to get there, but since it's 2 states away, it seems like a big deal to go play there. GoalieHusband and I carpooled to the game with The Mayor (story behind that nickname coming in another post), and that was an event in and of itself. She suggested leaving at 4:30 for our 7:00 game, and with the Long Island fiasco fresh in my memory I asked if she minded if we leave at 4:00. She seemed to think that was a bit excessive, but agreed anyway. No wonder- the game was actually at 8:00. Oops! Oh well, I'd much rather be early than scrambling and late. The extra time allowed us to attempt to find a place to grab a few slices of pizza before the game, which apparently was the meal of choice. A quick poll in the locker room (very scientifically rendered via show of hands) revealed that about 90% of us had pizza that afternoon/evening.

Pizza is now the official meal of the QCats, as we played our butts off and came out with a 3-1 win over a team that dominated us last time (we lost 4-1). Not only did we win, but we won in their inaugural game in their rink (they're a brand new team), which was being filmed for TV. The last time an opposing team had TV cameras at a game, they brought their C squad and creamed us 8-2. Hey if that's what ya gotta do to make yourselves look good on TV.... knock yourself out.

The game rather bizarrely consisted of two 12-minute periods and one 21-minute period (the third). We were scoreless heading into the third period, but used all that extra time to win the game; they didn't score until about 4 minutes left. Actually, they really didn't score at all. Technically, I shut them out. The lone goal was a very weird bounce off my stick and possibly other parts of me. Yeahhhh... I didn't really want that shutout anyway, that's ok.

We put the nail in the coffin with an empty-netter, and everyone agreed it was a fantastic game. Everyone played hard, and we were pressuring like nobody's business. GoalieHusband was the only coach there, and picked up his first solo coaching win. He said he had a blast- and that he's pretty sure he runs a much looser bench than Head Coach does. (Who's shocked? Show of hands?)

The QCats don't have a game again until the 16th, but the Hawks are on the ice tomorrow night (right after QCat practice again... eek). I'll be breaking in my brand new pants during practice, and if all goes well, will use them in the game afterwards. I threw my pads and chest protector on and butterflied a few times in the living room, and they seem like they'll be fine.

But the really exciting part of the Giant Gear Delivery yesterday? The enormous Vaughn tank - I mean, goalie bag. Holy crap is this thing badass. And this is kind of stupid, but even the one "downside" I had been mildly bummed about is a moot point. I had been slightly disappointed that with a bag like this, without the need to carry my pads over my shoulder, I'd lose that in-your-face evidence that yes, I'm the goalie. Vaughn is pretty smart, because the top of the bag has their goalie-silhouette logo, very large, front and center, along with their name all around the sides. So if the giganticness of the bag doesn't say "LOOK OUT, GOALIE COMING THROUGH!", at least the branding does.

As advertised, all of my gear fits in there, with plenty of space for clothes and various other crap (i.e., beer). As a matter of fact, I myself fit in there quite nicely. In my silliness, I jumped into the bag and had GoalieHusband take a picture. Giant Goalie Bag: Goalie not included. Hee hee.