Closure

I think Senator said it best when, the morning after our final Hawks game, he tweeted: "Closure is nice. It provides an opportunity to fully put a thing behind you instead of simply talking about it." He and "Cap" are the other two players who are making the move to the instructional league. It's something all three of us have been considering for a long time (as you know) and I think is really long overdue. So although it's sad to leave such a fantastic group of guys, I know at least for me this is the right decision. And it couldn't have been more completely confirmed than it was with our last game.

I knew it was going to be pretty bad, but I didn't really expect it to be as bad as it was. We lost 11-3, to a team we know from experience is sorely lacking in class. Individually, there are a few guys on that team who aren't too bad, but as a whole, I can't say enough how glad I am to have put that shit behind me. I personally did not have a very good game, but the whole feel of the experience was like a giant F U. The first period, they played possum and we went up 2-0. Then they "woke up" and put the full press on. By the third period we were down oh, I don't know, something like 8-3, and for the final 5 minutes or so they played as if their lives were on the line, just to rub in in our faces. I'm not really sure how necessary it is to set up 4 guys in front of the net when you're up by a score like that, but hey if that's what gets your rocks off, I'm glad I'm gone. They even made a big show of stopping to have a chat with friends on the glass, mid-game, and shooting the puck up at the ceiling to see if they could hit the lights.

I shouldn't be surprised. This is the team that had a big brawl amongst themselves in the final minute of a game in which we actually beat them. Classless to the end. And for that reason, I declined to go through the handshake line. When the other team is putting on a display like that, and actually laughing at your team on the ice, the completely farcical handshake at the end is insult to injury. I've gone through that line after some really chippy games, but that's hockey. This was just flat out mockery, and I had no desire to pretend to show respect.

I couldn't be happier to have that chapter behind me. I'm very much looking forward to the AIL season, and believe me, I'm not going in there thinking it's going to be a piece of cake. But some even competition would be a welcome change instead of the weekly shellacking I was taking in the "D" league. (Which continues to be a source of wry amusement for me. If that's a "D" league, I'm Patrick fucking Roy.) All I can say about that league is: good riddance. I'm sure there are plenty of guys in AIL who don't belong there either, but when the general level is more matched to your own, the few people who stand out aren't as much of an issue as when the general level is over your head to begin with. I'm sure I'll have nights when I come home grumbling and pissed off, but at least I'll have a chance here. A chance for it to be fun again. Because it hasn't  been, not for a very long time.