Silverhawks debut (again), and watching Rinne

Back when the core of us who shifted from outdoor roller hockey to indoor ice, we joined the Instructional League and were given the name Silverhawks. The league at that time gave out new names to each team each season, and most seasons we had some form of "Hawks" in our name. Now that the leagues have gotten so skewed and the D league is ridiculously faster than it used to be when we moved up, we're back in the Instructional League (which is also quite a bit faster than it used to be), and when we needed a name, Silverhawks seemed the natural choice. We didn't want to stick with "Hawks", because we'd end up with "Hawks AIL" on the schedule since there is still a Hawks in the D league. Plus it has the added advantage of conveying our old fart status.

I was really nervous going into our game on Monday night. I haven't been in the role of team organizer before, and this season that task fell to me. We have three groups of people forming this team; former Hawks, a few Quarry Cats, and a few guys no one knows that the rink put on our team to give us enough players. Being the mother hen that I am, I was nervous about everyone getting along, and hoping that the "new guys" would be cool and not d-bags. We lucked out in that department; they seem like good guys. We had to scrounge around for some extra yellow jerseys, since not everyone had one, but we made it work.

Unfortunately our first game was kind of what I expected it would be, with everyone getting used to each other. We lost 7-1, and I think I've played better. A few of those goals my head just wasn't focused the way it should be. But I'm not beating myself up over it. I think we have a decent team, and once everyone becomes more familiar with each other I think we'll do just fine.

And speaking of obnoxious yellow jerseys, I've found another goalie that I just love to watch. Until it's Tuukka-time again, I'll have my eye on Pekka Rinne. He is just pure energy. I am pretty sure he's made of lightning. The other night while watching the Predators I was transfixed, and tweeted "Does Rinne ever stop moving?" One of the things about Rask that I've never quite been able to put my finger on is the way he moves. Rinne has it too, only with more electricity. But it's not wasted energy, he doesn't wear himself out. Rather it's like he feeds off it. It's a kinetic chain of goalie awesomeness. I was pretty satisfied with myself when just a few minutes later, goalie scout extraordinaire @TheGoalieGuild tweeted similar observations in his article "Rinne and the Trait of Constant Motion". (Go read it. He explains it way better than I ever could). Anytime I'm on the same page as Justin I feel pretty smart.

These playoffs have featured some really excellent goalie-watching. Unless you're watching Pittsburgh/Philly, that is. But hey what those games lack in goaltending they make up for in bloodshed, and we all need hockey to go back to the goonery of the 70's/80's, right? But that would be another post. For now I'll just leave it here, and be excited that I have 7 playoff-filled days before I get on a plane for Nationals. Only a week away! It seems like an eternity, with my focus still largely on work crap. I am so looking forward to this trip. Yay hockey!