Ants in my pants

I get all agitated the day or so before I go on vacation. GoalieHusband says I have ants in my pants. And goalie pants are big. They fit a lot of ants. Fortunately I've been focused so much on work that I haven't thought much about the trip, but now as departure looms closer I'm in full fidgety mode. I'm not packed yet, but I'll have plenty of time to do that tonight, as I wait around for game time.

Yep, the Silverhawks have a game tonight, at 11:20pm. Normally with such a late ice time I'd take a nap in the evening. No chance of that today. I'll be packing my clothes, and four games' worth of underthings, but my gear is going to have to wait. We'll get home probably a little before 2 a.m., and I'll hang the gear up in the basement, but it's going to get all packed up all over again several hours later. Wooooo is that bag going to be ripe. I didn't even get a lock for it this year; hockey stank is in a theft deterrent class all its own.

We fly out tomorrow afternoon, and I'm bouncing off the walls with excitement. We'll be settled in our condos in plenty of time to catch the Bruins game, which is a damn good thing, because there's a slight possibility Rask might be playing. (If him being the first player on the ice for practice this morning is any indication, that is. I'm not familiar with Bruins goalie pecking order in terms of getting on the ice.) Even better, our first game, which is on Thursday, is in the afternoon. Which means when the Rangers/Sens game starts, my ass will be firmly planted in front of a TV. I will join in with the partying after the game is over- no way am I missing this one! Hopefully Flipper and her husband (with whom we're sharing a condo) will be amused, and not annoyed, by all the shouting that is sure to occur.

As I did on the April Showers trip, I will be taking the GoalieHousehold netbook along, and posting about our games and revelry. But first things first. The Silverhawks face off against PBR. Yes, that is really their name. We seriously can not lose to a team named after a crappy beer. Really, why not just call your team "Urine Colored Water"? Then again, our name isn't so spectacular either, since it makes it sound like we're the house team for the old age home.

Alright. Focus. First Silverhawks, then flying (aaaaah!), then tournament (and playoff hockey!). BOO YAH!

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!