It's a good thing I don't have anything important to do today, because I've just wasted a fair amount of time reading through my own blog, looking for a post that I know is there somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can find it. It's one in which I mention talking to a young girl in the "women's locker room", a kid who was maybe about 12, and was getting dressed in ref's gear. I admired her gumption and then realized her dad was one of our (at the time) drinking buddies, who is also a ref. I've searched on "daughter", I've searched on "dad", "kid", "open hockey", "referee", all to no avail. I've been looking for it because I ran into her again today when I came off the ice after open hockey. I barely recognized her- it's been quite a few years since that day, and I think she's about 17 now. In fact, I only had a vague "I think I know this girl" feeling until she started talking and said her name in a story about how she can't hide in her room away from the relatives for very long before someone calls for her. Hopefully she didn't notice that until that point I wasn't exactly sure who she was, but she is quite a talker so maybe she didn't pick up on it. She did say that she always liked asking "older adults" what made them start playing hockey. "So, what made you start playing?", she asked. Damn. Thanks, kid.
Feeling old was apparently the theme of the day though. I'd completely forgotten this morning when I was scraping my windshield in the dark, getting ready to head to the rink, that duh... it's Thanksgiving. Which means all the college kids are home from school. It's probably a good thing, too, or I would have psyched myself out. I played a mediocre game. I had some pretty good saves, but I had some craptastic goals as well. I think the problem was mostly timing. A couple of those guys had the puck on their stick for about a nanosecond before letting a shot loose. I was the only goalie though, so I guess it was better than no goalie at all. And as such, I switched ends every ten minutes.
You know I hate that. I hate to admit it, but I get all mixed up when I have to do that. If I have a shift on the bench in between it's not too bad. But going right from one end to the other gets all my wires crossed and sometimes I have to remind myself that the other guys are the bad guys now. In fact when we were warming up, I saw a guy in a burgundy Spartak jersey, and thought about this incident from several years ago. Wouldn't you know it, I did almost the same damn thing, and even worse, it was the same damn guy! (Has to be. I've only ever seen one guy in a Spartak jersey, but he seemed a little young so maybe he was borrowing it). I'd started out in net for dark, and then switched to the light side after 10 minutes. I saw Mr. Spartak coming down the boards towards me, and forgot he was my enemy. Fortunately, it probably looked to everyone else like I just didn't get to my post fast enough- he fired and it hit my calf as my brain went "OH! Shit!" and I moved, too slowly, over to the post. Hopefully no one heard me yelling "got time" to him just seconds before that.
Seriously. What the hell is wrong with me. I don't get it. It's really embarrassing to be confused that easily. At least this time it was nowhere near as blatant. But I think it might have also had something to do with the fact that it was the same guy. My brain was already in that "hey remember the time you gave the puck up to the wrong guy?" mode so maybe that made it more likely to happen. Who knows. I also haven't played open hockey in an eon, so was kind of out of that rhythm. There's another session tomorrow morning, and as of now I stupidly plan on going to that one as well. I'm only on one team this year, so am on the ice once, maybe twice a week, as opposed to 3 or 4 times. I need to keep up the momentum or I'll get really out of shape. As it was, I was pretty gassed today after only an hour.
Part of that is my own fault. I've gotten extremely inconsistent lately with my workouts. In fact I feel like I'm letting Maria down. I don't know why, I just don't have the motivation or follow-through that I used to have. So I've taken her advice and made a list of my goals. I'm going to do it each week, and I'm admittedly starting pretty small this week. (The theory is, if I start small I won't scare myself off). The only problem is, I wrote "GOALS" at the top of the page... and then thought hey wait a minute. "Goals" are kind of the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve here. So I crossed it out and wrote "TARGETS". This week my goals are to stretch every day, and either work out or play hockey every day from now until Sunday. So here it is. If I'm not on the ice tomorrow morning, my ass better be in the gym. Sunday night I'll make a list for next week. This better work, because I'm pretty fed up with myself and my lack of motivation.
Showing posts with label open hockey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label open hockey. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2012
Saturday, September 3, 2011
I Haven't Showered Yet
Just thought you should know that. Such is my dedication to my blog. (Really, I just wanted to finish my coffee first). Today was the last of the Saturday morning open hockey sessions of the summer. It wasn't my best game ever, that's for sure. I wasn't horrendous- I've certainly played worse- but I just couldn't get into the zone. There were three other goalies, so we were rotating 10 min on and 10 min off, and I'm sure that had something to do with it. Plus, I think I left my balls at home today. I just wasn't being aggressive enough, wasn't challenging. I also desperately need to sharpen my skates. They have no edge whatsoever and my feet went out from under me a few times. Not good.
But, speaking of balls, I've got a great phrase to enter into the hockey lexicon. One of the goalies took a really hard shot to a really bad area. He tried to gut it out but ended up limping off to the bench. When my shift was over I skated by and asked him if he was ok and he replied "Yeah, I'm alright. Just grazed the undercarriage there." This guy's a real pisser, running his mouth (in a non-annoying way) for most of the game. He's also super friendly and supportive of other goalies; it's not unusual for him to yell out "Nice save!" all the way from the other end of the ice. As silly as it sounds, that bolsters my confidence. So hats off to the big guy. He sat on the bench for a bit but decided to call it a day. I hope he went home and sat on a giant block of ice. As the guy on the bench next to me observed "That's a shitty way to end the Saturday season."
Saturday season may be over, but the Hawks season is in full swing. We've had four games so far and our record is... get ready for this... 2-2!!!! And, having won our last two games, we're officially on a winning streak. Both wins were satisfying for reasons other than the W, but the last game was probably the best I've felt about a win (not counting tournament-winning games). We had all of 8 skaters, and were going up against one of the faster teams in the league. We battled and battled and came out with an all-around awesome team win. I think I had a really good game myself, and was even complimented by one of the refs at the end of the game.
That game was on the 25th, and our next game isn't until the 11th. At 11pm. After which we have another 11pm game the next night. Not sure how that kind of scheduling happens but that's the way it goes. That's Sunday and Monday, and then on Wednesday of that week the QCats have their first practice of the season. Which means: hockey season is almost here!! Not much longer now to wait....
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Hellloooo? Anyone Down There????
Every now and then I have an experience that I don't really enjoy all that much, but I end up thinking "well if nothing else, this will make for a good blog post". Last night was one of those nights. I was asked to sub in a rink quite a good distance away (over an hour). A few of my QC teammates play with this group during the summer, a group I thought was a league, but it turned out to be more like quasi-pickup hockey. It's mostly girls home from college, with a few older women mixed in. They play 3 periods of running time, and have one ref. It was a pretty decently paced game, and I would have had a lot of fun if not for the bizarre rink conditions.
It was a disgustingly hot and humid day in our area yesterday, and when we got to the rink, we saw that there was quite a bit of fog hovering over the ice surface. By the time we'd dressed and were out for our time slot, it wasn't hovering anymore. It was a dense bank of solid white. I literally couldn't see much further than my own blue line. If there were players in the neutral zone between the red line and our blue line, I could very vaguely make out their shapes. But if they went past the red line, they disappeared completely. The only reason I knew there was a goalie at the other end was because I heard the puck hitting his pads and stick.
It was extremely disorienting, as once play moved out of my zone I basically just had to stand there and wait for players to materialize out of the fog. At least, at first that's what I did. But as you can imagine, if there was that much fog in the rink, it was pretty warm, and eventually my glasses started fogging up as well. The only way I could keep them clear was to keep moving. So while play was in the other end, I'd skate back and forth in front of my net to keep the air flowing over my lenses. It was really frustrating, yet somehow I managed to make several good saves, quite a few on the best player there as well. But between the fog on the ice and on my glasses, the thickness of the air and the fact that there was a hint of mildew hanging around, I was having trouble breathing by the end of the game.
The fog wasn't the only strange thing about the night, either. I actually got my first penalty minutes ever. Don't get too excited, I didn't actually earn them. In fact, if I'd known I was going to get called for this I would have put a little elbow grease into it to make it at least somewhat satisfactory.
I think the best way to describe this is to use MsConduct's favorite illustrative device: the stick figure drawing. Please be nice... I really suck at this.
Frame 1
Frame 2
Yes, that's right. She skated into MY CREASE and tripped over MY LEG as I was doing my goalie thing and moving IN MY CREASE to get set for a shot. I'm pretty sure I heard a splash as she dove onto her stomach. And somehow ***I*** got called for interference on that. Silly me, I guess I should get out of the way of players making a beeline for MY FUCKING CREASE? I chirped about it and one of my D shrugged and said "you might as well have hit her harder". I swear I thought to myself "If gionta182 was here, her head would be exploding right now". Haha.
That was about a minute before the end of the period, and it only got weirder when I got back to the bench. Someone asked me how I was doing, and I said fine, but wasn't sure what that call was all about. One of the players, I think the same D who commented to me that I should have hit her harder, waved my comment off and said "Ah, she's Jewish".
*blink blink*
Then she quickly added "You're not Jewish are you?"
I literally spit out my water. No.... I'm not. But, ummmm.... wtf??? I skated back to the net, played the last period, and wasn't all that sad when it was all over.
I have to tell you, that comment bugged me all day. Why in the world would she pull that out of nowhere? What the hell does that have to do with anything???? I was discussing it with a friend today and she pointed out that the area where the rink is located is known for being a very large Jewish population. Ok... well I guess that kind of explains where that came from but, yeah that really doesn't make it better.
Very, very strange. I don't know if I'll be asked back, but if I am I think I'll pass. That's a really long way to drive to play a game you can't see in a rink you can't breathe in.
And now I'm off for a Hawks game. LET'S KICK IT, BOYS.
It was a disgustingly hot and humid day in our area yesterday, and when we got to the rink, we saw that there was quite a bit of fog hovering over the ice surface. By the time we'd dressed and were out for our time slot, it wasn't hovering anymore. It was a dense bank of solid white. I literally couldn't see much further than my own blue line. If there were players in the neutral zone between the red line and our blue line, I could very vaguely make out their shapes. But if they went past the red line, they disappeared completely. The only reason I knew there was a goalie at the other end was because I heard the puck hitting his pads and stick.
It was extremely disorienting, as once play moved out of my zone I basically just had to stand there and wait for players to materialize out of the fog. At least, at first that's what I did. But as you can imagine, if there was that much fog in the rink, it was pretty warm, and eventually my glasses started fogging up as well. The only way I could keep them clear was to keep moving. So while play was in the other end, I'd skate back and forth in front of my net to keep the air flowing over my lenses. It was really frustrating, yet somehow I managed to make several good saves, quite a few on the best player there as well. But between the fog on the ice and on my glasses, the thickness of the air and the fact that there was a hint of mildew hanging around, I was having trouble breathing by the end of the game.
The fog wasn't the only strange thing about the night, either. I actually got my first penalty minutes ever. Don't get too excited, I didn't actually earn them. In fact, if I'd known I was going to get called for this I would have put a little elbow grease into it to make it at least somewhat satisfactory.
I think the best way to describe this is to use MsConduct's favorite illustrative device: the stick figure drawing. Please be nice... I really suck at this.
Frame 1
Frame 2
Yes, that's right. She skated into MY CREASE and tripped over MY LEG as I was doing my goalie thing and moving IN MY CREASE to get set for a shot. I'm pretty sure I heard a splash as she dove onto her stomach. And somehow ***I*** got called for interference on that. Silly me, I guess I should get out of the way of players making a beeline for MY FUCKING CREASE? I chirped about it and one of my D shrugged and said "you might as well have hit her harder". I swear I thought to myself "If gionta182 was here, her head would be exploding right now". Haha.
That was about a minute before the end of the period, and it only got weirder when I got back to the bench. Someone asked me how I was doing, and I said fine, but wasn't sure what that call was all about. One of the players, I think the same D who commented to me that I should have hit her harder, waved my comment off and said "Ah, she's Jewish".
*blink blink*
Then she quickly added "You're not Jewish are you?"
I literally spit out my water. No.... I'm not. But, ummmm.... wtf??? I skated back to the net, played the last period, and wasn't all that sad when it was all over.
I have to tell you, that comment bugged me all day. Why in the world would she pull that out of nowhere? What the hell does that have to do with anything???? I was discussing it with a friend today and she pointed out that the area where the rink is located is known for being a very large Jewish population. Ok... well I guess that kind of explains where that came from but, yeah that really doesn't make it better.
Very, very strange. I don't know if I'll be asked back, but if I am I think I'll pass. That's a really long way to drive to play a game you can't see in a rink you can't breathe in.
And now I'm off for a Hawks game. LET'S KICK IT, BOYS.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Dick jokes, head shots and good fun hockey
Some goalies get chapped if there are three goalies at an open hockey session. Not me, not if it's a full two hour session and I'm playing with guys who skate as fast as these guys do. Twenty minutes on, ten minutes off, switching sides, works out quite well in those situations. Plus it allows me to catch some of the bench chatter. Which, with these guys, is usually pretty good. During one of my rest periods, the guys had me cracking up, and I even joined in. (I'm usually really quiet and don't say much). There's one poor SOB whose last name is Weiner- or so we assume considering it's on the back of his jersey. Last week as soon as Ringleader saw it he announced that Anthony Weiner had come to play hockey with us, and would probably "twitter" about the game later. The guy was there again this week, and while I was on the bench he was out on the ice and Ringleader & friends were having a good time doing play by play.
"And a nice tip by Weiner..."
"Watch out, Weiner's at the back door..."
Even I piped up: "Weiner's in the slot!"
That got a good laugh out of Ringleader, who repeated it (I'd said it kind of quietly) and then said "Look at Maalivahti jumpin' in. Nice one."
As for the game, I had a bit of a slow start, and found myself thinking at one point "damn I guess I left my balls at home today". I wasn't challenging enough, and with this group, if you don't challenge, you're done. The very first shot I faced was from White Gloves Dude walking in on a breakaway. White Gloves Dude has a sick shot and if I think about it too much, he intimidates the hell out of me. But I've had success against him in the past, by - you guessed it! - being aggressive and challenging. This morning though, he came straight down the middle and flicked it over my shoulder. Oops. We scored about 10 seconds after that though, so I felt a little better.
Still, I wasn't really "on" until my next shift, on the other end, which was the more active end in terms of shots. Just before I went out for that shift, I'd had a conversation with one of the D on the bench about taking shots to the head. Apparently that conversation jinxed both of us, because not only did I go out onto the ice and subsequently take a real hard one right to the grill, I ended up taking two more to the face over the course of the game, and even he got in the way of one. All I can say is, good thing he wears a cage. That would have been ugly. But it was after that shot that I woke up and started playing a lot better. I really don't know why that happens but I'm 'this close' to telling the Hawks to slip a head-hunter in during warm-ups. Senator (who was also there today) even suggested it once. I'm pretty sure he was mostly kidding though. I mentioned this tendency on twitter, and one person said it makes you more aware of what's going on around you, and another said it clears out the cobwebs. While I'm sure the first is really the case, it sure feels more like the second. It's kind of like... *dink!* Blink blink. Ooohhh hey, look how much more focused I am! Look how much sharper my movements are now! Really weird.
When all was said and done and the zamboni chased off the 8 winded skaters who were left and me and the other very tired goalie, I had 90 minutes of actual ice time this morning. No wonder I'm completely wiped, even though I took a nap, and constantly hungry, even though I've been eating all day. All I can say is, I am really glad there were three of us today. It would have been brutal to not have any breaks. I'm going to do it all over again next week though. Three different people asked if I'd be coming out; evidently some of them come from the city and hate to make the trip unless they know there's going to be at least one goalie. Too bad I completely forgot there's a possible Goat Rodeo on Friday night. At midnight. So if that is really going down, I might as well just sleep at the rink. Because there's no way I'm going to miss a Goat Rodeo, and there's no way I'm going to not show up on Saturday when I told a bunch of different people I'd be there. And I think I'm tired today...
"And a nice tip by Weiner..."
"Watch out, Weiner's at the back door..."
Even I piped up: "Weiner's in the slot!"
That got a good laugh out of Ringleader, who repeated it (I'd said it kind of quietly) and then said "Look at Maalivahti jumpin' in. Nice one."
As for the game, I had a bit of a slow start, and found myself thinking at one point "damn I guess I left my balls at home today". I wasn't challenging enough, and with this group, if you don't challenge, you're done. The very first shot I faced was from White Gloves Dude walking in on a breakaway. White Gloves Dude has a sick shot and if I think about it too much, he intimidates the hell out of me. But I've had success against him in the past, by - you guessed it! - being aggressive and challenging. This morning though, he came straight down the middle and flicked it over my shoulder. Oops. We scored about 10 seconds after that though, so I felt a little better.
Still, I wasn't really "on" until my next shift, on the other end, which was the more active end in terms of shots. Just before I went out for that shift, I'd had a conversation with one of the D on the bench about taking shots to the head. Apparently that conversation jinxed both of us, because not only did I go out onto the ice and subsequently take a real hard one right to the grill, I ended up taking two more to the face over the course of the game, and even he got in the way of one. All I can say is, good thing he wears a cage. That would have been ugly. But it was after that shot that I woke up and started playing a lot better. I really don't know why that happens but I'm 'this close' to telling the Hawks to slip a head-hunter in during warm-ups. Senator (who was also there today) even suggested it once. I'm pretty sure he was mostly kidding though. I mentioned this tendency on twitter, and one person said it makes you more aware of what's going on around you, and another said it clears out the cobwebs. While I'm sure the first is really the case, it sure feels more like the second. It's kind of like... *dink!* Blink blink. Ooohhh hey, look how much more focused I am! Look how much sharper my movements are now! Really weird.
When all was said and done and the zamboni chased off the 8 winded skaters who were left and me and the other very tired goalie, I had 90 minutes of actual ice time this morning. No wonder I'm completely wiped, even though I took a nap, and constantly hungry, even though I've been eating all day. All I can say is, I am really glad there were three of us today. It would have been brutal to not have any breaks. I'm going to do it all over again next week though. Three different people asked if I'd be coming out; evidently some of them come from the city and hate to make the trip unless they know there's going to be at least one goalie. Too bad I completely forgot there's a possible Goat Rodeo on Friday night. At midnight. So if that is really going down, I might as well just sleep at the rink. Because there's no way I'm going to miss a Goat Rodeo, and there's no way I'm going to not show up on Saturday when I told a bunch of different people I'd be there. And I think I'm tired today...
Monday, July 4, 2011
Now Leaving: Funkytown
I smell like a locker room, my hair is plastered to my head, and yet I'm sitting here blogging instead of taking a shower, because I just can't wipe the perma-grin off my face. Open hockey on Saturday morning was awesome. But open hockey today? Off the friggin charts. Myself included. It was Ringleader's group today, along with half the Russian Federation, and I can't figure out what it is about those guys, but they always bring my game way up. It's got to be something besides just their talent level and speed. There are other times that I play open hockey with guys as good and fast as they are, but it's not the same. There's something about this group that kicks the goalieness into overdrive. Maybe it's the intensity. That's the only thing I can come up with at the moment, as I sit here basking in hockey afterglow.
I did allow a few crappy goals, but thankfully they were outnumbered by my surprisingly good saves. Even a few stick-banging-hollering-on-the-bench saves. Yeah, I'll take that and keep it in my back pocket, thank you. I also got some praise from a guy who I don't think gives it out too often. He's one of the Russian guys, and "stern" just doesn't come close to describing his natural facial expression. You know that scene in Miracle, right before the game against the Soviets, when Herb Brooks passes the Soviet coach & team, and nods and says hi to them and just gets cold stares? That's how this guy reads. He plays D, and takes the game very seriously, and I think he was a little pissed off with me on Saturday. I played on his end for the first 20 minutes, and either wasn't awake or wasn't warmed up, because I was pretty crappy. (Fortunately I got right into the zone after that). But today, I got not one, but two "good save"s and a tap on the pads. Whoa.
So I think I might finally be climbing out of my deep dark funk. And I apologize for all the moping lately, because I guess that doesn't make for very interesting reading. But it's honest, and this is my blog. I credit several things; the persistence to push through it, working out, and getting my ass to these open hockey sessions. Some pep talks from @winnipegmac didn't hurt either. ;) I feel good again, I feel strong, I feel confident. I'm challenging more. GoalieBrain is back. Next Hawks game is tomorrow night. Let's get us a win, boys.
I did allow a few crappy goals, but thankfully they were outnumbered by my surprisingly good saves. Even a few stick-banging-hollering-on-the-bench saves. Yeah, I'll take that and keep it in my back pocket, thank you. I also got some praise from a guy who I don't think gives it out too often. He's one of the Russian guys, and "stern" just doesn't come close to describing his natural facial expression. You know that scene in Miracle, right before the game against the Soviets, when Herb Brooks passes the Soviet coach & team, and nods and says hi to them and just gets cold stares? That's how this guy reads. He plays D, and takes the game very seriously, and I think he was a little pissed off with me on Saturday. I played on his end for the first 20 minutes, and either wasn't awake or wasn't warmed up, because I was pretty crappy. (Fortunately I got right into the zone after that). But today, I got not one, but two "good save"s and a tap on the pads. Whoa.
So I think I might finally be climbing out of my deep dark funk. And I apologize for all the moping lately, because I guess that doesn't make for very interesting reading. But it's honest, and this is my blog. I credit several things; the persistence to push through it, working out, and getting my ass to these open hockey sessions. Some pep talks from @winnipegmac didn't hurt either. ;) I feel good again, I feel strong, I feel confident. I'm challenging more. GoalieBrain is back. Next Hawks game is tomorrow night. Let's get us a win, boys.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Blame Twitter
I'm noticing a trend. Twitter is making me a terrible blogger. I vent my spleen in short bursts there, and then never come here and write out the whole story. Since my last post, I've played a Hawks game (first back on the ice with them!), a game of open hockey, and attempted to play another... but haven't written squat about any of it. That trend has to change, especially with the tournament coming up. We're bringing the netbook, and I definitely have to write at least a few times while we're gone, because there's no way I'm going to be able to cram 5 days of hockey and vacation into one post when I get back. Well hey, there's always the @Geffman47 twitlonger approach. Haha.
The Hawks game was a re-match against the team that beat us for the championship. We won 9-6. I'm happy about the win, but not happy about the goal total. A couple were impossible screens, one shouldn't have counted at all but the ref just wanted to go home, and the rest... well I should have had those. At no time were we trailing, though. We went up 2-0 in the first, but they came back, and then we just traded goals from there. It felt great to get that win, but like I said I wasn't thrilled with my play.
GoalieHusband had a rare weekday off of work, so I took 2 hours of personal time myself and we hit open hockey Wednesday morning. I am so spoiled by morning open hockey at that rink. General lack of douchebags, great skill level and pace, and I just seem to really do well there. This time I really killed it. There was one hot-shot who had to do everything himself, but he was easy to handle, since with a guy like that you never have to worry about the pass. There was another guy who was really good, and got a few breakaways on me on my first shift, but I stoned him every time. Man that felt good.
We intended to play some more open hockey this weekend, but the rink that has stood us up like a lousy girlfriend several times screwed us over again. Shame on us for going back after a few years expecting anything different. Here's a hint, South Mountain Arena: if you have ADULT OPEN HOCKEY listed on your website, don't allow 10-12 yr olds to sign in, and don't tell parents it's ok if they just skate around on the ice with them. At least they were good enough to give us our money back. But no way in hell will we ever be going there again for "open hockey".
At this point though, I have knots in my stomach already for the upcoming trip to Tampa. But before I get to that hurdle, we have a Hawks game. Tuesday night. Against the Drunk Punks. I can't wait. Hell, my gear's already packed, since I never used it last night. Perfect way to start a hockey vacation; with a hockey game.
Quick reader poll: should I bring my Khabibulin Lightning jersey on the trip? I was going to bring my Ranger jersey, to show my colors, but since they're out of it now... I'm thinking maybe I'll show some local support while I'm down there.
The Hawks game was a re-match against the team that beat us for the championship. We won 9-6. I'm happy about the win, but not happy about the goal total. A couple were impossible screens, one shouldn't have counted at all but the ref just wanted to go home, and the rest... well I should have had those. At no time were we trailing, though. We went up 2-0 in the first, but they came back, and then we just traded goals from there. It felt great to get that win, but like I said I wasn't thrilled with my play.
GoalieHusband had a rare weekday off of work, so I took 2 hours of personal time myself and we hit open hockey Wednesday morning. I am so spoiled by morning open hockey at that rink. General lack of douchebags, great skill level and pace, and I just seem to really do well there. This time I really killed it. There was one hot-shot who had to do everything himself, but he was easy to handle, since with a guy like that you never have to worry about the pass. There was another guy who was really good, and got a few breakaways on me on my first shift, but I stoned him every time. Man that felt good.
We intended to play some more open hockey this weekend, but the rink that has stood us up like a lousy girlfriend several times screwed us over again. Shame on us for going back after a few years expecting anything different. Here's a hint, South Mountain Arena: if you have ADULT OPEN HOCKEY listed on your website, don't allow 10-12 yr olds to sign in, and don't tell parents it's ok if they just skate around on the ice with them. At least they were good enough to give us our money back. But no way in hell will we ever be going there again for "open hockey".
At this point though, I have knots in my stomach already for the upcoming trip to Tampa. But before I get to that hurdle, we have a Hawks game. Tuesday night. Against the Drunk Punks. I can't wait. Hell, my gear's already packed, since I never used it last night. Perfect way to start a hockey vacation; with a hockey game.
Quick reader poll: should I bring my Khabibulin Lightning jersey on the trip? I was going to bring my Ranger jersey, to show my colors, but since they're out of it now... I'm thinking maybe I'll show some local support while I'm down there.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
GoalieBrain Dump
Ahh the holidays. Busy busy, but not much ice time. Booo! That doesn't stop the GoalieBrain though. There are some thoughts rattling around up there so I figured I'd get them out on "paper"... er.... "screen"? *scratches head* Anyway:
It hit me during my last game, and I just never got around to writing about it, how cool it is to be able to identify team-mates solely by their stride. Ok, I guess their size is a visual cue as well. But I might not be able to see someone's jersey, but I can tell just by how they're skating, who they are. That's pretty awesome. I've had that ability with the Hawks for some time, but I only just recently noticed it when playing with the QCats. It made me smile- it was sort of a bonding moment for me, I guess. Man, I love my teams!!!
Just a few nights ago GoalieHusband and I played in a pick-up game with @gionta182 and @hkygrl12 and some of their team-mates. This group has rented ice a few times, evidently, but I guess they needed a goalie, so gionta182 asked if we could come. (What's odd is, when I got there, there were actually two other goalies. And what's even odder is that one of them was a skater just playing goal for that night. But hey, with a 90 minute slot, taking shifts isn't the worst thing in the world.) It was a good skate, and I think I did pretty well. It wasn't until about 45 minutes in that I got scored on. How often does THAT happen in a pick-up game???
Towards the end of the game, my D suddenly disappeared and there was hkygrl12 coming down the ice on a breakaway, with gionta182 not far behind. GoalieBrain perked up for that one. It's always fun to face off against a friend, it adds that little extra competitive spirit. So I came out nice and aggressive to challenge her... and she totally blew it. It's ok, I can say that, because she told Twitter that I scared her into "Kovalchuking" herself. Gotta love it when a new word is coined. (And I'm sure she'll get me next time, so I'm staying humble. Maybe. Hee hee.)
And last but not least, GEAR!!!!!!! Merry Christmas to me! I finally was able to get that new pair of pants I've been wanting for oh, almost a year now. Yay! I also got a new bag. I've been using an old one with a broken zipper ever since my cat peed on my regular one this summer, and it's really a pain in the ass. What's also a pain in the ass is walking through doors and up stairs with a hockey bag balanced on one shoulder and a pair of pads balanced on the other. I always took some kind of dumb pride in the fact that I carried my bag, none of that wheel shit for me, thank you. Guess it's a bit of female machismo (machisma?), proving that hey I may be a girl but I can still lug my gear around without resorting to wheels.
Well, the guys at Goalie Crease made me see the light. Take the stupid machismo thing out of it, and really, it's pretty dumb to be struggling with a load like that when you could just be pulling it around behind you. Add to the fact that I suddenly began having problems with the shoulder I carry my bag on, and I figured maybe it was time to puss out and get a wheeled bag since I needed a new one anyway. I decided if I'm going to be making things simple I might as well go all the way and get the enormous goalie bag that you can put ALL of your gear in, including your pads. I can't wait to just go up to a door, open it and walk through, instead of having to maneuver myself to one side to get the bag through, then pivot slightly to get myself and the pads through, all while holding my sticks in one hand and water in the other. It took me so long to realize this, why? Dumbass.
Anyway, there is yet another reason why this bag will come in handy. I'm going to be *gulp* flying to a tournament in April. Most of you have only come to know me recently and probably don't know that I. Do. Not. Fly. Last time my ass was in a plane was in 2000, and that was for work so I had no choice. And no it has nothing to do with 9/11. But the QCats are going to Womens Rec Nationals (don't get too excited... it's the "over 40" division and last year there were only 4 teams. I'm allowed to go because you're allowed 3 players under 40 but over 35. So there, now you know how old I am.) So yeah, I'm flying with my gear, and somehow I don't think a goalie bag with a broken zipper is going to make it past security. The stench alone will set off the bomb detectors probably. And where the hell was I going to put my pads? So now at least everything will be all zipped up nice and tight and cozy and safe, and the bag handlers won't have to wear HAZMAT suits to load it onto the plane.
OMG did I just say plane? Aaaaaaaaaaaah! I confided in my captains that I am petrified of flying, so they'll have to take good care of me. They assured me that there is a bar right at the gate, so there's no problem. Also GoalieHusband will be going, so that helps too. He may want to smack me by the end of the flight but he'll be there. Yes, this flight is over 4 months away and I'm already stressed out about it. ACK!
Ok. Fun. It's going to be fun. And I have blathered on long enough for a post that's really about nothing. This is one of those ones that no one is reading at this point, isn't it? Hello? Anyone there? Oh well... off to do some work...
It hit me during my last game, and I just never got around to writing about it, how cool it is to be able to identify team-mates solely by their stride. Ok, I guess their size is a visual cue as well. But I might not be able to see someone's jersey, but I can tell just by how they're skating, who they are. That's pretty awesome. I've had that ability with the Hawks for some time, but I only just recently noticed it when playing with the QCats. It made me smile- it was sort of a bonding moment for me, I guess. Man, I love my teams!!!
Just a few nights ago GoalieHusband and I played in a pick-up game with @gionta182 and @hkygrl12 and some of their team-mates. This group has rented ice a few times, evidently, but I guess they needed a goalie, so gionta182 asked if we could come. (What's odd is, when I got there, there were actually two other goalies. And what's even odder is that one of them was a skater just playing goal for that night. But hey, with a 90 minute slot, taking shifts isn't the worst thing in the world.) It was a good skate, and I think I did pretty well. It wasn't until about 45 minutes in that I got scored on. How often does THAT happen in a pick-up game???
Towards the end of the game, my D suddenly disappeared and there was hkygrl12 coming down the ice on a breakaway, with gionta182 not far behind. GoalieBrain perked up for that one. It's always fun to face off against a friend, it adds that little extra competitive spirit. So I came out nice and aggressive to challenge her... and she totally blew it. It's ok, I can say that, because she told Twitter that I scared her into "Kovalchuking" herself. Gotta love it when a new word is coined. (And I'm sure she'll get me next time, so I'm staying humble. Maybe. Hee hee.)
And last but not least, GEAR!!!!!!! Merry Christmas to me! I finally was able to get that new pair of pants I've been wanting for oh, almost a year now. Yay! I also got a new bag. I've been using an old one with a broken zipper ever since my cat peed on my regular one this summer, and it's really a pain in the ass. What's also a pain in the ass is walking through doors and up stairs with a hockey bag balanced on one shoulder and a pair of pads balanced on the other. I always took some kind of dumb pride in the fact that I carried my bag, none of that wheel shit for me, thank you. Guess it's a bit of female machismo (machisma?), proving that hey I may be a girl but I can still lug my gear around without resorting to wheels.
Well, the guys at Goalie Crease made me see the light. Take the stupid machismo thing out of it, and really, it's pretty dumb to be struggling with a load like that when you could just be pulling it around behind you. Add to the fact that I suddenly began having problems with the shoulder I carry my bag on, and I figured maybe it was time to puss out and get a wheeled bag since I needed a new one anyway. I decided if I'm going to be making things simple I might as well go all the way and get the enormous goalie bag that you can put ALL of your gear in, including your pads. I can't wait to just go up to a door, open it and walk through, instead of having to maneuver myself to one side to get the bag through, then pivot slightly to get myself and the pads through, all while holding my sticks in one hand and water in the other. It took me so long to realize this, why? Dumbass.
Anyway, there is yet another reason why this bag will come in handy. I'm going to be *gulp* flying to a tournament in April. Most of you have only come to know me recently and probably don't know that I. Do. Not. Fly. Last time my ass was in a plane was in 2000, and that was for work so I had no choice. And no it has nothing to do with 9/11. But the QCats are going to Womens Rec Nationals (don't get too excited... it's the "over 40" division and last year there were only 4 teams. I'm allowed to go because you're allowed 3 players under 40 but over 35. So there, now you know how old I am.) So yeah, I'm flying with my gear, and somehow I don't think a goalie bag with a broken zipper is going to make it past security. The stench alone will set off the bomb detectors probably. And where the hell was I going to put my pads? So now at least everything will be all zipped up nice and tight and cozy and safe, and the bag handlers won't have to wear HAZMAT suits to load it onto the plane.
OMG did I just say plane? Aaaaaaaaaaaah! I confided in my captains that I am petrified of flying, so they'll have to take good care of me. They assured me that there is a bar right at the gate, so there's no problem. Also GoalieHusband will be going, so that helps too. He may want to smack me by the end of the flight but he'll be there. Yes, this flight is over 4 months away and I'm already stressed out about it. ACK!
Ok. Fun. It's going to be fun. And I have blathered on long enough for a post that's really about nothing. This is one of those ones that no one is reading at this point, isn't it? Hello? Anyone there? Oh well... off to do some work...
Friday, December 24, 2010
Fooled you!
With the Hawks in between seasons, and no practices or games for the next two weeks for the QCats, I find myself suddenly with... NO ICE TIME! Gaaah! I figured I'd hit the regular Friday morning open hockey session this morning, but was kind of dreading dealing with the influx of college kids home on break. Fortunately, the QCats coach rented out ice at another rink, and invited all of us. Only a few of us could make it, so besides me there were only 2 other women, and one (high school? freshman in college?) girl. The rest? With the exception of about 3 "old farts" (who can skate circles around me with their laces tied together), it was High School Hockey morning. Probably about half of them were still in high school and the other half were college age. So much for avoiding that college crowd eh. (Please note: I have no problem with, and quite frequently do, playing in games where the skaters are eons ahead of me skill wise. It's just that in general, the college crowd has a much higher d-bag percentage and I really just don't need that B.S.)
At first I started out grinning like an idiot behind my mask. I'm so lucky to be a goalie- we can get away with playing in games where we're in waaayy over our heads, and its not as obvious as if we were skaters, who had to physically keep up with and win footraces against the other guys. If I was a skater, I'd have hated this game. I did ok for a little while (about 5 whole minutes) and then it was Christmas-tree time. There really was no D at all on that side, and the opposing forwards had breakaway and odd man rush and 2-on-0 after the other, and I did end up getting pretty frustrated. Not that I had any delusions that I was on their level- what was frustrating me was the realization that my body knew what to do, it just couldn't do it quick enough. As each goal was scored, I growled inside (ok maybe once on the outside too) because I knew exactly what I did wrong and what I should have done, I just couldn't do it fast enough. What a humbling feeling.
I guess they got sick of having me on their side because all of a sudden as I was holding the post and tracking the puck behind the net, I moved back towards the middle and there was the other goalie. In my crease. Saying "switch sides". Ok buddy, knock yourself out. Off I went to the other side. I was barely situated before this kid got beat twice on the exact same plays I was getting beat on.
Ok then... maybe it wasn't ALL me. And I feel very guilty for thinking this about a fellow goalie, but man I was kind of glad to see this kid get lit up too. Not only that, but on the other side, there was some actual defense, and I clicked into my groove and started really kicking ass. In fact I only let 1 goal in during that whole 2nd half, and I was horribly screened. (Thanks, Coach.) Plus there was one guy who I just absolutely owned. I know for sure that I kept him scoreless. And at one point one of the kids turned around and said (with surprise in his voice) "hey you're doing great! good saves!" Ha ha. Thanks. Go wash your gear please.
Yeah that's the other thing. Teenage boy hockey players are really, really... fragrant. In the locker room afterward, the other women were talking about how they had to be pretty aggressive on the bench to get a shift, and one said that she spent some time out of the rotation, down at the end of the bench, just because she couldn't stand the smell of sitting amongst all of them. "God they smell bad," she said. "And they were farting."
All in all, it wasn't too bad. I had fun, I definitely got a workout, and got to challenge myself. When I was leaving the ice, one of the adults came over to me and thanked me for coming and said "I really give you a lot of credit, that really took guts". Dude. Thanks for the compliment but relax. It's still hockey. I'm still going to come out here and give it my all regardless of who else is out there. Russians, college kids, high school kids, whatever you throw at me, I'll at least attempt to stop.
So I guess next week I'll go to the Friday morning session after all, college kids or not. F 'em! I'm bringin' it!
At first I started out grinning like an idiot behind my mask. I'm so lucky to be a goalie- we can get away with playing in games where we're in waaayy over our heads, and its not as obvious as if we were skaters, who had to physically keep up with and win footraces against the other guys. If I was a skater, I'd have hated this game. I did ok for a little while (about 5 whole minutes) and then it was Christmas-tree time. There really was no D at all on that side, and the opposing forwards had breakaway and odd man rush and 2-on-0 after the other, and I did end up getting pretty frustrated. Not that I had any delusions that I was on their level- what was frustrating me was the realization that my body knew what to do, it just couldn't do it quick enough. As each goal was scored, I growled inside (ok maybe once on the outside too) because I knew exactly what I did wrong and what I should have done, I just couldn't do it fast enough. What a humbling feeling.
I guess they got sick of having me on their side because all of a sudden as I was holding the post and tracking the puck behind the net, I moved back towards the middle and there was the other goalie. In my crease. Saying "switch sides". Ok buddy, knock yourself out. Off I went to the other side. I was barely situated before this kid got beat twice on the exact same plays I was getting beat on.
Ok then... maybe it wasn't ALL me. And I feel very guilty for thinking this about a fellow goalie, but man I was kind of glad to see this kid get lit up too. Not only that, but on the other side, there was some actual defense, and I clicked into my groove and started really kicking ass. In fact I only let 1 goal in during that whole 2nd half, and I was horribly screened. (Thanks, Coach.) Plus there was one guy who I just absolutely owned. I know for sure that I kept him scoreless. And at one point one of the kids turned around and said (with surprise in his voice) "hey you're doing great! good saves!" Ha ha. Thanks. Go wash your gear please.
Yeah that's the other thing. Teenage boy hockey players are really, really... fragrant. In the locker room afterward, the other women were talking about how they had to be pretty aggressive on the bench to get a shift, and one said that she spent some time out of the rotation, down at the end of the bench, just because she couldn't stand the smell of sitting amongst all of them. "God they smell bad," she said. "And they were farting."
All in all, it wasn't too bad. I had fun, I definitely got a workout, and got to challenge myself. When I was leaving the ice, one of the adults came over to me and thanked me for coming and said "I really give you a lot of credit, that really took guts". Dude. Thanks for the compliment but relax. It's still hockey. I'm still going to come out here and give it my all regardless of who else is out there. Russians, college kids, high school kids, whatever you throw at me, I'll at least attempt to stop.
So I guess next week I'll go to the Friday morning session after all, college kids or not. F 'em! I'm bringin' it!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The chasm of GoalieBrain
Well, I played open hockey yesterday and the only person I gave nightmares to was myself. And maybe anyone playing in front of me. I had a pretty crappy outing but amazingly enough, I just sort of shrugged it off and didn't get down about it. I just felt like I couldn't get into my groove at all. As I mentioned on Twitter, the rink was playing god-awful music (who the heck gets pumped up to play hockey listening to "Cornflake Girl" and "Champagne Supernova"???). It's fine though. I guess that just means I'm saving my "A" game for the Hawks on Sunday night.
Speaking of Twitter, I guess I never realized how completely stream-of-consciousness my tweets are. (That's kind of the point, isn't it?) I'd say 99.9999% of my tweets are hockey related, and about 94% of those are goalie related. The other .00001% are probably rants about traffic or people being complete dillholes in general. But it wasn't until I got this response from a friend (blog reader known as "#14") that made me realize just how completely goalie-centric pretty much everything out of my twitter-mouth is. After randomly musing about the way Lundqvist reportedly has his skates cut, I got this IM from him: "You understand that reading your tweets is like walking directly into the chasm of the Goalie Brain, right?" Hmmm. He's right. So be it. It's honestly how my brain works. It's kind of like this: work thought - work thought - work thought - check twitter - work thought - work thought - OMG holy crap I just figured out something I was doing wrong on the ice!!! - work thought - work thought - Rask - Rask - Lundqvist - VarLAmov - work thought - Lehtonen - Rask - Kiprusoff - Rask - work thought.... etc. It's ok though, because on Twitter I've found a little cadre of people whose brains all work the same way. Mostly. Just substitute "Brust" for "Rask" in one person's case. Actually, substitute "Brust" for all of them. (hee hee hee).
On the training front, things are moving along nicely. I'm wrapping up Week Two and find myself a little anxious to get going on Week Three, because the exercise sets are going to change up a little. I peeked ahead at the schedule and saw "Core 2" on some days instead of "Core 1". Woo hoo! Something different! The only thing that's bothering me a little is fitting the schedule into my regular work/hockey schedule. For example, every Wednesday night I have practice at 10pm, which means I'm not home and curled up in bed until 12:30 at the earliest. Sorry but there's no way I'm getting up 4 1/2 hours later to work out. (I have to be up at 5 to work out in order to get to work on time). So Thursdays are out. Then this week on Friday morning I got up early to go play open hockey. So no training on Friday morning either. But it's not like I sat on my ass and did nothing - I was on the ice for an hour and a half. I've resolved it this way: some days on the schedule are just core and flexibility. Some are speed or strength AND core and flexibility. I make sure that I get in all the days with all three so I'm not missing anything. I hope that'll be ok. I just keep reminding myself that something is better than nothing, so if I'm missing a core/flexibility-only day here or there, at least I'm still doing a heck of a lot more to improve myself than I was before I started this. Sleep is important. If I don't sleep, I get sick, and then I can't work out (or play!) at all.
And now that I've really rambled, I doubt there's anyone still reading this. It amazes me that people even want to read this in the first place, since if Twitter is walking into the chasm of GoalieBrain, this has to be complete immersion. Probably only other goalies can stand it, and even then only the obsessive ones. But that's how my brain works... I have to pour stuff out or it rattles around in there and drives me nuts. So thanks for reading, if you've made it this far.
Speaking of Twitter, I guess I never realized how completely stream-of-consciousness my tweets are. (That's kind of the point, isn't it?) I'd say 99.9999% of my tweets are hockey related, and about 94% of those are goalie related. The other .00001% are probably rants about traffic or people being complete dillholes in general. But it wasn't until I got this response from a friend (blog reader known as "#14") that made me realize just how completely goalie-centric pretty much everything out of my twitter-mouth is. After randomly musing about the way Lundqvist reportedly has his skates cut, I got this IM from him: "You understand that reading your tweets is like walking directly into the chasm of the Goalie Brain, right?" Hmmm. He's right. So be it. It's honestly how my brain works. It's kind of like this: work thought - work thought - work thought - check twitter - work thought - work thought - OMG holy crap I just figured out something I was doing wrong on the ice!!! - work thought - work thought - Rask - Rask - Lundqvist - VarLAmov - work thought - Lehtonen - Rask - Kiprusoff - Rask - work thought.... etc. It's ok though, because on Twitter I've found a little cadre of people whose brains all work the same way. Mostly. Just substitute "Brust" for "Rask" in one person's case. Actually, substitute "Brust" for all of them. (hee hee hee).
On the training front, things are moving along nicely. I'm wrapping up Week Two and find myself a little anxious to get going on Week Three, because the exercise sets are going to change up a little. I peeked ahead at the schedule and saw "Core 2" on some days instead of "Core 1". Woo hoo! Something different! The only thing that's bothering me a little is fitting the schedule into my regular work/hockey schedule. For example, every Wednesday night I have practice at 10pm, which means I'm not home and curled up in bed until 12:30 at the earliest. Sorry but there's no way I'm getting up 4 1/2 hours later to work out. (I have to be up at 5 to work out in order to get to work on time). So Thursdays are out. Then this week on Friday morning I got up early to go play open hockey. So no training on Friday morning either. But it's not like I sat on my ass and did nothing - I was on the ice for an hour and a half. I've resolved it this way: some days on the schedule are just core and flexibility. Some are speed or strength AND core and flexibility. I make sure that I get in all the days with all three so I'm not missing anything. I hope that'll be ok. I just keep reminding myself that something is better than nothing, so if I'm missing a core/flexibility-only day here or there, at least I'm still doing a heck of a lot more to improve myself than I was before I started this. Sleep is important. If I don't sleep, I get sick, and then I can't work out (or play!) at all.
And now that I've really rambled, I doubt there's anyone still reading this. It amazes me that people even want to read this in the first place, since if Twitter is walking into the chasm of GoalieBrain, this has to be complete immersion. Probably only other goalies can stand it, and even then only the obsessive ones. But that's how my brain works... I have to pour stuff out or it rattles around in there and drives me nuts. So thanks for reading, if you've made it this far.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
THIS is why I play hockey
Monday morning open hockey was one of those sessions that makes me grin like an idiot behind my mask and just revel in how much I love playing hockey, and love being a goalie. The group of high-skilled guys who end up at our rink every summer when their partially-outdoor rink shuts down was there, as usual. I absolutely love playing with these guys, there's nothing more exhilarating than being in the middle of a really fast, really intense game. It always brings my level of play up a few notches. (Almost always. Sometimes I just flat out suck ass.) Also, it being a holiday, the benches were so full there wasn't room for me to sit on my off-shift. I know the skaters hate that, but I love it, because that means the intensity of the game doesn't wane over the course of the two hours as guys tire out.
The energy level was really high, GoalieHusband was out there with me, and I was kicking ass. So much so that Ringleader even complimented me towards the end of the session. That's high praise- he doesn't throw compliments around. I realized after my first shift what a difference attitude makes. Yes, I know, this is nothing new. I know GoalieBrain already knew this, but sometimes it just takes something to hammer it home once in a while.
On Friday morning, while I was on the bench waiting for my first shift, Ringleader was alerting the other D to one of the opposing forwards. "Don't let him shoot, and if he does, stay out of his way," he warned them. "He's got a pro-quality shot." Naturally, right after he said that, the guy let a blistering wrister loose. Okay, I thought. Duly noted.
Unfortunately, the warning to the D (and seeing evidence right afterwards) had the effect of making me play scared against this guy. I'd see him coming down the wing with the puck and flinch inwardly, thinking "oh shit...", and of course, he scored. Every time. (Well, every time but twice. Once I got lucky and it glanced off my shoulder, and once towards the end of the game I managed to get in front of it and not be killed.) But yesterday was totally different. When I saw this guy was there again, I resolved to specifically play him more aggressively than necessary, to overcome the fact that I was playing way too timidly against him.
It worked like a charm. First shift, the first shot I saw was from this guy. I stepped right up on him and made the save. The D in front of me said "wow! great save!" I was thinking it was a pretty routine save, but the fact that I'd grown some balls was what made it pretty cool. I took another shot from him again soon after, with the same result. I wonder now if that set the tone for the morning, and I played with more confidence because of that. I also had no worries rattling around in my head, for the first time in a little while, so I'm sure that made a difference as well.
Those guys are going back to their other rink soon, and I'm really going to miss playing with them. There's one guy in particular that is just amazing to watch. I didn't even know his name until this week, because everyone simply refers to him as "The Big Russian". Of the several Russians in this group, this guy stands out. He's huge. He looks like a pro out there, not only because of his skill, but because of his size. He's built like a brick shit-house, as GoalieHusband learned this weekend after unwittingly slamming into him and bouncing off like a sack of corn. (And GoalieHusband is pretty big himself). He sometimes wears a practice jersey from a KHL team, so I wouldn't doubt if he was in their system over there at some point. I know it's bordering on goalie sacrilege to be in such awe of a forward, but I could really watch this guy all day.
Oh, and I found out how old Ringleader really is: 57. Wow. I'll be happy if I'm playing for another 5 years. Still playing at 57? That would be awesome.
The energy level was really high, GoalieHusband was out there with me, and I was kicking ass. So much so that Ringleader even complimented me towards the end of the session. That's high praise- he doesn't throw compliments around. I realized after my first shift what a difference attitude makes. Yes, I know, this is nothing new. I know GoalieBrain already knew this, but sometimes it just takes something to hammer it home once in a while.
On Friday morning, while I was on the bench waiting for my first shift, Ringleader was alerting the other D to one of the opposing forwards. "Don't let him shoot, and if he does, stay out of his way," he warned them. "He's got a pro-quality shot." Naturally, right after he said that, the guy let a blistering wrister loose. Okay, I thought. Duly noted.
Unfortunately, the warning to the D (and seeing evidence right afterwards) had the effect of making me play scared against this guy. I'd see him coming down the wing with the puck and flinch inwardly, thinking "oh shit...", and of course, he scored. Every time. (Well, every time but twice. Once I got lucky and it glanced off my shoulder, and once towards the end of the game I managed to get in front of it and not be killed.) But yesterday was totally different. When I saw this guy was there again, I resolved to specifically play him more aggressively than necessary, to overcome the fact that I was playing way too timidly against him.
It worked like a charm. First shift, the first shot I saw was from this guy. I stepped right up on him and made the save. The D in front of me said "wow! great save!" I was thinking it was a pretty routine save, but the fact that I'd grown some balls was what made it pretty cool. I took another shot from him again soon after, with the same result. I wonder now if that set the tone for the morning, and I played with more confidence because of that. I also had no worries rattling around in my head, for the first time in a little while, so I'm sure that made a difference as well.
Those guys are going back to their other rink soon, and I'm really going to miss playing with them. There's one guy in particular that is just amazing to watch. I didn't even know his name until this week, because everyone simply refers to him as "The Big Russian". Of the several Russians in this group, this guy stands out. He's huge. He looks like a pro out there, not only because of his skill, but because of his size. He's built like a brick shit-house, as GoalieHusband learned this weekend after unwittingly slamming into him and bouncing off like a sack of corn. (And GoalieHusband is pretty big himself). He sometimes wears a practice jersey from a KHL team, so I wouldn't doubt if he was in their system over there at some point. I know it's bordering on goalie sacrilege to be in such awe of a forward, but I could really watch this guy all day.
Oh, and I found out how old Ringleader really is: 57. Wow. I'll be happy if I'm playing for another 5 years. Still playing at 57? That would be awesome.
Friday, September 3, 2010
This is hard to type
Firstly, I should warn you, I'm a little loopy on wine and coffee flavored tequila. (Hey my husband said the combo was ok... hope he's right). I figured what more appropriate time to post about the drunk guy at open hockey this morning. Yes, Ringleader, from the "wow that pediatric oncologist just killed my comedic inspiration" post showed up this morning, and I could have sworn I heard him say during warm-ups "hey... I'm drunk... is that going to bother anyone?"
I figured... no that's not what I heard. It's 7:30 in the goddamn morning. He must have said something else. But no. When he came off the ice after his first shift and said "I might throw up on someone. I'm drunk.", I realized my ears were working after all. Turns out it was his birthday today. And he apparently really tied one on the night before, got about 2 hours sleep, and was still drunk when he showed up to play. (Which begs the question, how did he get there... but we'll pretend he didn't drive.)
Since there were 3 other goalies besides me, I got quite a bit of bench time. So here's a conglomeration of Ringleader quotes from the bench. Happy 41st birthday. (Which is total bullshit. If he's 41, I'm 19).
"Wow it's like a battle of wits. Nitwits."
"Look at Vladdy, he looks like a real pro" (someone trips Vladdy and he goes sprawling on his stomach) "Now he looks like an idiot."
Now this one requires some setup. We were rolling 5 D for most of the game. One of the forwards left early, so Ringleader decided that meant one of the D had to go up, so there would only be 4. The consensus on the bench was that one of the guys out on the ice at the time should go up, since no one else wanted to. Of course, they knew that guy wouldn't want to either. They discussed telling him his game was so well-rounded that he should play forward.
Then Ringleader told my husband: Ok. I'll go out next. When he comes off you tell him.
Husband: Nice, I like the way you're passing the buck.
Ringleader: Hey, I'm grooming you for the GM position.
It turned out one of the other guys volunteered to move up to forward. The words were barely out of his mouth when Ringleader said "WTF are you doing sitting with us then. Get out of here!"
Also, I learned that apparently, open hockey on Thanksgiving morning features water bottles full of beer being passed around the bench. You bet your ass I'll be showing up this year.
I figured... no that's not what I heard. It's 7:30 in the goddamn morning. He must have said something else. But no. When he came off the ice after his first shift and said "I might throw up on someone. I'm drunk.", I realized my ears were working after all. Turns out it was his birthday today. And he apparently really tied one on the night before, got about 2 hours sleep, and was still drunk when he showed up to play. (Which begs the question, how did he get there... but we'll pretend he didn't drive.)
Since there were 3 other goalies besides me, I got quite a bit of bench time. So here's a conglomeration of Ringleader quotes from the bench. Happy 41st birthday. (Which is total bullshit. If he's 41, I'm 19).
"Wow it's like a battle of wits. Nitwits."
"Look at Vladdy, he looks like a real pro" (someone trips Vladdy and he goes sprawling on his stomach) "Now he looks like an idiot."
Now this one requires some setup. We were rolling 5 D for most of the game. One of the forwards left early, so Ringleader decided that meant one of the D had to go up, so there would only be 4. The consensus on the bench was that one of the guys out on the ice at the time should go up, since no one else wanted to. Of course, they knew that guy wouldn't want to either. They discussed telling him his game was so well-rounded that he should play forward.
Then Ringleader told my husband: Ok. I'll go out next. When he comes off you tell him.
Husband: Nice, I like the way you're passing the buck.
Ringleader: Hey, I'm grooming you for the GM position.
It turned out one of the other guys volunteered to move up to forward. The words were barely out of his mouth when Ringleader said "WTF are you doing sitting with us then. Get out of here!"
Also, I learned that apparently, open hockey on Thanksgiving morning features water bottles full of beer being passed around the bench. You bet your ass I'll be showing up this year.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Righteous indignation... kind of
Open hockey was unreal this morning. Apparently the entire Russian Federation came out (and were all on the same team, thanks guys), and combined with the guys who are usually there, the game was one of the fastest I've seen. I just about had that shark tank feeling, but then I settled in and actually stopped some shots. There was another female there today, a girl who's on her way to her freshman year of college in a New England school (after spending high school in a New England prep school). She's freakin' good. And sneaky. Usually she stands out a little bit- not today, she blended right in. And her team (white) had some of the most seamless passing and breakouts and plays around the net that I've seen in open hockey. Unfortunately half the time I was playing against them and couldn't really appreciate the beauty of it all that much. But I didn't do too badly.
So where does the righteous indignation come in? Off the ice. You see, I go to work after playing on Friday mornings. So I kinda need to get cleaned up after the game. So do a lot of the guys, but they have no problem with that, their locker rooms have showers in them. The "womens' locker room" is a modified closet, with no facilities. Normally, this is not a big deal. If we're on Rink 1, I just go over to Rink 2 where the figure skaters are flitting around and shower over there. But during the summer there are rugrats everywhere, because it's hockey camp season. So both rinks' locker rooms are packed to the gills. What I end up having to do is hunt around for a locker room that isn't being used at that moment (i.e. all the players are out on the ice) and shower in there as quickly as possible before the occupants return for their stuff. So far, that's worked for me.
Today, I almost got walked in on. I found a locker room that had bags in it but no people. I locked the door, put the garbage can in front of it (as Phantom instructs me to do), and took the quickest shower of my life. No shampoo even. Of course, while I was in the process, someone was banging on the door trying to get in. I dried off (mostly) and jumped into my clean clothes and was just leaving as one of the rink staff was coming toward the locker room with the key in her hand.
Now, I'm not a rabble-rouser. But my feminist leanings got all rankled when I thought about what a colossal pain in the ass it is for me to take a shower, when it's not even an issue for the guys. I could go to management and make a big deal about how there legally have to be equal facilities. But in all honesty, this is only a problem two months out of the year, and I'm not even there every single week because work sometimes interferes. (Imagine! Work interfering with hockey!) After bitching about it on Facebook and IM, I felt a little better. But I still think we should at least have a freakin' shower.
What the womens' locker room lacks in sanitary facilities though, it makes up for in entertainment. As I think I've mentioned before, the ref's/coach's room is on the other side of the wall. And there's a big hole in the sheetrock way up at the ceiling. (Yeah, no one's got a camera in there AT ALL...) So I get to hear all kinds of amusing "guy conversations". Today there were several dudes in there, by the sound of it. As I'm packing my gear away I hear...
Voice: Oh come on! Are you fucking kidding me?!?!? FUCK! [pause] Who stole all the goddamn toilet paper????
There was uproarious laughter from the other dudes, accompanied by more swearing from the poor soul stranded in the bathroom stall.
Dude: Hey Kevin how's it going in there?
Voice: Fuck you, man.
More laughter.
Yeah.... sometimes I'm glad I'm a chick after all.
So where does the righteous indignation come in? Off the ice. You see, I go to work after playing on Friday mornings. So I kinda need to get cleaned up after the game. So do a lot of the guys, but they have no problem with that, their locker rooms have showers in them. The "womens' locker room" is a modified closet, with no facilities. Normally, this is not a big deal. If we're on Rink 1, I just go over to Rink 2 where the figure skaters are flitting around and shower over there. But during the summer there are rugrats everywhere, because it's hockey camp season. So both rinks' locker rooms are packed to the gills. What I end up having to do is hunt around for a locker room that isn't being used at that moment (i.e. all the players are out on the ice) and shower in there as quickly as possible before the occupants return for their stuff. So far, that's worked for me.
Today, I almost got walked in on. I found a locker room that had bags in it but no people. I locked the door, put the garbage can in front of it (as Phantom instructs me to do), and took the quickest shower of my life. No shampoo even. Of course, while I was in the process, someone was banging on the door trying to get in. I dried off (mostly) and jumped into my clean clothes and was just leaving as one of the rink staff was coming toward the locker room with the key in her hand.
Now, I'm not a rabble-rouser. But my feminist leanings got all rankled when I thought about what a colossal pain in the ass it is for me to take a shower, when it's not even an issue for the guys. I could go to management and make a big deal about how there legally have to be equal facilities. But in all honesty, this is only a problem two months out of the year, and I'm not even there every single week because work sometimes interferes. (Imagine! Work interfering with hockey!) After bitching about it on Facebook and IM, I felt a little better. But I still think we should at least have a freakin' shower.
What the womens' locker room lacks in sanitary facilities though, it makes up for in entertainment. As I think I've mentioned before, the ref's/coach's room is on the other side of the wall. And there's a big hole in the sheetrock way up at the ceiling. (Yeah, no one's got a camera in there AT ALL...) So I get to hear all kinds of amusing "guy conversations". Today there were several dudes in there, by the sound of it. As I'm packing my gear away I hear...
Voice: Oh come on! Are you fucking kidding me?!?!? FUCK! [pause] Who stole all the goddamn toilet paper????
There was uproarious laughter from the other dudes, accompanied by more swearing from the poor soul stranded in the bathroom stall.
Dude: Hey Kevin how's it going in there?
Voice: Fuck you, man.
More laughter.
Yeah.... sometimes I'm glad I'm a chick after all.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Real Life
For those of us playing in beer leagues or at drop-ins, hockey is a hobby but also an escape. For the most part I don't know what the other guys do for a living, unless it's part of their nickname. We've got one guy who is a doctor and is known simply as "Doc". (Hockey players are so creative). I honestly don't even know what his name is- everyone just calls him Doc.
Yesterday while I was taking my turn hanging out on the bench, the ringleader of these open hockey sessions (who talks a blue streak and is pretty entertaining) was trying to pump up our team, since we kept losing. (We play to 5 goals and then re-set).
Ringleader: Alright boys, we gotta get back in this. Come on Doc, go at it like it's cataract surgery!
Random Guy: He's an eye doctor?
Ringleader: I have no clue. Hey doc! What kind of doctor are you?
Doc: Oncologist. Pediatric oncology. (Doc jumps onto the ice for his shift)
{silence}
Ringleader: Damn. There's nothing funny about that.
Me: No... there's not.
Ringleader: Yeah that just took the wind out of my comedic sails. Nothing I can say to that.
So hats off to you, Doc. If anyone needs an escape, for sure it's you.
Yesterday while I was taking my turn hanging out on the bench, the ringleader of these open hockey sessions (who talks a blue streak and is pretty entertaining) was trying to pump up our team, since we kept losing. (We play to 5 goals and then re-set).
Ringleader: Alright boys, we gotta get back in this. Come on Doc, go at it like it's cataract surgery!
Random Guy: He's an eye doctor?
Ringleader: I have no clue. Hey doc! What kind of doctor are you?
Doc: Oncologist. Pediatric oncology. (Doc jumps onto the ice for his shift)
{silence}
Ringleader: Damn. There's nothing funny about that.
Me: No... there's not.
Ringleader: Yeah that just took the wind out of my comedic sails. Nothing I can say to that.
So hats off to you, Doc. If anyone needs an escape, for sure it's you.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Tired and happy
We skated again this morning, and it was one of those times when the teams were so uneven that one net was reallllly boring. Fortunately there were 3 of us, so we rotated. The other net was insane. I hopped into that net (unknowingly) right out of the gate and since I missed warmup, my legs were going "WHOAH!!! Hold on there. What exactly are you doing to us?!" Once I warmed up though I did ok. Except for the two dudes who just flat out owned me on breakaways. I bit every time. DAMMIT. I need to watch more video of Lundqvist in shootouts. That dude waits everyone out. I love breakaways/shootouts because of the mental challenge as well as the physical. Who's going to move first? What kind of fake is the skater going to throw at me and think I'll bite on? Fun stuff. Not today though. These two guys were fast and played me like a violin. Oh well. Live and learn.
I will take some smug pride in one save though. There was this one small-ish guy who was very good, and he came down the left wing with the puck and went across the middle and I stayed right with him, and when he got to the right side and shot he had nothing but my chest to shoot at. I gobbled it right up and he went "Agghhhhh FUCK YOU!" Hahahahaha.... I love when I frustrate forwards. It doesn't happen very often, so I have to enjoy it when it does.
I'm really glad I've been able to get on the ice for the last two mornings because tomorrow night we have a rematch against the Drunk Punks. I cannot wait. Revenge is going to be so sweet. (Dear Team: Please participate in my plans for revenge by keeping your heads cool and not giving in to their stupidity. I promise to do the same. Thank you, The Goalie.)
I will take some smug pride in one save though. There was this one small-ish guy who was very good, and he came down the left wing with the puck and went across the middle and I stayed right with him, and when he got to the right side and shot he had nothing but my chest to shoot at. I gobbled it right up and he went "Agghhhhh FUCK YOU!" Hahahahaha.... I love when I frustrate forwards. It doesn't happen very often, so I have to enjoy it when it does.
I'm really glad I've been able to get on the ice for the last two mornings because tomorrow night we have a rematch against the Drunk Punks. I cannot wait. Revenge is going to be so sweet. (Dear Team: Please participate in my plans for revenge by keeping your heads cool and not giving in to their stupidity. I promise to do the same. Thank you, The Goalie.)
Friday, July 9, 2010
Man, I love this!!!
I love my open hockey mornings. But sometimes I get a little apprehensive about them the day before and I don't even really know why. Yesterday I was kind of feeling like that, and of course that just feeds a downward spiral because it's like "ugh what if i suck?" and then it's "oh crap. i thought about sucking. therefore i am going to suck!" and then "aaaahh stop it! no negative thoughts allowed!" And around and around she goes. But a nice little surprise chat with goalie tweep @TheGoalieGuild buoyed my spirits and I ended up rocking out in the car on the way to the rink the next morning, just generally feeling excited to get on the ice. I played pretty well too. Not great, but decent. And anytime I started to get frustrated I would just remind myself: I am out here because I LOVE DOING THIS. That kind of helped.
It also helped that I stoned my coach (who was skating out) on 3 of 4 shots. BOO YAH. I mean come on, how fair is that? He knows all my weaknesses! He even tried to shove me around in the crease a little but I had none of that. Then Goalie Husband gave him a shove on his way out of the zone for good measure. I love when it's like that- laid back and fun.
It was a short session (90 minutes) and there were 2 other goalies, but one of them left early, so I ended up getting a decent amount of ice time. Afterwards I had an interesting experience in the ladies' room. After showering in a very disgusting locker room shower with little flies coming up out of the drain (no wonder the shower "didn't take"), I decided to drag all my beautifying paraphernalia into the ladies' room rather than stay in there with the bugs and the stink. While I was in there putting my face on, a young-ish girl (maybe 15 or 16?) in track pants and skates started talking to me.
Girl: Are you coaching today or are you working?
Me: Huh? Me?
Girl: Yeah. Are you working today?
Me: I don't work here... I was just on the other side playing.
Girl: Oh! You're the goalie!!!
I thought that was kind of cute. I'll just assume that she knows I'm the goalie because she was watching through the glass. Or because she saw my name on the list up front. Not because someone said something like "oh yeah there's this chick goalie who comes on Friday mornings and she's god-awful".
Wait, what was that about confidence? Oh yeah. I has it.
It also helped that I stoned my coach (who was skating out) on 3 of 4 shots. BOO YAH. I mean come on, how fair is that? He knows all my weaknesses! He even tried to shove me around in the crease a little but I had none of that. Then Goalie Husband gave him a shove on his way out of the zone for good measure. I love when it's like that- laid back and fun.
It was a short session (90 minutes) and there were 2 other goalies, but one of them left early, so I ended up getting a decent amount of ice time. Afterwards I had an interesting experience in the ladies' room. After showering in a very disgusting locker room shower with little flies coming up out of the drain (no wonder the shower "didn't take"), I decided to drag all my beautifying paraphernalia into the ladies' room rather than stay in there with the bugs and the stink. While I was in there putting my face on, a young-ish girl (maybe 15 or 16?) in track pants and skates started talking to me.
Girl: Are you coaching today or are you working?
Me: Huh? Me?
Girl: Yeah. Are you working today?
Me: I don't work here... I was just on the other side playing.
Girl: Oh! You're the goalie!!!
I thought that was kind of cute. I'll just assume that she knows I'm the goalie because she was watching through the glass. Or because she saw my name on the list up front. Not because someone said something like "oh yeah there's this chick goalie who comes on Friday mornings and she's god-awful".
Wait, what was that about confidence? Oh yeah. I has it.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Fun with the old guys, and: an epiphany
Friday morning open was great. Not only did I skate my tail off (2 straight hours on the ice, SAWEEET), but a bunch of guys I haven't played with in a long time showed up. These guys usually play at another rink but occasionally come to this one. About 2 years ago they were there all the time, and I loved playing with them. They're all very good, most of them play about 4 times a week, and a few have been at pretty high levels at some point or another. But the thing I like about them is that although they take it pretty seriously (always keep score and play til one team gets 5 goals and then reset), they're also pretty laid back. This group has the feel of my old outdoor roller group- everyone ragging on each other and playing each other hard but not dirty (ok THAT sounded dirty), and just overall a great atmosphere. And though I suck compared to them, and 2 years ago I REALLY sucked compared to them, they've never made me feel like shit. So here's to the McKaye guys. (Plus they have a few Russians. And everyone knows I like Russians.)
Given that atmosphere, I was able to relax and just play, not feeling humiliated like I did a month or so ago with all those college kids out there. I didn't play all that great (started out pretty decent but then switched sides to the No-D-Side and that was pretty frustrating), but I figured something out. And that's always good. Now the trick is to figure out how to fix it. Now comes the pretty boring (to non-goalies) technical goalie talk. You plain old skaters can just skip this if you want.
I discovered that I have instinctively been "cheating" on some lateral movements. For some reason, I only to this to the right side. Let's say I'm at the top left corner of my crease, and I have to get over super-quick all the way to the top right corner. (Like you have to do if you have no D. Which is how I figured this out.) If the pass is far enough out I'll just t-push over, no problem. But if it's close in, I end up doing kind of a combination push/butterfly-slide to get over, regardless of how high the puck is going to be. Which puts me at two disadvantages: 1) I'm already down on the ice so it's real easy to flick the puck right over my shoulder, and 2) I never bring that trailing leg close enough to the leading leg to seal up the 5-hole as I'm sliding across.
So, why do I do this instead of some quick shuffles? Because GoalieBrain knows that I'm too slow to get over if I do that, and this is the fastest way for me to get where I need to be. Push, slide. It's worked great for me in the women's league because as a general rule, they don't get the puck up high. So bam, flash, I'm there, and it looks like I made an awesome save. I get away with it sometimes in the men's league, but I get caught a lot on the gaping 5-hole mid-slide. So somehow, I have to come up with a way to be quicker and stronger with my shuffles. Should I be able to go across the whole crease on one shuffle? Or is two acceptable? (Not sure how many it actually takes, I'll have to check next time). Do I need to strengthen my legs more, to get that push? Or do I just need to do it over and over and over to get faster? (I think it's probably option 2). Also, how do I get myself to bring my trailing leg in as I'm sliding? I think I leave it out because then I'm covering more space, but in reality, because I'm not flexible enough to do a split, there's a big hole right there in the middle. And the guys I play with definitely have the aim to put it right through there. (Yeah yeah, again, dirty sounding. It's hockey. Deal.)
I think I need to noodle this around in my brain a bit more until I figure it out. I'm sure repetition to increase muscle memory would be the answer but I don't have that kind of access to ice time (nor do I have the discipline to kick my own ass the way it would have to be kicked to get this done). I think there might be something I can try in the gym, at least for the strength on the push. Bringing the trailing leg over- that's just going to have to be an adjustment that's made on the ice over time I guess. But yay for identifying a problem. That's the first step to fixing it.
Given that atmosphere, I was able to relax and just play, not feeling humiliated like I did a month or so ago with all those college kids out there. I didn't play all that great (started out pretty decent but then switched sides to the No-D-Side and that was pretty frustrating), but I figured something out. And that's always good. Now the trick is to figure out how to fix it. Now comes the pretty boring (to non-goalies) technical goalie talk. You plain old skaters can just skip this if you want.
I discovered that I have instinctively been "cheating" on some lateral movements. For some reason, I only to this to the right side. Let's say I'm at the top left corner of my crease, and I have to get over super-quick all the way to the top right corner. (Like you have to do if you have no D. Which is how I figured this out.) If the pass is far enough out I'll just t-push over, no problem. But if it's close in, I end up doing kind of a combination push/butterfly-slide to get over, regardless of how high the puck is going to be. Which puts me at two disadvantages: 1) I'm already down on the ice so it's real easy to flick the puck right over my shoulder, and 2) I never bring that trailing leg close enough to the leading leg to seal up the 5-hole as I'm sliding across.
So, why do I do this instead of some quick shuffles? Because GoalieBrain knows that I'm too slow to get over if I do that, and this is the fastest way for me to get where I need to be. Push, slide. It's worked great for me in the women's league because as a general rule, they don't get the puck up high. So bam, flash, I'm there, and it looks like I made an awesome save. I get away with it sometimes in the men's league, but I get caught a lot on the gaping 5-hole mid-slide. So somehow, I have to come up with a way to be quicker and stronger with my shuffles. Should I be able to go across the whole crease on one shuffle? Or is two acceptable? (Not sure how many it actually takes, I'll have to check next time). Do I need to strengthen my legs more, to get that push? Or do I just need to do it over and over and over to get faster? (I think it's probably option 2). Also, how do I get myself to bring my trailing leg in as I'm sliding? I think I leave it out because then I'm covering more space, but in reality, because I'm not flexible enough to do a split, there's a big hole right there in the middle. And the guys I play with definitely have the aim to put it right through there. (Yeah yeah, again, dirty sounding. It's hockey. Deal.)
I think I need to noodle this around in my brain a bit more until I figure it out. I'm sure repetition to increase muscle memory would be the answer but I don't have that kind of access to ice time (nor do I have the discipline to kick my own ass the way it would have to be kicked to get this done). I think there might be something I can try in the gym, at least for the strength on the push. Bringing the trailing leg over- that's just going to have to be an adjustment that's made on the ice over time I guess. But yay for identifying a problem. That's the first step to fixing it.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Mask test...and goalie pilgrimage?
Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend. 90 degrees. Anyone who's smart would be in a nice, cool rink with a gorgeous sheet of ice, right? Right??? I guess me and the 4 other people who showed are the only nuts who think that way. And one of them was another goalie. At first I thought, oh great 3 skaters and another goalie, this is going to suck. But it actually turned out to be quite the workout, because we set the nets up across the boards and the 3 shooters circled around and took shots on both of us and defended against each other. I honestly couldn't figure out exactly what they were doing but hey I just have to pay attention to the rubber flying at me.
And fly it did. One kid was pretty young, just graduated college. He had a wicked shot and burned me glove side more times than I want to attempt to count. But he was cool, not a jerk at all. He liked to flop down and lay on the ice during our breaks and I told him there's no napping in hockey. Haha. But the big success story (other than working harder than I would have in an actual game) was my mask. It doesn't fit as perfectly as it should but it's as close as I'm going to get without paying for a custom mask. And it's damn good. It doesn't rattle around on my face like my old one did, and I can actually feel it against my cheeks! I took a few shots to it too, and it even felt different. I guess the old one would kind of slam against my face when I took a puck to it, but this one is already on my face so I don't get that effect. (And yes, I know that's like, super dangerous. Which is why I have been hot to get a new one.) So, new mask is a win. New pants on the other hand.... not so much. But I'll bitch about that some other time.
And... brought to you by late night drinking... what's scarier than a bunch of goalies together? A bunch of goalies on a pilgrimage. That's right. Sign up here for your Goalie Road Trip. First stop: Finland. So far it's me, @TheGoalieGuild, @msconduct10, @abnmoose2, and GoalieHusband (he's an honorary goalie. he thinks like one, and would have been one if I hadn't enforced the One Goalie Per Household rule.) I'm thinking we could get into an awful lot of trouble together. Set aside the bail money now. Hey, it's a lot safer than Goalie Ghost Hunting.
And fly it did. One kid was pretty young, just graduated college. He had a wicked shot and burned me glove side more times than I want to attempt to count. But he was cool, not a jerk at all. He liked to flop down and lay on the ice during our breaks and I told him there's no napping in hockey. Haha. But the big success story (other than working harder than I would have in an actual game) was my mask. It doesn't fit as perfectly as it should but it's as close as I'm going to get without paying for a custom mask. And it's damn good. It doesn't rattle around on my face like my old one did, and I can actually feel it against my cheeks! I took a few shots to it too, and it even felt different. I guess the old one would kind of slam against my face when I took a puck to it, but this one is already on my face so I don't get that effect. (And yes, I know that's like, super dangerous. Which is why I have been hot to get a new one.) So, new mask is a win. New pants on the other hand.... not so much. But I'll bitch about that some other time.
And... brought to you by late night drinking... what's scarier than a bunch of goalies together? A bunch of goalies on a pilgrimage. That's right. Sign up here for your Goalie Road Trip. First stop: Finland. So far it's me, @TheGoalieGuild, @msconduct10, @abnmoose2, and GoalieHusband (he's an honorary goalie. he thinks like one, and would have been one if I hadn't enforced the One Goalie Per Household rule.) I'm thinking we could get into an awful lot of trouble together. Set aside the bail money now. Hey, it's a lot safer than Goalie Ghost Hunting.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Shark food
Open hockey's been pretty brutal lately on Friday mornings. All the college kids are home and it's so far above my level I can't keep up. I love skating with a higher skilled group because it challenges me and that's how I learn. But there's challenging yourself, and there's throwing yourself into the shark tank. And that's what it feels like I've been doing lately. There were a handful of "regulars" (maybe 4 of us) but other than that it was all 20 yr olds. Oh, and a guy who was probably only slightly older than them, who was clearly dumbing it down but even then was schooling them. And man did he own me. I was his bitch. At least he wasn't an asshole about it. That's all I can ask for. And I did stop him two or three times.
Since it was clear from the get-go that I was going to get my ass handed to me, I was actually ok with the whole thing mentally. I just kept reminding myself to do the best I could do, and concentrate on doing stuff right, and acknowledging that I could only do so much. What was frustrating was realizing that I was just flat out too slow most of the time. I knew what I was doing was right, but I was just moving in molasses compared to them. (And then there were the times when I knew I was doing something wrong and my brain was yelling "what the fuck was THAT?")
Thankfully, it was a 4-goalie morning. I don't think I could have withstood that onslaught for two straight hours, not after the beating my hips and butt took in yoga last night. I was in pain before I even hit the ice. Now? Well I haven't gotten out of my chair in a while so I'm going to just stay put for a bit longer. Two of the other goalies were guys I haven't seen in a while, one of whom I really enjoy playing with. He's super friendly (no, he's not hitting on me, he's friendly to everyone. really. he doesn't shut up. even in the net.) and just insanely good. I love watching this guy play. I think I learn something every time I watch him. Also, he and his buddy have quite the banter going, which makes it interesting. He's a Ranger fan. His buddy's a Devils fan. When they were out there, his buddy let the first goal in, and you heard from the other end of the ice: "MAAAAARRR-TYYYY!"
Not to be outdone, when AwesomeGoalie let in a goal, his buddy tried to answer back with "HENNNNN-RIIIIK"... but it's just not the same. Muahaha. And once on the bench when it was time to change, AwesomeGoalie said to me "go take Marty out, he's fat and tired". Haha. Gotta love a good Marty joke.
League game on Sunday night. Thankfully it's at a decent hour. They saved the 11pm game for Tuesday. *groan* The late nights have most of the team pretty disgruntled, to the point of one player "protesting" by not coming out for the last game. I'm not sure who he thought he was sticking it to, other than his teammates, because we were short that night to begin with. But whatever. I want to play. I'll show up at 11 if I have to, I just want to be out there.
Since it was clear from the get-go that I was going to get my ass handed to me, I was actually ok with the whole thing mentally. I just kept reminding myself to do the best I could do, and concentrate on doing stuff right, and acknowledging that I could only do so much. What was frustrating was realizing that I was just flat out too slow most of the time. I knew what I was doing was right, but I was just moving in molasses compared to them. (And then there were the times when I knew I was doing something wrong and my brain was yelling "what the fuck was THAT?")
Thankfully, it was a 4-goalie morning. I don't think I could have withstood that onslaught for two straight hours, not after the beating my hips and butt took in yoga last night. I was in pain before I even hit the ice. Now? Well I haven't gotten out of my chair in a while so I'm going to just stay put for a bit longer. Two of the other goalies were guys I haven't seen in a while, one of whom I really enjoy playing with. He's super friendly (no, he's not hitting on me, he's friendly to everyone. really. he doesn't shut up. even in the net.) and just insanely good. I love watching this guy play. I think I learn something every time I watch him. Also, he and his buddy have quite the banter going, which makes it interesting. He's a Ranger fan. His buddy's a Devils fan. When they were out there, his buddy let the first goal in, and you heard from the other end of the ice: "MAAAAARRR-TYYYY!"
Not to be outdone, when AwesomeGoalie let in a goal, his buddy tried to answer back with "HENNNNN-RIIIIK"... but it's just not the same. Muahaha. And once on the bench when it was time to change, AwesomeGoalie said to me "go take Marty out, he's fat and tired". Haha. Gotta love a good Marty joke.
League game on Sunday night. Thankfully it's at a decent hour. They saved the 11pm game for Tuesday. *groan* The late nights have most of the team pretty disgruntled, to the point of one player "protesting" by not coming out for the last game. I'm not sure who he thought he was sticking it to, other than his teammates, because we were short that night to begin with. But whatever. I want to play. I'll show up at 11 if I have to, I just want to be out there.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
College Night
After the highs of the tournament I spent a day or so feeling like the worst goalie on the planet (don't ask, the mind of a goalie is a strange thing) and decided that the cure for this malaise was: more hockey. GoalieHusband is off from work this week so we decided to hit our rink's open hockey session from 11:30pm-1am. We'd never been on a Wednesday night and weren't sure what to expect, but it sure wasn't what we got.
When I hit the ice to warm up I thought I was seeing double. But no, my eyes did not deceive me, there were indeed FOUR other goalies besides myself out there. Five goalies! For an hour and a half time slot! Not to mention the rink has a 4 goalie max rule for open hockey, which is why I always get there really early. I guess they didn't feel like enforcing it tonight. Or maybe it was College Night and no one bothered to make the open hockey session a private one. The entire hockey team from a local college descended on the rink. That alone wouldn't have bothered me, it was more the 5 goalie fiasco that really annoyed the hell out of me. I was actually getting a kick out of the college kids. They were skating like bats out of hell, with hands I didn't have a prayer of stopping, and yet it was obvious that they were goofing off. Like greyhounds let out to run for a while.
I had to literally bite the inside of my cheeks to not start giggling at the bench chatter, too. Classify it under "Things I Don't Expect To Hear From Hockey Players", like laughing over everyone's "fun panties". These guys went on at length about different girls' facebook status messages and who was stealing whose girlfriend and who was writing "your girlfriend's a bitch" on whose facebook wall. I thought I might have been transported to the women's U16 team for a bit there. Good stuff.
Unfortunately the dopey bench chatter didn't make up for the fact that I played for a grand total of 16, yes count 'em, 16 minutes. Two 8 minute shifts and then it was time to pack it in. Total. Waste. Of Time. I'm a big proponent of saying no ice time is ever a waste of time, blah blah blah, but jumpin jesus on a pogo stick, I don't need to be up at 2:20 a.m. for having 16 minutes on the ice. So not worth the zombie-state I'll be in tomorrow at work. Grrrr.
When I hit the ice to warm up I thought I was seeing double. But no, my eyes did not deceive me, there were indeed FOUR other goalies besides myself out there. Five goalies! For an hour and a half time slot! Not to mention the rink has a 4 goalie max rule for open hockey, which is why I always get there really early. I guess they didn't feel like enforcing it tonight. Or maybe it was College Night and no one bothered to make the open hockey session a private one. The entire hockey team from a local college descended on the rink. That alone wouldn't have bothered me, it was more the 5 goalie fiasco that really annoyed the hell out of me. I was actually getting a kick out of the college kids. They were skating like bats out of hell, with hands I didn't have a prayer of stopping, and yet it was obvious that they were goofing off. Like greyhounds let out to run for a while.
I had to literally bite the inside of my cheeks to not start giggling at the bench chatter, too. Classify it under "Things I Don't Expect To Hear From Hockey Players", like laughing over everyone's "fun panties". These guys went on at length about different girls' facebook status messages and who was stealing whose girlfriend and who was writing "your girlfriend's a bitch" on whose facebook wall. I thought I might have been transported to the women's U16 team for a bit there. Good stuff.
Unfortunately the dopey bench chatter didn't make up for the fact that I played for a grand total of 16, yes count 'em, 16 minutes. Two 8 minute shifts and then it was time to pack it in. Total. Waste. Of Time. I'm a big proponent of saying no ice time is ever a waste of time, blah blah blah, but jumpin jesus on a pogo stick, I don't need to be up at 2:20 a.m. for having 16 minutes on the ice. So not worth the zombie-state I'll be in tomorrow at work. Grrrr.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I don't care how much yoga you do, your knee's not supposed to bend like that
Day 1 of my 3 days off. Ahhhhh. Got up early (grumble grumble) and went to open hockey. It was pretty packed, but only 1 other goalie. I wasn't sure who I'd run into on a Wednesday morning, as I usually go on Fridays, but I recognized most of the guys there. I don't know what it is lately but all the Super Awesome Guys have been showing up for open. Doesn't do a whole lot for my confidence. But I have to tell my brain to shut the f*** up and just play.
I let in a TON of goals, but come on, its not like I have much of a chance against these guys. I did actually do something right though, which I'm pretty proud of given how incredibly wrong I usually do it. Puck came down to my end and there were 2 dark team guys pursuing it and nary a white team guy in sight. I went out to get it and planned on winging it around the boards behind the net to get it away from the dark guys. Oh did I say I was going to "wing it"? On what planet do I think I can wing a puck around the boards? It moved all of about 2 feet. But I didn't give up on it, I just tried it again, even though a dark guy was closing in on me. I moved it pretty far, to a white team guy, and not only that but as the dark guy went past me I oh so casually turned my stick over and tied his up on his way by. Muahaha.
Also had a beauty of a "oh look my leg and glove are over here now" save on the douchebag who insisted on dangling and dipshitting around and basically showing me up. Dude. You're like really awesome at hockey. Do you need to fart around with the puck in front of me, just out of poke-check range and make me look like a complete ass? Is that what makes you feel good about yourself? I've been playing on ice for three whole years asshat. Congratulations. (I'm not saying take it easy on me. I HATE when people do that. But have some fucking class).
At the very end when there was about a minute left to play and my D decided they'd rather hang around the bench than be out on the ice, a guy came flying in and crashed the net. I let him get close, then went down because didn't think at that point he'd lift it, and I stopped it alright but it apparently didn't occur to him to even attempt to stop and just ran me right over. Literally landed on top of me, pushing my torso back and bending my right knee even further (was already in the butterfly) and landing hard right on top of it. I yelped. I'm not proud of it, but I yelped.
No one gave him any shit about it either, and with just borrowed time left to play until the zamboni kicked us off, I decided to pack it in. Screw that, I don't need to be out there for 3 on 0's and 4 on 1's at the ass end of the session when everyone's screwing around instead of actually playing. I was really worried about the knee because of the upcoming tournament this weekend, but now that I've iced it I can see that the pain when I bend it isn't coming from inside, it's coming from the extremely tight skin around the goose-egg that developed just above my kneecap. So I'm good.
....annnd just as I was typing that my boss called. Anyone care to place bets on how many phone calls I'll get over the next few days?
I let in a TON of goals, but come on, its not like I have much of a chance against these guys. I did actually do something right though, which I'm pretty proud of given how incredibly wrong I usually do it. Puck came down to my end and there were 2 dark team guys pursuing it and nary a white team guy in sight. I went out to get it and planned on winging it around the boards behind the net to get it away from the dark guys. Oh did I say I was going to "wing it"? On what planet do I think I can wing a puck around the boards? It moved all of about 2 feet. But I didn't give up on it, I just tried it again, even though a dark guy was closing in on me. I moved it pretty far, to a white team guy, and not only that but as the dark guy went past me I oh so casually turned my stick over and tied his up on his way by. Muahaha.
Also had a beauty of a "oh look my leg and glove are over here now" save on the douchebag who insisted on dangling and dipshitting around and basically showing me up. Dude. You're like really awesome at hockey. Do you need to fart around with the puck in front of me, just out of poke-check range and make me look like a complete ass? Is that what makes you feel good about yourself? I've been playing on ice for three whole years asshat. Congratulations. (I'm not saying take it easy on me. I HATE when people do that. But have some fucking class).
At the very end when there was about a minute left to play and my D decided they'd rather hang around the bench than be out on the ice, a guy came flying in and crashed the net. I let him get close, then went down because didn't think at that point he'd lift it, and I stopped it alright but it apparently didn't occur to him to even attempt to stop and just ran me right over. Literally landed on top of me, pushing my torso back and bending my right knee even further (was already in the butterfly) and landing hard right on top of it. I yelped. I'm not proud of it, but I yelped.
No one gave him any shit about it either, and with just borrowed time left to play until the zamboni kicked us off, I decided to pack it in. Screw that, I don't need to be out there for 3 on 0's and 4 on 1's at the ass end of the session when everyone's screwing around instead of actually playing. I was really worried about the knee because of the upcoming tournament this weekend, but now that I've iced it I can see that the pain when I bend it isn't coming from inside, it's coming from the extremely tight skin around the goose-egg that developed just above my kneecap. So I'm good.
....annnd just as I was typing that my boss called. Anyone care to place bets on how many phone calls I'll get over the next few days?
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