I'm writing from the beach. I love the ocean but I'm not a typical beach person- I hate the sun and the crowds, but every year my family rents this cottage on the shore and I can sit inside if I have too much sun, and listen to the crashing of the waves and relax. Most years I'm fidgety because I'm missing hockey. One year we even left in the middle of the week to drive back home and play, and come back.
But not this year. This year, I sorely need this break. Maybe I've been making up for lost time since I broke my knee, but I've been going at full tilt. Hawks games, open hockey, five tournaments, rent-outs, subbing here and there, and keeping up with training when I can - I'm exhausted. I haven't written since that ridiculous foggy game, but since then we had another "Goat Rodeo", a Hawks game, I subbed for @gionta182's team, and we just finished a tournament, sort of.
The Hawks game, the final one of the season, was a 6-0 loss, but one after which we all felt really good. Sounds crazy, right? But as with most games, the score doesn't tell the whole ("hole") story. We went up against a team that was undefeated, the team that's moving up to the next division. A whole week ago now, I can't remember exactly how many skaters we had, but it wasn't many. Nine at the most? They had a full bench. And we lost 6-0 but every single person on the team left absolutely every last ounce of energy and will on the ice. I've never seen us so satisfied after a loss that lopsided, and it was well deserved.
Two days later I subbed for gionta182, and her team also was very short on players. And I was short on mojo. Big time. I had probably the worst game I've had in about two years... I can't even explain what happened because I haven't figured it out. I'm going to chalk it up to fatigue. But I let in some ridiculously soft goals, in succession, shot after shot. Fortunately after the first period I got my shit together. But that was just flat out awful. The worst part about it was feeling like I let gionta182 and her whole team down. But I've gotten over that now.
Whatever it was, it only lasted partly through the next game and now is gone. The next game was the first of our most recent tournament, and we faced a team of cheaters. There were two divisions. We were in the lower of the two, and this team would have skated circles around the teams in the higher division. They weren't even really a team, just a group made up of ringers. At the end of the first period it was 6-0 and I had that horrible sinking feeling, that "oh no, it's happening again" feeling. I pulled myself together, and they dialed it way back, and we got out of the game with a score of 9-2.
The next two were much better. The second game was a 7-2 victory, and the third was by far my best performance in a while; a 1-0 shutout. Maybe it was partly emotion that kicked me into high gear in the zone, as we had a scary moment in the first period when one of our players got hurt. She went into the dashers with her chin, head snapping back and back twisting strangely as she fell. An ambulance was called but she insisted on coming off the ice on her own. Play resumed but after a few minutes trying to recoup on the bench, she wasn't doing very well, so when the EMTs arrived, she was taken to the hospital. We learned later she had one broken rib, and given how dizzy she was I wouldn't be surprised if she had a concussion as well. She's kicking my ass in Words With Friends though, so she can't be all that befuddled right now.
When we got off the ice after that 3rd game, knowing that that win guaranteed us a spot in the championship game, against Ringer Team, we unanimously decided to wear our red jerseys. Now, these jerseys were purchased at the beginning of last season, a fun "3rd jersey" to complement our regular ones, but they seem to be cursed. We have never won a game in them. We even wore them in an exhibition game against a team we usually beat, hoping to get the stank off them, but we lost that one too. At first no one listened to gionta182 when she insisted they were cursed, but now no one wants to wear them in a game that means anything. But with a game against the Ringer Team, we figured we had nothing to lose. I know a lot of us were looking forward to it; coming off two very strong games, we were in a position to give them a little more fight than we had in that first game, and I knew I was going to play a lot stronger than I had.
Unfortunately, we never got our opportunity. It's almost comical at this point, really. Recall that we decided the night before to wear our red jerseys in this championship game. The game wasn't until 1:30, so I was lounging in my hotel room when the phone rang at 10:30. It was gionta182, calling me from the rink parking lot. There was a sign on the door saying that due to "unforeseen ice conditions", the rink was closed. Closed?!!? But.... we had a championship game to play! I contacted the QCats' tournament organizer and informed her, and she discovered she had an email saying the rink compressors had died and the game was canceled.
Given that the previous three days had been over 100 degrees, I'm not surprised. This wasn't one of the better rinks we've played in (which is putting it very diplomatically) and I'm sure it wasn't well prepared for keeping two ice surfaces frozen in temperatures like that. Although we knew we didn't stand much of a chance, it was a huge disappointment. I know I'd been looking forward to one last challenge, and leaving without playing the championship game was pretty anti-climactic. However, GoalieHusband and I had delayed our vacation for the tournament, so when all was said and done, we arrived here at the beach earlier than we thought, which gave us some time to spend with relatives we'd otherwise have missed.
So you know what this means. Not only is the Red Jersey Curse real, it apparently extends to mechanical equipment as well. We better get the schneid off them before we travel to Florida again next year. They've been designated as travel jerseys, but at this point, I'd be afraid to get on a plane wearing one.
But there's another tournament and a whole hockey season ahead of us before we have to worry about that. Right now, I think I'll just lay on the beach (under an umbrella, of course) for the week and read. My body is giving me all kinds of signals that I need to slow the f*** down and recuperate for a bit. I've learned I ought to listen to it.
Have a good week or so, folks. I doubt I'll be writing much in that time frame. Our next tournament is the second week in August, and the new Hawks season starts somewhere around that time. Until then... zzzzzzzzzzz....
Monday, July 25, 2011
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.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Fun With Autocorrect
Guess what boys & girls, it's time for a new feature on this blog. We'll call it "What Maalivahti's Phone Thinks She REALLY Means". Ok, maybe not. That's a little long. We'll stick with "Fun With Autocorrect" for now. This idea is in part due to a conversation I had with Senator today, via text. We'd been texting back and forth about a gaffe on my part, where I had stated in an email to the whole Hawks team that if I started bitching about the league at any point next season, that they should feel free to force me to breathe deeply of Bandit's bag. Bandit keeps his hockey bag in his car, always. As a result you can smell him coming practically before he even gets to the locker room. In my attempt to be funny though, I didn't realize until I'd hit the "send" button that "Bandit's bag" sounds an awful lot like I'm talking about something OTHER than his hockey bag. (Yes, all of us are roughly 12 yrs old mentally).
Except every time I tried to type "bag" in my text, my phone insisted that what I really meant was "vag". Yeah. What was that about 12 year old mentality? I guess you can see which word I use more often.
Senator suggested that was worthy of a tweet at the very least, or even a blog post. And that got me thinking about what my phone likes to try and replace words with. I recalled one time recently when I attempted to text the following message to a friend:
"I have a task for you."
Only my phone did this. "i have a rask-"
*I delete 'rask' and try again*
"...a rask-"
*DELETE*
"...a TASK for you".
That's not so hard to picture, given the proximity of the 't' and the 'r' on the keyboard. Oh yeah, and the frequency with which I type "Rask". That might have something to do with it too.
But what really cracked me up, and cemented the idea of creating this silly little feature, was when I tried to make the following comment on a friend's Facebook status:
"...so I can live bobrovsky-"
*Gales of laughter*
"...vicariously through you".
So, welcome, dear readers, to even further insight into my brain. As if this blog wasn't enough, my phone's attempts at autocorrecting my typing is like a glimpse into my subconscious. What a shock that it's all about goalies and sex jokes.
PS-EFF THE FLYERS
Except every time I tried to type "bag" in my text, my phone insisted that what I really meant was "vag". Yeah. What was that about 12 year old mentality? I guess you can see which word I use more often.
Senator suggested that was worthy of a tweet at the very least, or even a blog post. And that got me thinking about what my phone likes to try and replace words with. I recalled one time recently when I attempted to text the following message to a friend:
"I have a task for you."
Only my phone did this. "i have a rask-"
*I delete 'rask' and try again*
"...a rask-"
*DELETE*
"...a TASK for you".
That's not so hard to picture, given the proximity of the 't' and the 'r' on the keyboard. Oh yeah, and the frequency with which I type "Rask". That might have something to do with it too.
But what really cracked me up, and cemented the idea of creating this silly little feature, was when I tried to make the following comment on a friend's Facebook status:
"...so I can live bobrovsky-"
*Gales of laughter*
"...vicariously through you".
So, welcome, dear readers, to even further insight into my brain. As if this blog wasn't enough, my phone's attempts at autocorrecting my typing is like a glimpse into my subconscious. What a shock that it's all about goalies and sex jokes.
PS-EFF THE FLYERS
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...
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Too good to be true?
I'm almost afraid to come here and write another post about how great I feel and how it seems like the pieces are falling into place, but they are. And other people are noticing. A few nights ago, the Hawks got their 2nd win in the season, which is pretty much over. I think we have 3 games left? Not only that, but it was a 4-2 win. A 4-2 win that was 4-1 until 50 seconds left in the game. The first goal came early in the first period; a penalty shot by their best guy. That last one was a shortie, and everyone got a bit lazy on that one. Myself included; although my D apologized to me, I really felt like I should have had it. It was a breakaway for God's sake, just me and the other guy. The goalie definitely has the advantage there.
But regardless, we won, and I only had two goals against! Pretty awesome right? I can't really take much credit for it though, it was really quite the offensive effort, even on the part of the defense. I honestly didn't even feel like I had that many shots, but after the game when I said "thanks" to one of the refs, he said "you played great, you had a lot of shots". So who knows. What's important is we all played our TAILS off, and got the win. And I felt great and still do.
I also further cemented my about-face in terms of what exactly I'm going to be doing next season. I had an opportunity to fill in for an instructional league scrimmage at the last minute, and it was pretty interesting. I got the email from Gionta182 yesterday afternoon; there was going to be a scrimmage (with refs) and a goalie was needed. Naturally I accepted. I'm not too clear on the situation but one chick told me while we were getting changed that the other team was supposed to play a regularly scheduled game, but their opponent couldn't come because there was a death and lots of players weren't going to make it. I hope to God it wasn't the death of an actual player. Not sure what that's all about. But I got the impression that they put the call out to get some skaters and a goalie to scrimmage against so as not to lose the ice time.
I thought there were going to be two goalies, but when we all hit the ice, there was the blue team, and the hodge-podge white team (which Gionta182 was a part of), and neither had a goalie. Since the white team was Gionta182's, I started on that side, but I'd told the other guys I'd split my time. Well, Gionta182 wasn't too happy about that. She protested, saying if I really was an asshole, I'd just stay on her side. I tried to bait her, asking if she didn't want to try to score on me.... BITCH??!? Hahaha. Her teammate appreciated that. That's when she said "No... I actually want to have a chance to score. You're like Marty in there." Now who's baiting who? I think Maaaaarttyyyyy probably dropped dead wherever he was. What, me? A butterfly goalie? Compared to him? THE HORROR!!!! Ahhh rivalries.
But I got off track. What was interesting about the experience was that I felt like a fish out of water. While the white team had it together, the blue team was giving me fits. I had no idea what to expect from their shots, and consequently was beaten on two I would have normally stopped. I think I had too much time to think. And now, after thinking for a bit, I definitely don't think we belong in Instructional. It seems like that's the general consensus of the others who were thinking about leaving as well, so I don't think I have much crow to eat. Really, when all is said and done, I just want to stay with my team. I think a big part of the problem was my confidence, and I am starting to get that back now. Hopefully I haven't just completely damned myself writing a post like this. I'm on a mission now. I think open hockey holds the key. The more I get myself out there, the better I feel, the better I play. I guess I'll just have to sleep when I'm dead.
But regardless, we won, and I only had two goals against! Pretty awesome right? I can't really take much credit for it though, it was really quite the offensive effort, even on the part of the defense. I honestly didn't even feel like I had that many shots, but after the game when I said "thanks" to one of the refs, he said "you played great, you had a lot of shots". So who knows. What's important is we all played our TAILS off, and got the win. And I felt great and still do.
I also further cemented my about-face in terms of what exactly I'm going to be doing next season. I had an opportunity to fill in for an instructional league scrimmage at the last minute, and it was pretty interesting. I got the email from Gionta182 yesterday afternoon; there was going to be a scrimmage (with refs) and a goalie was needed. Naturally I accepted. I'm not too clear on the situation but one chick told me while we were getting changed that the other team was supposed to play a regularly scheduled game, but their opponent couldn't come because there was a death and lots of players weren't going to make it. I hope to God it wasn't the death of an actual player. Not sure what that's all about. But I got the impression that they put the call out to get some skaters and a goalie to scrimmage against so as not to lose the ice time.
I thought there were going to be two goalies, but when we all hit the ice, there was the blue team, and the hodge-podge white team (which Gionta182 was a part of), and neither had a goalie. Since the white team was Gionta182's, I started on that side, but I'd told the other guys I'd split my time. Well, Gionta182 wasn't too happy about that. She protested, saying if I really was an asshole, I'd just stay on her side. I tried to bait her, asking if she didn't want to try to score on me.... BITCH??!? Hahaha. Her teammate appreciated that. That's when she said "No... I actually want to have a chance to score. You're like Marty in there." Now who's baiting who? I think Maaaaarttyyyyy probably dropped dead wherever he was. What, me? A butterfly goalie? Compared to him? THE HORROR!!!! Ahhh rivalries.
But I got off track. What was interesting about the experience was that I felt like a fish out of water. While the white team had it together, the blue team was giving me fits. I had no idea what to expect from their shots, and consequently was beaten on two I would have normally stopped. I think I had too much time to think. And now, after thinking for a bit, I definitely don't think we belong in Instructional. It seems like that's the general consensus of the others who were thinking about leaving as well, so I don't think I have much crow to eat. Really, when all is said and done, I just want to stay with my team. I think a big part of the problem was my confidence, and I am starting to get that back now. Hopefully I haven't just completely damned myself writing a post like this. I'm on a mission now. I think open hockey holds the key. The more I get myself out there, the better I feel, the better I play. I guess I'll just have to sleep when I'm dead.
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.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
What Took Ya So Long?
Two posts ago I mentioned that I felt a subtle shift in my game, and that I hoped GoalieBrain wasn't far behind. I think someone finally woke the bitch up, because we had a game Sunday night, and I was in the zone. Really in the zone. So much so that two direct shots to the middle of the forehead, and being completely flattened two times couldn't knock me out of it. Did we win? No. Another loss, but hallelujah, this one was "only" 5-3. That might be my lowest goals against in about 2 seasons in this league. And yet again, we mounted a comeback; at one point we were down 5-0.
Originally, I was unsure I'd even play this game. GH and I were off on a camping trip for the three days before the game, and I wasn't sure I'd be in the best shape after that. But then I came to my senses. Of course I was going to play, hello what was I thinking? And I'm glad I did. That game was another brick in the re-forming wall of my confidence. I'm feeling better about everything; my game, the team, even the league situation. Getting my mojo back (even if it's only partly back, that's better than nothing!) sort of cleared my head a little, and now I'm not so sure moving to the Instructional League is the answer. Add to that the fact that the rink is actually - finally - taking some steps to clean that league up and make it more how it is supposed to be, and I'm almost 180* from where I was a few weeks ago. We may not completely fit in our league the way it is now, but I really don't think we belong in the Instructional League either, especially if they're trying to get that whole thing sorted out.
So, lots to chew on. And Saturday morning open hockey is starting up this week, which I'm really looking forward to. I haven't been able to go on Friday mornings like I used to, and I really miss it. I think doing drop-ins regularly will help keep me on the upward climb. I sure hope so, because I was pretty miserable for a while there. It feels good to be looking forward to ice times again.
Originally, I was unsure I'd even play this game. GH and I were off on a camping trip for the three days before the game, and I wasn't sure I'd be in the best shape after that. But then I came to my senses. Of course I was going to play, hello what was I thinking? And I'm glad I did. That game was another brick in the re-forming wall of my confidence. I'm feeling better about everything; my game, the team, even the league situation. Getting my mojo back (even if it's only partly back, that's better than nothing!) sort of cleared my head a little, and now I'm not so sure moving to the Instructional League is the answer. Add to that the fact that the rink is actually - finally - taking some steps to clean that league up and make it more how it is supposed to be, and I'm almost 180* from where I was a few weeks ago. We may not completely fit in our league the way it is now, but I really don't think we belong in the Instructional League either, especially if they're trying to get that whole thing sorted out.
So, lots to chew on. And Saturday morning open hockey is starting up this week, which I'm really looking forward to. I haven't been able to go on Friday mornings like I used to, and I really miss it. I think doing drop-ins regularly will help keep me on the upward climb. I sure hope so, because I was pretty miserable for a while there. It feels good to be looking forward to ice times again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)