Gang Green

On Monday of this week (St. Patrick's Day, as a matter of fact), Al and I went down to Logitech Ice in San Jose to see our new team for next season play in their final game of this one. (Well, it turned out to be their final game.) It was a playoff against the Cougars, a team that Hoche, GG's captain, told me GG had a long history with. Apparently four of their playoff meetings have been decided by an overtime goal and/or a shootout.

We arrived toward the end of the first period and spent the first few minutes figuring out which players we knew. We then tried to picture ourselves playing with the team, and imagine how well we'd fit in. I remarked to Al that while the individual skills of the GG players were about the same as what we were used to at Ice Oasis, their team play was better. They passed more (and *looked* more before passing), and they really seemed to have a game plan. I found the prospect of playing as a team really exciting; I actually value that more than winning, though playing as a team often *means* winning.

The score was tied 2-2 when we arrived; I believe the Cougars scored the next goal, but it was quickly answered when Lisa Kvarda, my old Spitfire teammate, grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and flipped a backhander past the goalie. She and her twin sister Karen really do shoot well, and with confidence. I'll be happy to skate with them again—I'm hoping some of their confidence will rub off on me.

I really thought Gang Green played a better game than the Cougars, but the score remained tied into the third period. This rattled the GG gameplan, I thought; in the last two minutes of the third period, there was lots of clearing-the-puck-right-to-the-other-team instead of agressive skating. Both teams seemed to be playing not to lose rather than to win. The five minutes of overtime was similar, though GG stepped up the pressure and had several very good chances on net. Unfortunately, nothing went in, so at the end of the overtime they moved on to a shootout. Even more unfortunately, it was no contest, with the Cougars' two shooters scoring and the Cougars' goalie making two saves.

After the game we chatted with some of the players we knew, and I got to meet Hoche, whom I'd only talked to via e-mail. I also assured Inga that there would be many Gang Green-related entries to come in this journal. :)

I can't wait for the new season to start!!

Posted by Lori at 05:51 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

It's a New Season!

I am so NERVOUS and EXCITED about the prospect of playing in my first hockey game in a month tonight.

Al and I practiced with our new team for the first time on Friday night (which was cool, since our old team at Ice Oasis didn't practice at all). We met up at Hockey Workout, a scary place in a scary neighborhood, at 10pm to do drills on the tiny sheet of ice that they have. I fell down on one of the horshoe drills (rather dramatically, I thought), but other than that I don't think I embarrassed myself *too* much. The good news is that I had two significant epiphanies during the hour we had the ice.

1. My strong hand is on top. This is something I've known since the day Jason and Louis handed me a stick and told me I'd be shooting left (despite the fact that I swing right in both softball and golf), but I'd never actually used this information to advantage. That is, I knew theoretically that I was supposed to yank my top hand toward me and just steer with my bottom hand, but I'd never done it... untill Friday night. And when I did—wow! Suddenly, I have a decent shot.
   
   
2. If I can shovel snow, I can score a goal. After doing straight-ahead horseshoe drills, Fuz said, "now I want you to do the same thing, only stickhandle a little, make a move, and shoot a backhander." I panicked; I have very few moves, if any, and I certainly have no backhander. I tried anyway, but I either ran into the goalpost trying to make the move, or I hit it with the puck (though without much force). When Fuz told us to take a minute before moving on to the next drill, I approached him and asked if he could show me how to shoot backhand. He demonstrated a few times, but when I tried it myself, I couldn't lift the puck or whack it with anything resembling force.
   
   Hoche noticed my dilemma and skated over to say, "it's just like shoveling snow." I know how to shovel snow!, I thought. I shoveled snow all the time in Truckee! And the good news is, snow shoveling also involves having your strong hand on top, so I was already in the right configuration. I gave it a try, and VIOLA! Backhander! I can't lift the puck as much as Fuz does yet, but I can put it in the net a foot or more off the ice, which is enough to be proud of, I'd say.

Now, if I can just use my new shooting skills in a game... Guess we'll see tonight. Wish me luck, and cross your fingers that I don't completely embarrass myself or my new team!

Posted by Lori at 06:54 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Not a Personal Best

I had mixed emotions at the end of tonight's game. On the one hand, I was really thrilled to be playing with a team *that played like a team*, to be playing with such nice, friendly people, to be playing at all. On the other hand, I was disappointed with my personal performance, and I'm nervous that others were, too. I'd wanted to make a good impression in my first game, and I don't think I did.

Personal game summary: [Period 1] Nervous to the point of shaky (like the first game of a tournament). Lots of stupid plays. Disoriented at Right Wing. [Period 2] Cautious. Still disoriented (looking for the bench on the wrong side of the ice, forgetting which way were going on offense; jumping on at Left instead of Right. [Period 3] Better. Played Left Wing, and managed to hit Inga and Karen with a couple passes. Still not strong, but improved over P1 and P2. [Overall] No shots on goal. -1.

I think I was so worried about being a nerd on the ice that it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. And now I'm worried that everyone's going, "oh geez." The good news is, I know I can play better than that. (Al concurs; he's *seen* me play better.) And over time, I'll get to know my teammates better: where they are, how they play, what to look for. I already know I can hit Karen (she's my Justin in this league); now I need to learn how to hit Inga. In future games, I'll look for passes from the D on breakouts rather than being relieved that they went to the other side. And I'll continue to develop the instinct that was just starting to develop at the end of last season: I'm going to take the puck and run.

Posted by Lori at 01:28 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

A More Positive Post

Al and I spent the morning talking about the game last night, and aside from my personal performance, there were a lot of things we liked... and a lot of things we didn't understand. We're coming from a league that seems to stress individual achievement over team play (in fact, most efforts to plan for different situations, such as breakouts, 2 on 1s, penalty kills, faceoffs in our own zone, etc. were brushed off at best) to a team that has a plan for almost everything. We were amazed by their organization.

Standing around in the living room, and later in the car on the way to work, we asked each other lots of questions, such as: What exactly is a T formation? What was that discussion about "4 on the line and one back" that happened with two minutes left, when we were up 3-2? I know I shouldn't have passed to the middle off the faceoff in our own zone, but if my lane is clogged and the puck comes to me, what else can I do? How does a 'triangle' work? and so on. We answered each other with shrugs and speculation, but we agreed that it was exciting to know that there *was* a plan. We just needed to be in on it.

Luckily, Hoche noted the somewhat depressed tone of my last post and came to a similar conclusion: we needed to know the plan. He sent me the most supportive, detailed e-mail that answered all the questions above and more. I now know where he and the team stand on the issue of whether a winger should stick to the D if they pinch in or stay up on the boards for the breakout pass (the latter, which is also my personal preference), that it's ok to employ my crazy forechecking methods during a penalty kill as long as we've got them down in their end/the neutral zone, and that the general policy is that last man back covers D if the D takes the puck in.

I'll elaborate more on the answers to our specific questions as I get to put the plan into action on the ice. For the time being, it's sufficient to know that I now understand what a T formation is, what we were doing in the last two minutes of the game last night, and what I should have done instead of passing to the middle off the faceoff. I still need more practice with the triangle (as does Al, who I think has never tried it before), but hopefully I'm now at a point where I can feel RELAXED and excited about the next game, not nervous or scared.

Thanks, Hoche! And thanks to all the other Gang Greeners who made us feel so welcome. We'll see you on Sunday.

Posted by Lori at 02:56 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Green Jersey

I've been feeling rather solitary and introspective for a few days (which isn't exactly the optimum state of mind for blogging), but since Inga missed our Gang Green game on Sunday for a tournament with the Polars, I figure I owe her a post. :) The title of this particular entry refers to the new green jersey I wore in this game—my first with HYLAN-CHO on the back—but that's the last you'll hear of it...

We played the Crease Monkeys in our second pre-season game. My overall impression was that they were a weaker team than the Y Guys, even though the Y Guys have a couple players who are brand-spanking new. I found myself missing opportunities left and right because I kept thinking that when they grabbed the puck they'd actually take off with it. I spent my energy trying to follow the play when I should have been trying to hijack it—their puck-handling skills being shaky at best.

The one time I tried to make the Justin move, the player I skated through either grabbed my stick, or else it got tangled up some other way, and I yanked it free as I tried to determine what happened to the puck. I heard the ref yell, "HEY!", and somehow knew he wasn't yelling at the other guy for holding me up. Sure enough, as the puck came sailing back into our end and one of our D stopped it, I was called for high-sticking. Now, my stick wasn't high—rather, the other guy's face was low—but since the blade did scrape his face cage, I dutifully skated to the box.

I thought about pleading my case to the scorekeeper, but she seemed an unsympathetic sort (she's the one who yelled at us all to get on the ice whether it was dry or not, since we were already TWO MINUTES LATE in starting the game), and in any case, she never even looked my way. Instead, I troubled Hoche for some water and settled in to serve my three minutes of running time.

Shortly after finishing the water, and about halfway through the penalty, I saw the tide turn dramatically in our favor as Jim scored a short-handed goal. Woo hoo! Do I get a plus for that? (I'm kidding, Karen!) Al has asserted that he and I are not likely to be big goal-scorers for this team, since we tend to be fairly defensive-minded for forwards. Backchecking and forechecking are my specialties, not scoring. However, penalties aren't exactly familiar territory for me, either (this is only my second in two and a half years of hockey), so I suppose it's possible that I could score a few goals, too. At the very least, I hope the shorthander scored during my penalty is not the closest I will ever get to contributing to a goal on this team...

In other game news, I played on a line with Baldwin (one of the four people named Chris on our team; all are referred to by their last names except for Christin, who has the longest and hardest-to-pronounce last name) this week. I gather that he usually plays Left Wing, but he was kind enough to move to Right to make way for me. I think I have a bit more speed than he does, but his puck-handling skills blow mine away. He's also really good at stealing the puck away from opponents in a completely unJustin way (which just proves that there's more than one way to do it, and that there's hope for me yet). It also means that there's more for me to do, since while he's fighting for the puck, I can get in position for a pass or get ready to chase if he dumps it in.

We didn't have enough players for three full lines, which means that we weren't guaranteed the same Center every time we were out together. We got to try out both Andan (who was playing Center for the first time, as a sub) and Hoche (who usually plays with Baldwin and would likely have Centered our line had we had the full complement of players). I had one nice moment with Hoche when I was able to produce a centering pass from a broken-up play; I was under pressure and didn't have time to look for him or his stick, so I just tossed the puck backhand to where I thought he'd be, and he was. He one-timed it, also with a backhander; the goalie stopped it, but it was still nice to be part of a scoring chance.

And OH MY GOD I just saw the Mighty Ducks set up the perfect Triangle and score the game-winning. series-winning goal against the Red Wings. Yaaaaaay Ducks!!!

Anyway, back in E bracket... I still feel like I can contribute more to the team (which is a good thing, having your better games in front of you rather than behind), but there are a couple things to be proud of in this one: First, I wasn't nervous at all. I was totally relaxed, in fact. Second, I skated hard enough to be totally soaked with sweat after the game (and I believe I can go even harder). There were a few goofy moments, too—trying to step over one of Andan's shots and blocking it with my ankle anyway, standing up straight and very nearly calling time out so I could laugh my ass off when an opponent attacked my legs and skates like a freaking egg beater in an attempt to dig the puck out from between my feet, pulling a muscle from my hip down to my knee and up to my shoulder when an opponent smooshed me into the boards—but nothing too egregious. Bring on the Red Army!

Posted by Lori at 10:30 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Too Tired for Words

Posted by Lori at 12:15 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

About Last Night... Mostly

I knew if I didn't write about last week's game before this week's, I'd forget what happened. That's pretty much the case, though there are a couple highlights that stuck with me. First is that my line had a lovely breakout on one shift. This is significant, Baldwin told me on the bench during the game (and Hoche later in an e-mail), because Hoche usually complains that we don't have any. Apparently, "...and we didn't even have ONE DECENT BREAKOUT" is a familiar refrain in the post-game locker room. I can understand why Hoche was so excited when we executed on one—it *is* pretty thrilling when you just click, when you come out of your own end in an organized manner and turn defense into offense.

The other thing that sticks out in my mind is how physical the Red Army guys were. I'm not sure whether it was just testosterone or lack of skill, but they tended to go for the body first and the puck second. After getting hit a couple of times in the first period, I noticed that I started bracing for the hit instead of looking for the puck. Annoying, but safe. By the third period I think I had the right balance of safety and go-gettiveness, and I managed to keep track of the puck and avoid getting knocked on my butt too much. Well, except for the final seconds of the game, when I went behind the net to grab a rebound, turned with it to shoot, and was promptly smacked in the face cage by another face cage. Bam! Cagebut! Luckily, I was already back-against-the-boards, because the it saved me from rebounding off the glass with my head. As it was, I just crumpled straight down as the buzzer rang. Special dibs to Phil, who came within about 6 feet of us and said loudly, "LORI, ARE YOU OK?" He so had my back if I'd wanted to drop the gloves on this guy. :)

OK, and now, About Last Night. The main thing I remember (I can't believe I'm already forgetting!) is that it was funfunfun. My line didn't score any goals, but we had so many chances and so many things that we did right that we are bound to become the Scoring Line eventually. There were many triangle situations that I didn't execute very well, even though I recognized them as triangle situations (as Hoche says, "there's a difference between knowing what a triangle is and actually doing it correctly in a game"), but overall I was pretty proud of myself for a number of Things Done Right. My proudest moment was probably when I picked the puck off an opponent's stick and dashed into the zone. Just the picking and the dashing would have been enough to make my chest (and my head) swell, but I also managed to get a shot off *on net* and pick up my own rebound. Woo hoo!

I think the play that nearly gave everyone else a heart attack (in a good way) was the almost-tip-in during the second period. I am a net-crasher by trade, so when I wasn't actively chasing the puck in the corners, I was camped out on the goalie's back door. In this case I was SO READY for a rebound that I felt like I could see the shot coming before the puck even got to the shooter. Unfortunately, I didn't *actually* see the shot after it left (Baldwin's? Wilson's? I can't remember) stick, because I was being screened by an opponent. However, the puck did hit my stick as it came through the crease. The only problem was that my stick was pointed just the teeniest bit too far to the left, and the puck slid just outside the post instead of just inside it. Gotta work on that stick angle for the tip-in -- maybe Al & I can do that next practice.

We had Dangerous Dan in nets for us, but since we out-shot the Y Guys 44 to 7, he didn't have much to do. I think he was starting to wonder why we'd made him drive all the way down from Redwood City. (Meanwhile, at the other end of the ice, the Y Guys' goalie was on FIRE, as attested to by the score, which was only 3-0.) Jim scored goals one and three, and Lisa and Inga hooked up for the second one. I must admit, even though Hoche shook his head and laughed, "man, that was some ugly garbage" after the second goal, it was my favorite. I believe Inga had gone in for a shot on goal on the left side and then skated around the back of the net to the right while Lisa picked up the rebound. Lisa then threw the puck at the net, and Inga had the entire right side open. She didn't have to go high—the slightest tip would have done it—but it added an extra bit of flair.

Posted by Lori at 04:47 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

The Definition of Cross-Checking

A particularly stupid cross-checking penalty by Jason Arnott in last night's Stars-Ducks game reminded me of something that happened in our Sunday game with the Y Guys. A Y Guy, I believe in an attempt to clear the slot of my linemate Big Bad Baldwin, gave him a mighty two-hands-on-the-stick shove from behind and was immediately called for cross-checking. He was livid. "I just pushed him in the back!" he yelled at the ref.

Posted by Lori at 09:56 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Monkeying Around

I am so intensely tired that I can't write a full account of last night's game right now, so I'll just give a couple of the highlights and return later with more details (hopefully). I think from now on I'm also going to bring a piece of paper and a pen to the bench with me, so I can jot down keywords to remember for later like I did when I was in Korea. Helps me post more quickly.

We won 8-2 — And yet I was -1 for the night. :( Had some chances and some shots on goal, but went wide of the net on one possible tip-in (again), and had an attempted one-timer ricochet off my stick in the wrong direction (picture the puck going high into the glass over my left shoulder as my stick moved to the right, toward the net).

Al had a hat trick — And two of the goals were scored on a single shift. The man who once moaned that he could never finish on a breakaway is now on a roll (and putting me to absolute shame). Even better, Jim, who plays on Al's line, had 5 points for the evening.

I went to the fights, and a hockey game broke out — All night I'd been matched up against a guy with little skill but lots of shove-and-slash, but I didn't really think it would go anywhere (except in the net, as he once caused a shot to bounce off my shinpad and nearly get by the goalie when he shoved me into the crease as Hoche let one fly). Anyway, I was saying that I hadn't expected anything too nasty from him. However, I hadn't counted on Inga letting him know how pathetic he was by (a) outright telling him so, and (b) by scoring a goal within seconds of *him* telling *her* that he was going to get her. Of course, she couldn't resist smiling and saying, "Thanks for coming to get me!" after she did.

I'm assuming the bitch-slap by Inga and the 6-goal differential on the scoreboard made him incredibly frustrated, and seeing as how I was the only suitable target on the ice, he came after me. I hadn't had time to compare notes with Inga at the time, so I was unaware of this pent-up hostility toward females; I just knew that he was being a jerk. I got squished rather violently on the boards (where do they learn this stuff? TV? hello dudes, this isn't the NHL), managed to extract myself, and crashed the net as (I think Phil) shot on goal. The goalie dove but missed the puck, and I reached out to try to knock it under his pads and into the net. I did this ever-so-gently, mind you—no stabbing or whacking involved—but the goon took offense and brought his stick down on mine like he was freaking chopping firewood. And then he elbowed me in the chest, knocking me backwards over the side of the net.

I was screaming expletives at him before I even hit the ice (hard, on my left elbow, because my legs were still pinned to the goalpost by the crush of bodies), and Baldwin stepped in to give him the business. Phil, ever my valiant protector, came at him, too, and the refs had to separate everybody. I swear, I would have taken a swing at the guy myself, but as I said, I was pinned down by the offender, Baldwin, and now the ref. The interesting thing is that the refs apparently didn't see the slash or the elbow; they only saw Baldwin try to take the guy's head off. It was only in trying to figure out why Baldwin was so mad that they determined what had happened, and assigned penalties to both teams. So thank you, Baldwin and Phil, for pointing out the foul play.

Quote of the Day — Here is where I wish I had brought a piece of paper with me to the bench. Someone (Baldwin? Phil? Fuz?) said something I thought was funny at the beginning of the game, and I made a mental note that I would blog about it. Of course, I've totally forgotten what the quote was, not to mention who said it.

More later, as things come back to me...

Posted by Lori at 05:12 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Play Hockey or Watch Hockey

To play or to watch, that is the question.

Some of my Gang Green teammates participate in a Thursday night practice/scrimmage at a rink in the South Bay, and I'd like to go. Apparently the level is higher than our Gang Green's LIAHL bracket (E), and I've found it helpful in the past to skate with people who are a lot better/faster/stronger than I am. And god knows I could use the practice: I'm the only one in negative territory (-2) on the whole team. By comparison, Al is +8, and even my linemates are, well, Even.

So what's keeping me? Game 7 of the Wild-Canucks confrontation in round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (oops, almost typed "Keg" there!), that's what. GO WILD!!! I've been a mild Wild fan since they joined the league—an event which happened to coincide with me joining a group that was based in my company's Minnesota office. I worked from Calfornia, but I traveled to Minnesota a couple times and even got to see a game at Xcel Energy Center (where I got the Wild jersey that I happen to be wearing right now). Sadly, the group only lasted about 9 months, and the office a bit longer than that, so I have no business excuses to travel to Minnesota any longer. There's always the King and I to tempt me, though...

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm a Wild fan. I obviously can't go to as many Wild games as I can Sharks games, but I've seen them play in San Jose and LA as well as Minnesota. And now that they're in ROUND 2 of the playoffs—*and* thanks to Jacques LeMaire's twin philosophies of playing every line and making players earn their spots each game—I've gotten to know most of the players' names and specialities (not just those of Marian Gaborik and Darby Hendrickson). Andrew Brunette is my favorite du jour, especially after that sweet no-look, top-shelf backhanded goal and the tongue-out grin that followed it.

I think it's gotta be Watch Hockey, hands down. I'll go to practice on the 22nd!

Posted by Lori at 06:20 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Our First Non-Win

OK, here's what I can remember writing last night...

I was going to call this entry "Our First Tie," but somehow Saturday's 2-2 game against Rebels 3 felt more like a loss than a tie, so I went with non-win. I jotted down some notes in the locker room after the game, but of course I left the piece of paper in my hockey bag, so I'll have to write from memory again.

The main thing that sticks out in my memory of this game is how FREAKING TIRED I was. I'm not sure whether it was the heat (it was awfully warm in there, for an ice rink), the fact that the ice didn't freeze all the way, or that I'd eaten more sugar on Saturday than I had in the entire previous week—perhaps all three—but I felt like I was towing an anchor behind me all night. Most shifts I came off exhausted and shaking, and the muscles that attach my hip bones to my thighs (i.e., where front jeans pockets are) have been sore for the past four days.

The other two stories that stick in my head both involve Wilson. The first occurred during the 2nd period, when the puck popped out of the offensive zone, and we were forced to clear. As I skated over the blue line, I saw Wilson had control of the puck, so I shouted to him to go in, and that I would cover back. I did this for two reasons: (1) Wilson looked eager to go in, and (2) I was too tired to be very effective on O. Wilson was definitely more effective than I could have been, getting several shots off in the few seconds he was in deep, but as the puck richocheted off players' shinpads, skates, and sticks, I started to worry that the play would turn around, and the small bit of rest I was getting at the blue line would all be for naught.

Just then, the play *did* turn around, and I stayed at the line a second too long (i.e., long enough to say, "oh shit") before turning to give chase. I was determined not to let Wilson regret having gone in for a scoring chance, so I used every ounce of energy I had to try to catch my opponent. He had half a body length on me, but I managed to keep my legs moving while I swept my stick in front of him, trying to poke the puck away. As we crossed the far blueline, I started to worry that he had me beat... when suddenly he lost the puck. It took an enormous effort just to stop where the puck had (he kept going); there was nothing left for clearing it. I feebly attempted to knock it out of our zone, and when one of my teammates got control, I staggered to the bench. It took until my next shift just to get my breath back.

The other Wilson thing happened in the 3rd period, when I was chasing an attempt-to-clear up the boards near the hash marks. I could see a Rebel coming toward me from the left, and when I looked up in front of me, I saw Wilson coming in, too. My first thought was, "Wilson, why are you coming *at* me???", and my second thought was "ack!" Picturing some kind of horrendous collison, I panicked and knocked the puck weakly out to the middle, where it was promptly picked up by a Rebel. (He didn't even stop to say thanks for the breakaway, btw.)

I asked Wilson about it later, because I wanted to understand what I should have done in that situation (giving the puck to the other team was obviously wrong). He said that what he was looking for was a pass up the boards. It's hard to imagine having passed right then, since I didn't have control of the puck even at the "ack!", but I will certainly keep that play in mind for next time. Or perhaps I will just step away from the boards, taking out the person charging in from the left, and let Wilson come down and grab the puck. That could work.

I had one moment of almost-glory when I picked the puck off an opponent's stick and nearly had a 1-on-0 breakaway. I say "nearly" because the pickoff happened right in front of the blueline, and as I crossed I worried that my feet had gone over the line before the puck did. In the mad scramble to get back onsides, I completely lost my momentum (and the puck). Next time I'm going to just wait for the whistle and skip the mad scramble.

Meanwhile, Al had a moment of actual glory when he scored a goal in the first period, extending his point streak to three games, I think.

My line did not score any goals, but we're playing quite well together, so it's hard to find specific reasons for the point drought. I got a one-timer off on a pass from Baldwin, and for once, it was on net. The goalie had to make a rather nifty save to stop it, so I can't complain too much that it didn't go in.

Tired as I still am, I can't wait to play hockey again. I'm kinda bummed that we'll be going to Baltimore tomorrow and will miss a practice opportunity, but at least there will be a game when we get back. And then, of course, next weekend is the Vancouver Tournament (hooray!), which guarantees me at least 3 (and possibly up to 5) hockey games in one weekend. I'll have to miss one of my Gang Green games for it (boo!), but I'm really looking forward to showing Al around Vancouver (he's never been) and shopping for a new hockey stick, as well as playing in the games.

Posted by Lori at 01:21 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Hockey Freak

I'm sad to say that the Minnesota Wild have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. :( I never thought Minnesota would even make it to the third round, but now that they're out, I'm bummed that there will be no more Wild games to watch until September or October at the earliest (and those will probably have to be against the Sharks, or they won't be televised out here). I'll be rooting for the Ducks in the Stanley Cup series, which should be going on while we're in Vancouver this weekend. Of course, so will the Colonial. I think Al is going to TiVo at least the first two rounds, though, so at least I can see those when I get home. If Annika makes the cut, we might not see much of Vancouver—we'll be glued to the TV watching golf and hockey between my games.

Speaking of Vancouver, I am SO EXCITED to go. I really love this tournament, and I love staying in North Van. I can't wait to re-visit my favorite haunts and share them with Al. (Heck, I can't wait to stock up on peanut butter, cheese, apples, and almond cookies from Canadian Safeways, and go shopping for other snacks at the Canadian Superstore across the street from the hotel. I love supermarkets, and oddly enough, so does Al.) We'll also probably spend some time downtown and around Stanley Park, since Al's never been there before. *And*, if I can find one, I hope to come home (not to mention play in the tournament) with a new Synergy stick. The trick will be to find one with a Modano curve; that's the most popular one, and last year both Cyclone Taylor and Larry's Sports had sold out of them for the year by May.

Before we can go to Vancouver, though, we have to play in our Gang Green game tonight at the Ice Center. We haven't played a game since last Saturday, so both of us are dying to get on the ice. I'm starting to wonder if once a week is really enough for me; I might have to go back to playing two nights a week to get my fix. Or I could start going to those Thursday-night practices... I'd love to go to the one this week, but with our flight leaving at 8am the next day, I need time to pack. (Plus, I'd rather not pack wet gear.) Next week for sure.

so eager to play I can hardly stand it

Posted by Lori at 10:44 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Snowballed

Some quick thoughts on our 6-4 loss against the Snowballs last night...

These guys weren't great skaters, but I don't think we gave them as much credit as we should have. They might have been a bit shaky on their skates when they got jammed up in the neutral zone or when stopping and starting, but once they had some forward speed, they were pretty stable (and even able to skate around opponents). They also had a habit of smacking at the puck like they were swinging at a baseball, so there were few weak passes to pick off. They generated scoring chances by sending a cherry picker in motion behind our D, and then passing up to him. Once he got going, our D couldn't catch him. They scored at least two goals this way.

After starting off 0-2, the second period went pretty well for us; we bounced back from the two cherry picker goals (and I got Even) with goals from Hoche and Baldwin. Both were pretty nutty (or amazingly skillful, depending on how you look at it); I prefer to think that it takes a certain amount of talent to hit the inside of the post while flailing wildly near the boards at the blueline (Hoche), or to redirect the puck into the net with your chest (Baldwin). As for me, I didn't have much to do with either goal, except to be around as backup in case either of them missed. See? For every minus that wasn't your fault, there's a plus you had nothing to do with, either.

That same period, the tone of the game turned nasty when Hoche was boarded rather viciously behind the net, and he came out screaming. The other player got a penalty, but Hoche was rightly (and mightily) miffed that he'd been hit so hard as to royally torque his back. Unfortunately, a red sock-wearing teammate (what is it with red socks?) of the boarder seemed to morph in the face of Hoche's anger from a harmless jerk into a venom-dripping thug. I swear, when he started drowning out Hoche's protestations with his own string of profanity, it was like he transformed before my eyes into a fresh-from-the-grave-and-oozing-virulent-green-goo zombie. I didn't want to get near him. (Al said later that he felt the same way.)

Our now super-chippy opponents scored two more goals on attempted-clears that should have gone around the boards but instead went around the net, right onto the sticks of two Snowballs. Unfortunately, I was on the ice for these two flukes, so my time being Even, gained so recently in the second period, ended in the third.

Rather than recount *all* the bad blood, cheap shots, and lame refereeing (hello? can you at least make some kind of announcement when you send someone to the box? what the penalty was for and how many minutes it would last would be a good start...), I think I'd rather record a few things that went well, so I can remember them for my next game.

One nice thing for me was that I finally started clicking with Wilson. Maybe it was talking (and writing) about our expectations after the last game that did it—I'm not sure—but I managed to pass back to him a couple times off the faceoff, and to get out of his way when he charged into the offensive zone. (Well, except for one time, when I got caught in the wrong spot and had to leap over his stick.) I did some more leaping, this time over an opponent who went down in a hip-to-hip fight with me for the puck, later in the game. While I was able to stay upright, I was not able to take the puck with me. He managed to keep it between his body and the boards, and knock it back out of the zone (good play on his part, especially from his sprawled-on-the-ice position).

My goal at the beginning of the game was to stay on an even keel, both emotionally and physically. Be calm, don't fight, don't burn any extra energy that isn't going into skating, passing, or shooting. I was pretty much able to attain that goal, except for one overexcited moment in the third period, when three Snowballs converged on a breaking Jim and brought him down in the slot... and Felicia got called for roughing (apparently when she put her hands up to protect herself from a charging opponent, away from the action in the slot). I couldn't stop myself from shouting at the ref, "ARE YOU FUCKING *KIDDING* ME? **FELICIA** GETS THE PENALTY???"

Al played D in this game, and he was pretty darn good at it, too. He kept moving (with speed!), and his passes were crisp and on target. When he passed nice and hard and hit the tape on my stick in the early minutes of the first period, I thought, "wow, all that practice passing we used to do before games at Ice Oasis really paid off!" Playing D meant that his point streak ended with this game, though he did have one really great chance when the puck popped out to the high slot, and he was there to shoot it.

Posted by Lori at 06:16 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Zing!

Just happened to drop something in my lap, and the small jolt of pain reminded me of a minor injury I sustained in the last minute or so of our game last night. This injury was weird and inadvertent; I *was* skating harder at various players toward the end, but I was also trying to avoid serious injury if at all possible, since I want to go to Vancouver healthy.

Anyway, it happened on a faceoff just outside our defensive zone, at the spot where Lisa had just been helped off the ice after getting her bell rung by an idiot who couldn't skate under control. I think we were skating 4-on-4, because Kerry took the faceoff. He got control of the puck and then attempted to flip it between my legs to the middle of the ice. It hit my inner thigh, hard, in the spot where there's no padding at all—just a thin layer of stretchy material.

I yelped, and the guy I was facing off against started laughing. When I realized that he'd actually stood straight up to do it, I figured I didn't mind being the brunt of the joke if it gave Kerry an open lane... which it did. Who's laughing now, sucker?

Posted by Lori at 04:43 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Arms Buildup

Last night Al and I went to the Blade Runners practice at Vallco with Inga and Kerry. It basically consisted of about 5 minutes of warmup, 10 minutes of full-ice horseshoe drills, and 90 minutes of pickup. Al wore light and I wore dark, so we were on opposing teams for the pickup portion. His side had 10 skaters and mine had 9; we changed every two minutes, with the buzzer. The fact that my side was short meant that one person had to stay on for a double each time.

Both of us started off skating at our normal 1-minute shift speed, but we quickly found that it wasn't sustainable over 2-minute shifts—especially for me, since my turn to do a double came on my second shift. The good news is that while I was in fast-skating mode, I managed to sustain some of the energy and drive I'd built up in Vancouver. On one play, when it was a bit ambiguous whether I should take the puck or one of my teammates should, I felt I had the better angle on it, so I grabbed the puck and skated it out of the zone. A thrilling moment, I can tell you: not for it's speed or skill so much as for its very being. I can be quite a girl on the ice ("no, no, you have it, I'll just follow you in to the zone"), so it's nice to know that I can occasionally be greedy and agressive, too.

After the double I spent most of the remainder of my shifts coasting with occasional bursts of speed. I did have one semi-breakaway where I was able to skate all the way into the zone; I thought about passing, but since I was being covered from the inside, I didn't have an obvious pass to make. I thought I might have gone in too close for a shot when I was just shy of the goal line, but when I looked up to see where the goalie was in the net, I found that he wasnt: he was standing off to the side, having a drink of water. So I just popped the puck into the net. Just about everyone on the ice found this amusing; I looked at it as my best chance to score, though it didn't stop me from trying when the goalie was in the net as well. :)

I also had another couple nice plays behind the net: one where I was able to pass through an opponent's legs and put the puck right on the tape of my teammate at the right-side boards, and another where I managed to wrestle the puck away from the goalie behind the net and pop it out in front for Inga (Eric tried for the stuff and failed, but the puck slid back out just enough that Inga was able to push it in).

Overall, it was a good workout, and worthwhile for the opportunities it gave me to try new moves and just get more comfortable on my skates, but I'd actually rather practice with 45 second shifts than 2 minutes. Of course, I'd also rather practice at my usual position and with my linemates, but you can't have everything. Having to figure out which position was open/which guy was uncovered was a good drill in itself, actually, and there were many opportunities to practice breaking out and setting up in front. Inga says she tries to go to the practices about twice a month; I suspect Al and I will do the same.

Meanwhile, we've also joined a gym in an effort to get a bit stronger. I should say "strong" rather than "stronger" if I'm going to be honest; I had no idea how weak I really was in my upper body until I tried to do a shoulder press on a Cybex machine. I should have guessed from my inability to hold onto the puck when challenged or to shoot with authority, but until faced with the absolute numbers on the weight machines, I didn't really understand how deep the problem ran. Hopefully doing a little lifting 3 times a week will help my upper body strength, and that in turn will help me become a better hockey player.

Posted by Lori at 07:00 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Yadda Yadda Nada

Here's what I want to say about tonight's game:

Yep, that's right, nothing. I think I'd rather put it behind me and concentrate on what I'm going to do next time to be a better skater, a stronger shooter, a calmer competitor.

Posted by Lori at 11:00 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Red Army Ringer

Had a pretty good game against Red Army on Sunday afternoon. I came a little closer to climbing out of the +/- hole and earned a point at the same time by getting an assist in the first period. It came when we were deep in the offensive zone and I got tied up by a not-super-strong opponent on the boards. I was trying to dig the puck out from between her feet while trying to figure out how to get a shot off when I heard Wilson call my name from the point. I got my stick on the puck and passed up to him, he fired shot that rebounded off an opponent, and Inga shot the loose puck into the net. It was neat how the whole thing happened so quickly.

The other team seemed to have a couple ringers; the most noticeable was the guy who could stop on a dime and deke and who couldn't be muscled off the puck by even our strongest guys (though Hoche did manage to tangle him up and take him down as only Hoche can). This chap scored two goals, one unassisted and both while covered by at least one person. Now generally, if your skills are going to make you stick out like a sore thumb, it pays to be humble. This guy apparently didn't get the memo, however, as he had a habit of overcelebrating his goals and making snarky comments about how he was "letting the scoreboard do the talking," (which was not technically true, if you think about it). ANYWAY, he was apparently young, so maybe someone will fill him in, or encourage him to build some character by playing at a level more suited to his abilities rather than reveling in his big-fish-in-a-little-frozen-pond status.

Now back to me, me, me. :) I managed to skate fairly hard despite having developed a migraine about an hour before the game; it was moderate, as migraines go, rather than oh-my-god-I'm-dying bad, and I think the cool air rushing at my face as I skated around helped with the nausea. I probably could have been more effective covering my point while we were on D, but other than that I didn't notice any huge drop in my performance level.

I'm not sure whether feeling like I had one of those thick purple rubber bands that hold bunches of asparagus together wrapped around my head helped keep me from blowing any gaskets, but I did manage to stay calm and play pleasantly this week. I was determined to play as well as possible and win, lose, or tie as gracefully as possible, and except for one snide comment ("go for the PUCK, loser!") to the guy who kept whacking my stick at the point, I accomplished that goal. Ringers aside, I thought we played a great game, and when I come off the ice feeling proud of how I played, I couldn't care less about the score. For those of you who do, it was 4-3 them.

Posted by Lori at 05:18 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Duckworthy

I'm feeling a certain amount of pressure to update my hockey blog after each game now, and I find that I'm torn between giving an accurate account of the game and commenting on how I did personally. Funny how things change when you *know* someone's reading...

We'll have the next two weeks off from hockey—the first because of 4th of July weekend and the second because Al & I will be away. Hopefully the break will take away some of the pressure of blogging about the games, but I'll really miss the games themselves. I think we'll probably go to the Blade Runners practice this Thursday to make up for the upcoming hockey drought.

Meanwhile, my fear of blogging means that two games have gone by uncommented-on (at least by me). Last week we beat the Snowcones 3-0; I don't remember doing anything particularly spectacular, though I did have some good work fighting for the puck against the boards. I also had one moment of complete inanity: I had stayed back on D and had turned to get back when the Snowcone who was charging out of the zone lost the puck. I was in the process of turning at the time and didn't realize that he'd sort of poked it toward my feet. Al said it was pretty painful to watch, since all I'd have had to do was turn around, grab the puck, and dash back into the zone. Instead, I looked around obliviously while everyone screamed, "FEET!"

Last night's game against the Pacific Predators was better for me and the team in general, though we lost 4-3. (Many of us agreed after the game that we'd rather play a good, well-fought game and lose than walk all over another team without trying or while playing sloppily.) I tried to be a dogged forechecker, and some of my efforts resulted in turnovers. Al also noted that I had at least one successful backcheck, where I actually caught a guy and knocked him off the puck. He said he'd never seen me do that before, though it seems to me that I have. I think the difference is that usually if I can catch up, I can't do anything when I get there because I stop moving my feet. This time, apparently, my feet stayed moving.

I think the play that was most duckworthy, however, was another forechecking move that set up a scoring chance. I'd blocked a clearing pass off the instep of my skate and followed the puck as it flew behind the goal line. I set up back there and waited for someone to get in front. Inga did, I passed to her, and she got a shot off. The shot went over the net, but it was still a good play all around.

Overall I thought everybody had a good game, especially Kevin, who was very effective on D. Can't wait to see if we can bring the magic to our game against the Snowballs on the 20th.

Posted by Lori at 01:02 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Cougars #1

Just a quick entry to say that I had a really fun time playing against the Cougars on Monday, even though we lost and I nearly scored on our own goalie. (But I didn't! I said *almost*!) Actually, it was a bit scary—I think I came closer to scoring on us than I ever have to scoring on our opponents. Lucky for me and the team, Lou has a kick save.

Anyway, I think what made it fun for me was that some of the speed I'd shown in the game the week before against the Snowballs manifested again in this game, and there wasn't nearly as much falling down. Whether that was because I finally got my skates sharpened or because I'd mentally psyched myself up to go *around* people and to make as little body contact as possible, I'm not sure. Probably a little of both. Certainly I didn't make as much body contact in this game as I normally would. It also helped that I wasn't facing off against the giant Snowball goon who thought it was perfectly OK to treat me like one of those blocking dealies offensive linemen run at in football practice. Normally I can stand just about anyone up at the faceoff, but this guy had at least a hundred pounds on me, and with the dull skates, I couldn't gain any purchase. I got mowed down every time.

This week the opponents were more my size, and they were just as interested in going around me as I was in going around them, so it worked out well. They could also skate a bit better, so I wasn't taken out by random flailings (or, as was the case last week, by a guy who, while I was trying to fish the puck out from between his feet from behind, fell on my stick and pulled me down with him. I got a bit of whiplash from my chin hitting his back on that one.).

We'll get another chance to beat the Cougars next Monday, when we make up a game that was cancelled earlier in the season. We also have a game Saturday, and one the following Sunday, so that'll be 3 games in 8 days. Yay! After that, it's on to the playoffs...

Posted by Lori at 02:19 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

End of Season Sort-of Update

I hate it when I don't write in my hockey journal for a while. I end up losing track of milestones and forgetting things I wanted to work on, etc. etc. And if I did by some miracle remember everything I wanted to talk about, the post would be too long for anyone to read. Fart.

Some random hockey things that come to mind:

I am now picking up the puck and running with it so often that it's no longer news. I had my first real deke ever in a game against either the Cougars or the Crease Monkeys (see what I mean? I can't remember!) a few weeks ago, and ever since then, I'm off and running whenever the puck squirts my way.

Impaling someone with your stick does not result in a penalty. Neither, apparently, does wrenching said stick out of the impaler's hands and throwing it across the ice. I had occasion to find this out in our last game of the season, when I turned up ice to follow the puck and found an opponent barrelling at me—yes, going in the wrong direction, for some reason—full speed, and with his head down. As I had raised my stick to waist-level to negotiate the turn, and my hands came up reflexively to ward off the inevitable blow, my stick ended up driving straight into my opponent's gut while his body weight completely bowled me over. I got up, tried to see if he was OK, and then looked around for my stick, which was about 10 feet away. At first I thought the impact had flung it so far, but my Gang Green teammates informed me that my opponent ripped it out of my hands and threw it. That would account for the pain in my left hand...

I look about like what I thought I'd look like. Everyone always says that when you see a video of yourself playing hockey, you'll be shocked at how slow you are. Not so for me. I actually do watch the games from the bench, so I'm aware of what speed we're moving at. :) So the two times I've seen videos of myself (one in Vancouver, back in 2001, and the video Karen shot recently of our playoff win against Red Army, which was given to Al and me as a going-away gift by Inga and Kerry on behalf of Gang Green), I wasn't too surprised. If anything, I looked more coordinated than I thought I would. In short, I looked like a hockey player. Woo hoo!

Posted by Lori at 02:40 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Gang Green Summer 2003 Wrapup

The Summer 2003 season ended for Gang Green on Monday, August 25 with a 4-0 loss to the Blades. Believe it or not, I came closest to scoring a goal, I think: I was trying to pass to Baldwin (who was in front of the net) from the corner, but I hit the goalie's pad. The puck then richocheted off the goalie's ankle and nearly crossed the goal line, but ended up stopping when it hit his skate blade, just short. That wasn't the moment I was most proud of, though. The moment of pride came less than a minute before that, at the faceoff in our opponent's zone. The Blades' best (and bossiest) player came over to inform the defender facing off against me that "THAT'S YOUR GUY [me] —TIE HIM UP AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE". The defender sort of nodded, but either he didn't want to listen to his teammate, or he didn't know what to do with the information, because by the time the puck dropped and he turned to lift my stick, I was gone. I'd started gliding backwards ever-so-slowly as soon as we set for the faceoff, which made me the bossy guy's problem (he was at right wing). He knew he was supposed to go to the point, but he couldn't because the defender who was supposed to cover me lost me and hadn't picked me back up again. The bossy guy, perhaps because his attention was divided beteween me and the point, or because he's a better shooter than he is a defender, didn't do a very good job of covering me, and that's how I got free to make the pass that turned into a shot. So hooray for being sneaky!

I must give credit to Fuz for the idea; it was in a previous game (one in which he was playing Center to my Left Wing) that he had counseled me (in a whisper, not the tell-the-whole-world, including-your-opponent shout of the bossy guy) to crash the net as soon as the puck dropped. I remember thinking the first time he told me this, "how can I crash the net when there's a defender between me and it?" But by the second time he gave me this instruction, I had come up with a plan: I'd glide backwards as everyone was setting, and when the puck dropped, I'd have a clear path to step toward the net. Given that most defenders reflexively step forward when the puck drops, that would leave a passing lane from Fuz to me, and I could try for a redirection. This almost worked once, except that I got a little *too* close to the net, and the shot from Center went behind me rather than in front. In any case, it's a technique I plan to use as much as possible—and it's totally compatible with what I once observed made Mario Lemieux so good down low: he was always gliding around, never standing still. I never saw a man stay so open for so long in my life.

So anyway, back to Gang Green. Since it was our last game of the season, I brought my camera so we could get a team photo. We had the referee take two on-ice photos (one was in focus, but we obviously weren't ready yet—everyone is looking in different directions, and almost everyone has his or her mouth open—and the other wasn't in focus at all), and we had Gene, our #1 fan, take two off-ice photos. Gene's were better by far, so here's the better of those two. Click to enlarge, or roll over the names to see who's who:

Posted by Lori at 05:27 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry