Take the Puck and Run

This past Monday was the first round of the playoffs; we lost to the Toasters, so we won't be going to the Stanley Keg game this season. I think I'm jinxed: I've never played in a Keg game, even when my team made it (last season I was at a conference in Florida the night Coastside won the Keg). Although I'd love to hold the Keg over my head, it doesn't really bother me all that much. I never mind whether we win or lose as long as we play well and the game is competitive.

This game *was* quite competitive, and I thought we played well. I had a couple shots on goal, and one that went wide of an open corner by about 6 inches, according to Mike (I shot around a defender, so I couldn't see it). My proudest moment, however, was when I cleared the puck up the boards, and the defender who was standing at the blue line didn't see it for a few seconds. (I think he'd turned his back to the play.) He eventually grabbed it and tried to pull it back toward him, but I stole it from him and took off. <-- That's the moment, right there: the one where I grabbed the puck and *kept going.* Usually my instinct is to freeze, then stand up and look around for someone to pass to. I was so excited that the only thing that entered my mind this time was "breakaway!"

In addition to this small moment of glory, I had one of ignominy... or maybe just of goofiness. I was playing Center and switching with Anton. He waved his stick at me to signal that he was coming off, and glided toward the bench. I started over the boards and had just swung my second leg up when Anton made his signature move: he turned around at the last minute and hopped up to the boards backwards. Unfortunately, this time he miscalculated and hopped right into me, nailing my left side and sending me crashing backwards onto the bench. I swung out an arm to break my fall and to keep from hitting my neck on the bench, but in the process I pulled a muscle from the back of my elbow all the way down to my ribs on the left side. I had to send Anton back out for a few seconds so I could assess the damage. My left side was a bit weak for a while, but there was no lasting damage. Plus, later I got tripped out on the ice and crashed down on my right side, bruising my hip, so that balanced me out.

Our last game at Ice Oasis (for a long while, anyway) will be on Monday at 10:30pm. I think we've found another team to play with next season at Logitech Ice in San Jose. We know several of the players already, so hopefully it will be a good fit for us. We're really excited about trying something new.

pink hair and shoulder pads rob subbing mike stretching

Posted by Lori in | February 28, 2003·10:18 AM