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

Game 1: Eugene Xtreme

Our first game was at 9:45pm tonight (well, technically yesterday now, since it's the wee hours of Saturday) against the Eugene Xtreme. After skating a couple shifts in the first period, I figured we should be able to take this team. They were about our level (except for two players who stood out as strong skaters and puckhandlers), so I thought we'd have a good shot against them.

We brought only 6 players with us from California (including our goalie), so we had to recruit some Canadian subs in order to have two full lines of forwards and D. Jocelyn came out from Regina again this year, and she brought her friend Marlene (who couldn't make it last year because she broke her arm days before the tournament). We also picked up three local players: Amber and Deb, who played on a line with Michele, and Sarah, who played D. Jocelyn also played D this time, along with Shauna and Sabrina. I Centered a line with Felicia at Left and Marlene at Right.

I wasn't particularly strong at the faceoffs, but I tried to bring whatever other talents I have to bear in playing Center. My main strengths: 1. speed (although Al rightly notes that I don't really have quickness), and 2. dogged forechecking. I think it's important to have both, because forechecking as a Center is no good if you can't also get back when the play turns around. (I almost didn't on a play toward the end of the 3rd period; luckily, Al yelled from the bench, "Lori, you're D!" to spur me on. I hadn't noticed that Sarah was still up at the blueline.)

As for the dogged forechecking, I just tried to slow down their strongest skaters (who were playing D), and to break up passes whenever possible (because usually, Felicia could capitalize on it). I knew that whatever I was doing was working pretty well against one of the fancy D skaters when she grabbed my stick at one point and tried to fling it out of the way. It felt good to get under her skin a little. :)

I felt strongest and most in control of my game when I was forechecking, and also when I had to get back on D once and start a breakout from behind the net. My skating was smooth, my pass fairly authoritative, and I had good speed; in short, I really felt like a hockey player. Playing with my new Synergy stick, which Al bought for me today at Cyclone Taylor, also made me feel powerful and capable. As I said to Al after the game, I never had to wonder if I could bring my stick around to get whack at the puck. It's so much lighter than my wooden stick that there's never any doubt that I have the arm strength to actually puckhandle.

Amber scored all three of our goals (all on breakaways); she's very fast when she sees a free puck and an open lane. I figure all we need to do to score is wear the other team down in the neutral zone, and wait for the puck to pop out to Amber. She got the MVP award, of course, but I actually think Felicia was probably the biggest go-getter on the ice for us. Her passing was great, she was really good at getting to the puck and turning up ice with it, she worked hard in the corners, and she rotated the triangle really well, too. It was great to really see her in her element.

Anyway, it was a fun game (that we won 3-1, btw), and one that used up about all the energy I had for the night. When the Sechelt Spiders came looking for a sub for their game right after ours, I had to pass. I still had a stitch in my side from my second-to-last shift, and I didn't want to completely wipe myself out for tomorrow (we have games at 3:45pm and 8:00pm). Al is now snoring beside me, and I'm about to doze off myself. More tomorrow, after the next game!

Posted by Lori at 01:06 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Photos from Game 1

Here are the photos that Al took before and during the first game; click for enlargements.

Posted by Lori at 09:21 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Game 2: Hornets

This afternoon's first game was a bit of a shock after last night's; we basically played the same game we did yesterday, but instead of winning 3-1, we lost 6-0. We'd gotten to know each other's playing styles a bit better, but that didn't really help... it seems that none of us trusted that anyone else would get the puck, so we tended to swarm. :-/ Al also noticed that Felicia and I tended to both go for the puck at the same time; I'll have to tell her for the next game that from now on I'll let her have it, and just try to get open for the pass.

Aside from fighting over the puck, Felicia and I actually play pretty well together. She's very good at getting control of the puck at the blueline and skating it in, while I can use my speed to go in with her and crash the net. We manage to pass to each other pretty well, too. Marlene made a great linemate for both of us, and while we didn't score any goals together, we certainly had some chances (hmmm, sound familiar?). I hope I get a chance to play with both of them at a future tournament.

On the downside, I remarked to Al that I felt like I was having to do it all in this game, and I'm really not a good enough player for that. He replied that from the bench, it looked like *everyone* was trying to do it all themselves—that was the problem. We were all playing well, but we weren't really playing like a team. Hopefully we can fix that for our next game, which is only a couple hours away.

Posted by Lori at 06:23 PM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Photos From Game 2

Al's photos from game 2. Felicia and I figure prominently.

Posted by Lori at 01:37 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry

Game 3: Ravens

Our Saturday afternoon game had us facing a team we had to beat to secure the 2nd place spot in our bracket (which would move us into the playoffs). If for some reason we tied them, we'd also be tied for 2nd place, and the tie-breakers were (1) wins, (2) penalty minutes (fewer), (3) goals for (more), and (4) goals against (fewer). There was quite a bit of talk about tie-breakers in the locker room before the game, which kind of bugged me; I'd rather have concentrated on trying to win the game outright. (But then, while I would be excited to make the playoffs and get at least one more game in, I also would be OK with having Sunday off.) As we took to the ice, somebody noted that the other team had two penalty minutes going into this game, and we had six. Another reason we should just concentrate on winning, I thought.

During the final period of Game 2, we'd scrambled the lines a bit to see if we could generate any offense, but it hadn't worked. The lines from Game 1 seemed to be the best we could arrange. We did keep one change going into Game 3, though: Sarah moved from D to Center, and Deb moved back to take Sarah's spot. Felicia and Marlene and I stayed together as the other forward line. I'd mentioned to Felicia before the game that Al had noticed that sometimes both of us went for the puck at the same time, and my plan in this game would be to let her have it, and to just get open for the pass. I was able to do that most of the time, though some of the photos still show us too close together (usually my fault).

The Ravens scored first, in the first period. I believe we answered with a goal of our own early in the second period (I can't remember who actually put the puck in the net; maybe Amber?), making the score tied at 1-1. Not long after that, I ended up following the lead skater behind the net as she tried to either go for a wraparound or kill time until her teammates could get set up in the slot. I managed to muck her up a little—enough that a wraparound shot was now impossible—but as I came around the far side of the net, I noticed that there were now two other Ravens in front on that side. The girl I was on passed out toward them, and Ling came out of the net to face them. Rather than charge into the scrum and potentially make things worse for Ling, who had to sort out among the three Ravens and our 2 D (plus any Wingers who might be coming down to help out) where a puck might be coming from, I skated behind her into the crease and covered the gap between her left arm and her body.

This turned out to be a good thing, as that's exactly where the shot went a second or so later. Someone then crashed into Ling, who fell back onto my leg; I don't think she'd realized I was there, and at first I was worried that I might have hurt her, not to mention kept her from covering the puck properly. There was an immediate whistle anyway, though; apparently not only was Ling fine and the puck OK where it was, but we were also going on the power play. The girl who got called for holding Jocelyn's stick was none too happy about it ("Are you fucking kidding me?" she yelled at the ref, to Michele's delight; I heard M, who happened to be on the ice with me and Felicia that shift, mutter, "two extra minutes for unsportsmanlike would be fine with us!") She just got the two minutes for the hold, though.

I believe this was the first of three penalties taken by the Ravens in the second period (it might have been the second penalty; I'm not sure). In any case, it put their PIM total for the tournament at 8. They now had more penalty minutes than we did. Sadly, that distinction did not last long. It was near the end of the second period, I believe, that I got called for tripping. :( I had picked up the person in the slot and was trying to stick to her when our strides got out of sync, and I accidentally poked her skate with my stick. She went down hard, I leaned down and said, "oops, sorry about that," and the ref blew the whistle. "5 Teal, tripping!" I couldn't dispute the call, so I headed to the box. I know I should look mad or at least guilty there in the box, but when I noticed Al with the camera pointed at me, I couldn't help smiling ruefully. I knew we could beat this team, and the penalty wasn't completely stupid (I didn't get in a fight or whack someone in the head with my stick or retaliate for all the pushing and shoving and grabbing), so I didn't think the fact that we were now tied in penalty minutes would even come into play.

Somewhere in the middle of the game, Marlene suggested that on the faceoff, I should try to whack the other Center's stick as soon as the puck was dropped. That way, she'd have no chance at the puck, and I could win it back cleanly. Now, I'm no good at winning the puck backwards in the first place (the best I can do is win it to the side), but I said I would certainly give it a try. Meanwhile, Ling had been telling us Centers since game 1 that we needed to tie up our man. I'd done that in the second game on a faceoff in our end, leaving the puck free for one of the D or Wingers to come in and pick it up, but instead everyone just stood around and watched us tangle. Meanwhile, as Spitfire attention was directed toward the scuffle on the dot, one of their Wingers slid backwards til she was open in front of the net. Eventually the puck was kicked free, one of the Hornets passed it to the open Winger, and she scored. Not very encouraging.

Anyway, I tried Marlene's suggestion, and I quickly found that I was strong enough to whack the other Center's stick, but not strong enough to also win the faceoff back. At the next rest between shifts, I told Marlene this, and outlined my strategy: I would whack the stick and then step in. Marlene said no problem, either she or Felicia would pick up the puck. With everyone on the line now on the same page, the play worked much better against the Ravens than it did against the Hornets. While we weren't able to score again, we *were* able to frustrate and confuse their Centers (and often entire lines). You can see this in the photo at right, where I've got the Center tied up, and Felicia is moving in from the Right Wing to pick up the puck. Shortly after, I disengaged from the Center and got open in the slot for the pass. I love it when a play comes together. :)

Unfortunately, by not being able to capitalize on some good plays (and by not setting up properly on a few others—see left), the game ended in a 1-1 tie. That meant that all the tie-breakers we'd fretted about before the game and between periods would now come into play. We were obviously tied in both points (3) and wins (1); because of their three penalties and my one during this game, we were tied in penalty minutes (8); at first it looked like they were ahead in goals for (5 to our 4), but we learned that there was a mistake on the official scoring sheet, and we were also tied in that category. That meant that it came down to goals against, and that's where our 6-0 loss in the second game came back to bite us. I think the Ravens only had 4 or 5 goals against them to our 8. They moved on to the playoffs, and we did not.

After the game we went up to the lounge for beer and nachos; I spotted the little girl in the photo at right and snapped a couple photos of her playing with her dolls. She's wearing a hockey jersey. :) After scarfing down most of the nachos and listening for our ticket numbers to be called in the door-prize raffle (we didn't win anything), Al and I headed back to the hotel. Apparently we missed out on some serious streaking by cutting out early: we heard from Marlene the next day that shortly after we left one of the coaches from the another team was seen skating around the rink naked. He was pursued by one of his team's players in full gear; she was trying to knock him down. (Personally, I wouldn't want to fall on the ice without pads on, much less without clothes. And god forbid any part of his body was wet, and it adhered to the ice.... <shudder>) After this display, a few die-hards from our team moved on to Tim Horton's, where two insane Candians decided to try to impress the donut-eating crowd with their god-given wares. They started by pressing their bums to the storefront glass, and then they came inside for a loop around the establishment. I understand that the goods on display were none too impressive, but the two nuts (or rather, the two loons *with* the nuts) won points for shock value.

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, I was feeling fairly sore; though I'd have loved to play another game or two on Sunday, I wasn't exactly sorry to have a day off, either. I was amazed that I came away from the tournament with no serious injuries—just one small, rectangular bruise (probably from a stick) just above my left elbow—and some sore muscles. Really sore, actually, but in a good way. Made me feel like I'd actually *skated*. Al did say that despite the penalty and the fact that we didn't win, that last game was the best one he'd ever seen me play. That's something to be proud of, if I do say so myself.

Posted by Lori at 09:48 AM | TrackBack | Link to This Entry