Game On.

Not much activity as you can see, but it reflected my hockey output for the last 3 weeks. Just some games here and there in the Adult Draft League. Subbed on the worst team in one division and beat the best team in the other. Did the same thing the next game for my own team with an even stronger performance.

My team that just won the championship is playing at a different rink at a much (emphasis added) higher level. We got shelled our first game by a team that looked semi-pro. They were actually very entertaining to watch when they were not lighting the lamp. We were missing our two top players and despite the obvious difference in talent, it was a competitive game until halfway through the 2nd.

It feels very good to be playing in this league at that high a level of play though. Everything you do has to be done with great quickness and precision. Not much margin for error at all for a player of my limited skill set. LOVE IT!!!

...Now You Know (coda)

Yes we did! The Truckers won the championship Sunday night 11-6. We were up 8-2 going into the third when the team kind of relaxed and gave up some cheap goals. We finally had our full line up and are quite deadly with all the pieces in place. For the goalie report:

- Movement: Very good. I got my skates cut by a real pro and it made a huge difference. All of my pushes were strong and it kept me in position all night.

- Rebound Control: Mixed. For the most part I did not let up too many dangerous rebounds, but their 2nd goal could be interpreted as a rebound. I in fact played very strong in the crease and stopped many 2nd and third chance opportunities (demonstrating at least some level of control).

- Puck Handling: Poor. Another gaffe. Fortunately it didn't cost me. When will it end?

- Endurance: Strong. Again I felt like I could play forever and did not feel fatigued despite several extended plays.


Goals/Saves:

- Goal 1: Low post blocker-side. It was a bang-bang-bang play from behind the net. Went to a guy in the slot and he buried it before I could extend over.
- Goal 2: Unfortunate bounce off a grounder towards my shin blocker-side that ramped up over my stick, blocker, elbow and shoulder. Shrug (pun).
- Goal 3-6: None of these really stand out. There were several breakdowns by my team that lead to ridiculous scoring opportunities. As stated earlier, the game was over by this point.

- Save: Extended right toe save on a slapshot while body was going slightly left.
- Save: Left shoulder shrug off of a wrist shot from the low slot. Tracked rebound to left leg and made 2 additional tough saves.
- Save: Sprawling reverse blocker save swatted to the left followed by a left toe save. Not really sure how I did this?

They offered me the game puck, but I declined as it was a team effort throughout the season. I even got some very positive comments about my play from the other team at the after party (they apparently frequent the same bar as our team). I feel very good about the season (obviously) and look forward to what lies ahead for us. I'm also re-evaluating some of my training to hopefully produce even better results in the future. "You asked yourself if all the pain and sacrifice is worth it..."(D.C. al Coda)

Delays

I apologize for not keeping this as updated as I would have wished. I'm without a home internet connection and I don't want to be one of those persons who update their blog at work (like I'm doing now, [facepalm]). The truth is I've had trouble getting ice time recently so there ain't much to report anyway. My hockey schedule is untimely scattered right now and there are no stick times outside of working hours at the moment. Groin continues to slowly get better and has made more noticeable strides in that direction over the last few days.

Championship game is this Sunday and I'm hoping to get some ice time on Saturday so I don't go into the game being on the ice only once in the last 11 days. Off ice training is going well, but I was feeling a little tight and weak today so I had to cut out some exercises in my lunch hour workout. Meh, get me on the ice already.

Round 2

Finally got my first Ice playoff win on Tuesday @ Ice Castle. It was a very tightly contested game and we won 6-4. I was, unfortunately, kind of nervous going into the game as my last three Ice playoff games ended in disaster. I played very well though and stopped 6 or 7 breakaways/partial breakaways. Here is a breakdown of the game:

Movement: Solid up and down movement all game. Good positioning and swift transitions. Felt very comfortable.

Rebound control: Mixed. Did give up a fair number of rebounds, but kept them close to me and was able to smother most of them. Others I kicked out to the boards effectively. There were a few that were dangerous, but I was fortunate not to have been stung by any of them.

Puckhandling: Made one gaffe, but again fortunately did not have to pay for it.

Endurance: No problems at all. Felt strong all game.


Now a breakdown of the goals/saves.

Goal 1: One-timer from a player all alone less than 4 feet out from the goal. 5-hole. Could have possibly gone into butterfly sooner, but it was a very quick play.
Goal 2: Re-direct scramble in front of goal. 5-hole (kind of?). Puck was clearly frozen between my skates in a narrow butterfly, but no whistle was blown and the attacking player was allowed to slash at my skates to free the puck and put it in the net.
Goal 3: Partial breakaway. Over blocker. Attacker chipped puck over defenders stick, got around him, then chipped it again and it barely went over my blocker and inside the post. Just a great play by the attacker.
Goal 4: Total breakdown. I totally lost sight of the puck and thought it was coming towards the boards. Somehow it went back to the player who skated around 3 players and basically put it in an empty net since my attention was elsewhere. I'll take 100% blame for that one.

Big Saves:

There were a few. The most crucial one was on a breakaway with the score tied 4-4 in the 3rd period. The attacker was coming in VERY slow. He was able to finally get me to go to my left a little and then he deked back right. I was able to stop myself just enough to get my right toe out and rob him. There were a couple others, but I'd rather focus more on analyzing the goals scored.

So in conclusion it felt very very good to get the win. Championship game is two Sundays from now. I hope to have another solid performance and let my team take care of the rest.

"Yoga-Fire..."

It appears as though that session of yoga on Monday has cleared up the strain in my groin. I took to the ice last night and made it through the game just fine with no ill effects felt this morning. Very good news for me. My performance on the other hand....

Well, 2 and a half weeks off the ice and I was bound to be a little shaky. Unfortunately I was very shaky as my skating, timing, and pretty much everything was off. Missed a couple of easier saves and got lit up for the most part. It is really of no matter though as I'm just happy to be able to play without any pain. I'll go to stick time this weekend and hopefully get back to where I was and be ready for the playoffs.

Last night saw a lot of fundamental breakdowns: stick off the ice, committing too early, loose butterfly, reacting instead of blocking and other things I had hoped to have grown out of by now. You forget how much you need to remember sometimes.

Aftermath

Well, I ended up being a little banged up from the game on Sunday. Surprising because it was a rather easy outing, but it just showed that my groin will take some time to heal. It was *very* tight when I woke up yesterday. The kind where it hurts to get out of bed. Felt it mostly in my hip, lower abdominal muscles.

Decided to get a little more pro-active with it and went back to my yoga class for the first time in a year last night. It felt very good get my stretch on once again. I am definitely going to have to incorporate this full time if I want to stay healthy. My groin feels a thousand times better today than it did yesterday.

Tonight is the last regular season ice game for my one team. I think my recovery is going to depend more on doing things like stretching/yoga/pilates/rehab than it is on resting it. I know that sounds not so wise, but I took 2 months off last year when this happened and felt it the first time I went back on the ice. Seems like it is something that I just need to work through rather than work around. Yeah, I seem to be able to pretty much rationalize anything I want to myself, shrug.

Comeback

Okay, going to give it a go tonight in a dek hockey game. I'm wearing two pairs of core shorts, and feel pretty stable. Training has gone well all week. Did some agility work this morning with some uphill karaokes and uphill bounding. Would not say the groin is anywhere close to being healed, but it feels manageable. More than anything, I would just like to test it out and see where I'm at. Since dek hockey does not put anything near the strain on my groin that ice does, it will be a good chance to evaluate how I'll probably feel if I take to the ice on tuesday. Also, I just want to play hockey!!!

update (following morning):

Game went very well. Didn't feel any discomfort at all except for maybe some slight tightness when I stopped a one-timer from the crease (probably would have felt that irregardless). Played very well after one of my shakiest starts ever. I mishandled a the ball for the 2nd time early in the game and put it in my own net. Definitely a candidate for a blooper reel. Didn't let it phase me though. I stopped every shot I faced including a real nice glove save on a partial breakaway. Had some butterflys in my stomach this game which I haven't had in a long time. I was just so pumped to be playing I guess.

Groin tightened up some afterwards. Stretched some before bed and it feels about the same as it did when I got up yesterday. Playing again this afternoon so I'll know more at that time.