Hockey Night in Texas

Went out and played hockey this evening. I had planned to show up and buy a new jock/cup, but the store closed roughly an hour early. So I started plotting to go out to dinner instead. I value my gonads more than I wanted to play hockey, so I figured I was out for the night, but the coach had one he bought and didn't want nor like nor use, and had washed it, so he gave it to me (for good) and I got to play.

I've been playing on the White team, as opposed to the Black team. We're supposedly looking for names for the team, so I suggested that we should be, respectively, the Supremacy and the Power. I get the feeling they'll say no on racial grounds.

I didn't have my usual Oleg Tverdovsky #10 jersey from his days with the Soviet Wings, so I wore my Stars jersey with no name or number on it. My previous line had been split up from last season, so I was assigned to be on a line with the two players wearing Suomi jerseys (Finnish national team), which amused me because we were all wearing jerseys that were worn by a lot of Finns.

We actually played like a team, and even though we got shut out 2-0 due to failing to take advantage of some opportunities, we definitely played well and could have taken advantage of some things we didn't. Our goalie made a few big mistakes too, and they managed to capitalize on that.

As for me, I know a few mistakes I made that could easily have been avoided. I positioned myself poorly a few times, I failed to break diagonally on a couple opportunities, and I played too close to the boards on approach once or twice. I also suffered from an uncalled hooking on a breakaway, which ended with my right wrist being pulled behind me by a high stick, and as a result instead of making a proper approach I had to chase the puck to the boards where they never should have ended up. That should have been a penalty shot, but there's nothing I can do by complaining.

My old season in Euless ended, so I'll be switching back to my old team in Grapevine. They're moving back to D-league from Tier III (C), which is good because we no longer have the players that forced our move from D to C. They don't start until the end of the month, so hopefully it won't be until I return from my trip. If I miss the first game, I'm ok with that, since the trip is more important than a single recreational hockey game.

We went out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings, and enjoyed cheering for the Red Sox. We're no Red Sox fans, but we can't stand the Angels. Amy discovered she definitely likes Carribean Jerk sauce. After the Red Sox beat the Angels, we sat around talking hockey and fantasy football while waiting for a check. It turned out that the credit card machine had been down, and they finally got it working just as we were about to pay. We stopped off for a few things at Mega Lo Mart on the way home.

NHL Conference Second Round Predictions (and Conference Quarterfinals results)

Monteal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins (4-3)
My guess: Habs in 5 (Right team, two games off)

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals (4-3)
My guess: Flyers in 6 (Right team, one game off)

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Habs really showed weakness by taking so long to finish off the very same Bruins they schooled all throughout the season, while the Flyers made some of their strongest showings that I've seen this season against Ovechkin and the Caps. The Flyers just seem to be the stronger team here, and I think the Flyers can break them.

Result:
Flyers in five

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators (4-0)
My guess: Pens in 4 (exact!)

New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils (4-1)
My guess: Rangers in 5 (exact!)

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers
These are two great teams, and it's going to make for some incredible games. That said, the Penguins are probably the best skating team in the NHL right now, and Lundqvist may be the best goalie to enter the league since Ron Hextall. (Holy War alert!) This is going to be close, I suspect.

Result:
Pens in seven

Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators (4-2)
My guess: Wings in 4 (right team, two games off)

Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild (4-2)
My guess: Wild in 6 (Wrong team, right number of games)

Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Detroit Red Wings are a great team, and I'm surprised it took them so long to beat the Predators. I thought about predicting a Wings sweep again, and thought better of it. The thin air is rough on an athlete in Colorado (I'm kind of assuming they play at high altitude) so I'm going to give the Avs a game.

Result:
Wings in five

San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames (4-3)
My guess: Flames in 7 (right number of games, wrong team)

Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks (4-2)
My guess: Stars in 7 (right team, one game off)

San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars
The Stars have overcome a lot of injuries and a lot of shortcomings this season, the most prominent loss being Sergei Zubov. Sergei is back on the roster, and considered day-to-day., It'll be interesting to see him back in action, but I don't want to see it if he's not ready.

Result: Stars in seven

Another weekend, another season

I started a new season with the West team this past Saturday night, and so far I'm amazed how much better I've gotten since September. I've been playing in a C2 level league (I'm more a D-level player, I-level when I started) and this is a new I-minor team. We did pretty well, and I was definitely much better than I thought, but perhaps that's not fair to say since this is the beginner level league and I've been playing for eight months, four and a half in C2 league.



We didn't have assigned numbers yet, but I managed to get the number 37. Kevin Smith fans will recognize the reference as one thing, and Monty Python will recognize it as something else. I'm not old, and I'll try not to suck any dick on the way to the ice. There, now the references are out of the way.


It was my first time in anything but I-league scrimmage at the other facility playing as a center, and it wasn't too bad. Even at the other league I'd only been in for one or two shifts as a center. We had one goaltender, four defensemen, and two forward lines. They assembled the first line, and we got our line together. It turned out that I was assigned a girl who had never put on pads before, and a guy who hadn't skated in four years. This left the obvious decision of me playing in the middle and my two cohorts as wings. I asked which side they'd prefer, and neither had a preference. After asking whether my female teammate was left or right handed, I assigned her to right wing to match her handedness, but we changed our mind at the last minute and made her left wing upon determining that it was closer to the bench.


Anyhow, I made a good show of it, despite missing my many shots. Even on four breakaways, countless shots, and an instance of running in circles. I learned that impressive play is not always a mark of skill. On one approach, I lacked a shot, so I looked for a pass but lacked one, so I took it around the net, going through a few guys in the process with fancy-looking puckhandling that really consisted of me losing and regaining the puck rapidly, and upon still lacking a shot or pass, I did it again. Then I just tossed it in the corner to let my winger get some practice. I probably should have shot, but their goal was pretty much clogged with defensemen and out-of-position forwards from both teams. In the end, we did win 4-1.


The officiating was much better than my old facility, as was the ice. The Zamboni was actually in proper repair, which is astounding after my old rink. I was very appreciated by my teammates, and I've now volunteered as a substitute for two other teams at different rinks. Looking forward to more hockey with these guys. This season is going to be a blast.

Hockey Playoff Picks

I know it's a little late, but here's my picks for the NHL playoffs in the first round. I haven't looked at any of the scores yet, other than the fact that the Pens game is on and I just caught the tail end of the Devils/Rangers game, so I admit a little head start, so I'm cheating as little as possible.

MONTREAL (1) vs. BOSTON (8)

Montreal hasn't lost against the Bruins yet this year. I know the playoffs are different, and it'd be great to see a more competitive matchup, but it's not in the cards. Even so, with the playoffs being different, the Bruins may pull out one win in the series.

RESULT

Habs in five.

PITTSBURGH (2) vs. OTTAWA (7)

The Pens really have a lot of great players and they're an excellent team this year. The Sens aren't near as good as they were last year. The pen is mightier.

RESULT

Pens in four

WASHINGTON (3) vs. PHILADELPHIA (6)

The Flyers are underrated, but this is coming from a Philly fan. They're not the best team in the league, but they're definitely better than the Caps.

RESULT

Flyers in six

NEW JERSEY (4) vs. N.Y. RANGERS (5)

Great goalies on both sides, but I don't think the Devils can hold the line against the Rangers. I don't think with Brodeur in the net though that the Devils will get swept either.

RESULT

Rangers in five

DETROIT (1) vs. NASHVILLE (8)

No contest. Detroit is leaps and bounds better than the Preds.

RESULT

Wings in four.

SAN JOSE (2) vs. CALGARY (7)

This is going to be the most exciting series of the round. Hard pick, but I'm going to have to go go with Calgary. I don't know why.

RESULT

Flames in seven

MINNESOTA (3) vs. COLORADO (6)

A pretty even matchup, I'm hearing people talk about Foppa this and Foppa that, but I don't think that'll matter so much when it comes to the post season. Still going to be close.

RESULT

Wild in six

ANAHEIM (4) vs. DALLAS (5)

Maybe I'm just biased, but I think the Ducks have more names than ability. They'll fight it out to the end, but it's going to be tough without Sergei Zubov, which is why I say seven instead of six.

RESULT

Stars in seven

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Two-game streak!

Well, got back from tonight's hockey game, and it was a fun time. Our last late game, started at 2200. We had a surprisingly good turnout, with three lines, four defensemen, and two centers. Contrast this with our previous 2200 start times, where we had six or seven total players and ran it like rat hockey, and it becomes apparent how awesome having twelve guys was. The ice was way better than usual, with the rink having been cut down significantly to the point where we could actually see the lines on the ice. Previously, it was questionable whether there were lines under all that ice in the first place. They're still going to be repainting the ice before long here. This weekend I'm told. It appears that they shaved it down, which is amazing considering how terrible the Zambonis at our rink are. It was cut down to where I remember it being back in August when I bought my skates, though the paint under the ice was definitely worse for wear.

Enter the first period. Us in our grey jerseys, them in their St. Louis Blues bases with their bulldog logo on the front plus one guy in a Flyers jersey and another in a green jersey with some unknown logo. Went out for my first shift playing third line left winger, and immediately got rammed by the guy in the Flyers jersey. No big deal, even though we're a no-checking league, so I get back up and we continue. I get back to the bench and someone asks if it was a little rough out there, and I tell him that the guy in the Flyers jersey seems to want to be Eric Lindros, including the concussions. So we continue for a while longer, and our captain has a rebound bounce off his skate into the goal. Paste the other time being a bunch of whiny little girls here, insisting that he "kicked" the puck into the goal. Anyone who knows the rules of hockey knows that's a crock, and the zebras counted the goal. 1-0 us. A couple minutes later, they tie it up with a junk shot past our usually awesome goalie. No penalties in the first.

Second period gets us up 2-1, and each team gets their only two penalties of the game. Hooking for them, roughing for us. Our gameplay turns into a cluster, and nobody really accomplishes anything in the second. One of our player departs, having taken some personal time off work to come play but not enough time to stay the whole game. The dull blades on one of our centers' skates are obvious, but he's doing a surprisingly good job of making do. He knew they were bad when he got there, but had no time or means to get them sharpened beforehand.

Start the third period. They tie it up with a junk shot 8 seconds into the period, and then less than five minutes later they're leading 4-2 with two goals in 19 seconds during the fourth minute. Our team gets fired up, and a few minutes later we make it 4-3, and another 45 seconds later we're tied 4-4. Enter my line a few minutes later, and after a couple very short plays ending in more faceoffs, we get the puck in the zone. I remember what I've been meaning to try out, and I start screening the goalie. Boy did that make their goalie and one of their defensemen mad. After less than a minute of screening him, we're leading 6-4. We change lines, and after a bit, it's 6-on-5 with the opponents having pulled their goalie for a faceoff on our side of the ice. Ten seconds later, it's 6-5, and eighteen seconds after that, we've won!

Two game streak in a league we've only just entered this season after having previously been in the champions in the league below the one we're in now. It was a rocky start to the season, but we've really grown into this level of play. Now that I've discovered how effective this "screening" stuff is, I really need to do it more.

Game 2, I-League

Played my second game of hockey tonight. Yeah, that's me in the green. It's an instructional league, so I can't be too proud of the fact that we won, but I'm still proud of it. 5-2, according to my wife. I don't remember for sure, I was too busy playing to worry about the score. Had a great time. Played LW last week, RW this week. Then I got a little practice with one of the goalies afterwards.

My stats for tonight:
1 assist
5 shots on goal
1 turn-over
2 off-sides
0 PIM

More Ice Hockey!

On Saturday night after going to the Saturday Night service at Richland Hills, we met up with Randi and Chris, along with Silas and Olivia. Got something to eat and then went over to Grapevine Mills with the intent to walk a lap around the place. Instead, we ended up taking Silas and Olivia to their first sporting event: A hockey game. A game between the DFW Titans (who I later learned were a Public Safety hockey team consisting of firefighters and police officers) versus somebody with red jerseys and what Amy identified as a Panther logo. I don't know where they were from, as I haven't seen them before and none of their equipment that I saw had it written on it.

It was pretty fun, Silas got all excited and watched everything. Olivia didn't like the buzzer at the end of the periods. It was a good time. The Titans won 2-1 despite most of the end being in Power Play or 5 on 3 against them.

I've toyed with the idea of trying to play ice hockey, but since I've never played, I don't want to dive into it due to the expense of the whole thing. I might try going to pick-up game night over there sometime if I can find used equipment for cheap enough at some point, but I don't know yet. It's always looked fun to me, but the cost and the fact that I've never played ice hockey before sort of make me wonder if it's a good idea. I figure I'll keep watching on craigslist and see what I can see. There was a pair of hockey skates that looked to be in great shape somebody was selling in my size in Frisco for $15, so if I do it right it might not actually be too bad. Who knows, we'll see.

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