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The Ordinals had their last practice of the season last night at Lasker rink, which sits at the northern edge of Central Park. We’ve had five or six of these practices over the fall season and I made it to two of them — hauling my gear out of Sky Rink is never a proposition I enjoy.

Playing outside though is always great and if we do these next winter I’m definitely going to do it more. There’s something really awesome about playing outside. Last night was a perfect example of a night made to play outside. It was a crisp night. It was mostly clear, with only the occasional cloud seeming to pass in front of the moon. And, thankfully, there was only a light wind. The lack of wind was great. One of our previous practices featured an intense wind that would seem to rip across the rink at exactly the moment we were all standing still listening to the coach. There’s nothing quite like a cold wind, instantly freezing the sweat that is in the gear.

These couple of chances to play outside — along with the Graham Norton intro shoot a couple years ago that was filmed at Rockefeller Center — really make me wish that I had decided to play hockey as a kid. Growing up in Michigan, you know there was pond hockey to be had and I missed the whole thing, even though I was into watching hockey back then. Oh well, at least I’m doing it now. Too bad that Lasker closes soon and turns back into a swimming pool…