The Ordinals game this week was the happiest I’ve been playing in an Ordinals game in a while. The way things turned out, Adrian ended up being the bench coach, so I didn’t have to try and pay attention to every aspect of the game. Adrian took care of keeping the lines moving and talking to people who need guidance as the game played. That left me able to focus on my defense shifts and play the best defense possible.
It felt like a really good game for me. I made some pretty good defensive stops, and even when I was trying out some stuff that might not have worked out like I wanted it too, because I was paired with David the offensive rushes were often stopped. There’s a lot of security being paired up with someone like David, who is so fast and agile that he can make up for a lot of my own mistakes. Moving him to defense was a good move overall, he’s becoming the rushing defensemen the team needs. He’s scored in his first two games on D and has picked up some assists as well.
The problems in the Ordinals game aren’t totally gone though (obvious by the fact we lost to the Turkeys 4-2). Wings still have trouble being disciplined enough to stay up on the points while we’re on D. And, in some cases, they aren’t really staying in their lanes either. It’s a matter that there’s a trend towards undisciplined hockey, which is not a good thing. I’m hoping we are able to break out of that soon. Next week would be a good week to win since we’re up against the Wizards, one of my favorite teams to play.
I was glad that my game was good Saturday night because the morning’s practice was frustrating. First off there were only 7 people, and that made for a lot of skating with very little rest. Added to the fact I was the oldest one there, against everyone else who I’m pretty sure weren’t much over 20 and I simply couldn’t keep up. It was tiring, even during the drills. The scrimmage was a combo of tiring and frustrating. It was a 3 against 4 and even though I was on the side with 4, we were against two players who were, I feel, more like D5 or D4 players. It was impossible for me, unless they made a mistake, to do anything effective. So, it was good that the Ordinals game reminded me that I do actually know how to play the game.
Meanwhile, in the land of the Tigers, I didn’t play this week because I didn’t want to play the game split (plus it was Will’s birthday and I didn’t want to have to leave him at 4). The good news was the team brought in its second win in a row, crushing the Hotshots 6-3. I’m looking forward to playing next week when the Tigers take on the Blizzard though.
