It was double header hockey last night as I played with both the Polar Bears and Boxers.
First up was a showdown of the winter animals as the Polar Bears took on the Sled Dogs, a game the Bears won 3-2 in overtime. This was a fun game between evenly matched teams with no chippiness (the single penalty of the game was against us for too many men).
I enjoyed this game. I played some good defense and made a few offensive rushes too. While those didn’t yield any goals, I liked the space to be able to carry the puck and making some shots on goal.
The Boxers game didn’t go as well. The Rampaging Moose shut us out 4-0. I had a hard time finding a groove in this game despite playing back to back which means I was good and warmed up for the second game. Something was just off for me, particularly in the first half of the game. I quite enjoyed the third period. With us behind, Jonathan and I decided to be more aggressive in our D, particularly in the neutral zone. That created some decent chances. I managed to get an offensive rush for myself, which doesn’t happen often in Boxers games.
Also in the third I made a nice, dramatic safe. There was a lot of traffic in front of our net and the goalie was not able to cover the puck. It popped out to his left, with a perfect shot opportunity for the opponent. I saw it and lunged out to get some distance between the puck and the net as one of the Moose was coming in to shot. I managed to follow up my poke over to the boards and got the puck up the boards and out of the zone. I over extended myself in making that play and am still feeling that a bit today, but it was worth it.
There’s just a few more games in 2011. I’m hoping to get called in by the Polar Bears next week and then in two weeks there’s a Boxers game and the potential for a Polar Bears game too.
This was the second week that I’ve been using a new stick. I picked up a Winwell composite at Westside Stick. I’ve never heard of the brand, but it felt good and I trust Westside’s recommendations too. So far I like it. It’s lighter than I’ve been using and I’ve left it a little longer than usual too. I’m mishandling sometimes, which I think is because I’m getting used to the extra length, but so far I like it. I get more on poke checks and it seems to shoot better too.
