It’s been a rough couple of weeks for me on the ice. First there was my shattered stick two weeks ago. Last week I took a slap shot to my left forearm. Last night, while grappling for the puck with the opponent, I managed to ram my stick into my stomach. That caused a nasty abrasion that now requires five (albeit regular sized) bandages to cover it up. Add to that a bruise that’s popping on my right forearm from something–no idea what–and last night was not a pretty one.
What was pretty though was the game itself. We’ve been getting ever closer to beating the Canucks. When we saw them in early June, we came within two goals (and one of those was an empty netter). Last night it was a one goal game. We lost 5-6. It was back and forth the entire time with one team gaining the lead, the other tying it up and then one team pushing a head again. It was a thrilling game that we played very well. We had only a few glitches, mostly around our usual issue of falling into a game where we aren’t fighting for the puck at every turn. We got into some gliding, especially in the second period.
We aren’t schedule to see the Canucks again during the regular season. If we make playoffs though we might see them again… and I would love the opportunity to have another chance to bring in our first win against them.
Yesterday afternoon I met up with a brand new skater, Harold. I’ve been emailing with him because he wants to take up hockey and he got in touch with the NYCGHA. He was excited to go ice skating, but had never done it and was a little daunted about going out for the first time on his own. So, I went with him to give a little guidance. He did pretty well. In the hour he only fell four times, but he also got faster and more confident on his skates. The goal is to have him ready to start playing in the fall season.
Ronnie’s yesterday morning started off the whole Saturday skating marathon as usual. The drills were fun, and tiring. There was one that only four people played defense, so we constantly were in play on that drill. The scrimmage was fun. I was with the kids again and it was good as usual. This week I got to play with Max instead of skating against his. That was cool. He’s a pretty generous player, making passes up the ice when necessary and moving well so he can be hit with a pass.
