Piranhas vs. Mastodons

The combination of an early start time, and rink location made me get to the rink later than I would have liked. I rushed to get dressed and out onto the ice. I still got a full warm up though, but probably didn't need it as we only had six skaters.

Six skaters the entire game vs. a full bench. It is really tough to win when you're in that type of situation. The opposing team knows they have every advantage possible in the energy field. They should never lose a battle along the boards, and they rarely should lose a battle to a loose puck. It burns lots of energy, and when you're short on skaters, it is difficult to do.

Believe it or not, I controlled the first 30-40 seconds of the game. Our team won the face off, and I was able to get the puck into their zone, and get two shots on goal. If we can get that lead, it sets the tone for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, I did not score.

Shortly after that, I had a REALLY good race from the red line into their zone for a dumped puck. I felt we were going too fast for control, and I didn't want anyone to get hurt or hit, so I let up, and told him to take it and he's save. He gave me a good shove in the opposite direction once we got closer to the boards. I didn't appreciate that too much.

From there, the game just went down hill. I skated as hard as I could, but I burned a lot of energy against guys who have fresh legs. It got a little chippy and angry once the opposing team started to celebrate after their fifth goal while we were still at zero.

At some point, I was still going hard, but my team mates were low on the tank. You'd try to throw them a pass, and they wouldn't have the energy to catch the pass and skate with it. I was yelling for dumps, so I could race these fresh players, but it just didn't work.

I skated hard, played hard, and had a good hit. I won multiple board battles, and generated at least 1/3rd of our team's 19 shots. I have no complaints about my performance in this 0-9 loss to the Mastodons.

Piranhas Game - 2011-10-23

First game of the season for the Piranhas. I'm excited, and I've got a great attitude about it. Not only do I expect myself to play well, I'm thinking the team will have a good season. A few new players, and a few returning players should mean that we have a full bench every night, which has been a huge problem since I joined the team.

My defensive game last night was very strong, and probably the strongest I've played. With the exception of my first shift, I couldn't have played defense any better. Our team took a lot of penalties, so I didn't get a ton of time out there, but my one shift on the PK, I did very well. I was able to throw a hit, I deflected a shot out of play, and I didn't get too excited, skating all over. I probably had two other hits as well that were solid at different times of the game.

At one point off of a face off, the guy I was lining up against was determined to not let me in closer than him. Eventually I noticed he was leaning on his stick right on the face off. I lined mine up behind his knowing he wouldn't let me in front, and right as the puck dropped, I hooked his stick away so he'd fall on his face if he wasn't ready. He fell, and he cried about it to the ref.

The defense men would sneak into the slot all game. I was very careful to cover them. As a result, they never really got good scoring chances while my line was on the ice. I also don't think we had a goal against, but I could be wrong. I had a couple of good exits from the zone and made great passes to the center and wingers that generated good scoring chances. But other than that, there wasn't a lot of chemistry between me and the rest of the line.

The previous day, I had been practicing my stick handling with the dog in my living room. I'd use my body to protect the ball, and play keep away from him. I'd spin, throw it through his legs, etc. It was also what I worked on in practice a week ago. It paid off. Twice I used my body to protect the puck. At one point, I did a small spin move, and got a good shot on goal, but the goalie saw it the whole way.

Not too much else stands out. We lost 4-1, and didn't get a lot of shots on net. There was no traffic in front of the goalie, and we just couldn't keep the puck in their zone.

Ironman Tournament

I felt kind of rushing getting to the rink. It was requested that I get there an hour before the game, but between the dog, and getting a nap in, it didn't happen. Still, I was the 3rd guy there, so I didn't feel bad about showing up when I did.

It turns out, I've only played with the goalie. One guy was the teacher from a class I was in, another guy I practiced with once or twice in the past, and the other two, I've never met. None of us have ever really played together so I expected us to have chemistry problems.

We had four games, all evenly spaced apart, so we were not waiting too long, and never hitting the ice really fast. Six teams meant we didn't face one of them. This year, they mixed all of the divisions, and genders because they didn't have enough sign ups. This meant that frequently I'd be playing against females.

The first game I watched, I felt we may have had a good chance at beating both teams.

I knew our team was more talented than last year, and I'm always optimistic. Our first game gave us no reason to not be optimistic. We won 4-0, and the other team didn't have any shots. It was nice to just see how each other works, and their abilities. Our D jumped up towards the end as they started to get bored. I burned myself out early, forgetting about subs and I had three other games that night. My first goal, I was coming up the left wing, and pushing the d-man back. I had tried to slow up to give up a pass, but I said forget it, and just shot it. I had a great shot from about 20-25 feet out, and it went in short side. I was surprised it went in, as I didn't get as much on it as I wanted. It was good for my confidence though. The second goal, I pounded in from right at the top of the crease after the other winger through it on net.

Our second game was a bit of a blow out. They were good friends with the goalie, I had played with a few of them before, so they knew each other's weaknesses. We lost 5-1, but it could have been worse. There was a lot of good joking around and such, so once they became in control, we were just out there to have fun. I played fairly well, and kept my head up as I knew there was a lot of drinking going on all night as well as tired players.

I didn't know much about our third team, and I easily got confused about their players to watch. They beat us, but I believe that had our team not been so exhausted, we would have beat them. With about 10 seconds left, down by one, I knocked the puck out of our zone, and raced up the boards trying to tie it up. My goal was just forward, and cut to the middle to bang the goal in. I thought I had gotten past the defenseman, when all of a sudden, I got hammered into the boards harder than I can remember. I was fine, but I fell to the ice the puck and my stick kept going, and I saw the clock with about 8 seconds left, took a look where the winger and center was, and knew that the game was over. It was definitely a checking penalty, but because of the nature of the tournament, it wasn't called. I didn't play as well as I could have.

Our fourth game, I felt I lost for our team. We tied 2-2, but I feel both of their goals were on me. We were up 2-0, and I know our team was gassed. I knew I had nothing left when in our D zone, I had the puck. I through it up towards the center of the blue line, where I didn't see anyone to just get it out, and maybe an icing. The puck came out but then a player brought it in. I saw it go out and the referee was behind me. It lead to a goal, but still, I should have made a better choice. If it wasn't clear enough to leave the zone, then it wasn't the right play. The second goal was scored while I was still at their blue line because I was too lazy/tired to get back.

Two goals and an assist isn't bad, but I needed to be in better shape. I really showed how bad my conditioning was tonight, and it was embarrassing. I was too stupid and burned myself out after the first game.

I had a blast though, and can't wait for next year. I will be in better shape, and better prepared.

Am I a target?

A few weeks ago, a player asked me if I felt I was more of a target for hits because I was a smaller guy on the ice. A year ago, my answer would have been yes, without a doubt. Today, I don't know. So what has changed in that year?

Honestly, nothing has changed. I don't know if I felt I was a target or not back then, or if I am now. Only once or twice did I take a hit where I felt the opponent's eyes were lit up. Considering I play in no check leagues, this shouldn't happen.

But to be honest, usually the hits I take don't bother me. I love being thrown around once in a while. I think that is part of the game. I think that I play better when there is some physicality in the game. Maybe I feel more alert, maybe I play more wreckless. I don't know.

I'll be the first person to say that I will throw hits out there because I am smaller. I know I can get away with significantly more than someone who is 100 pounds heavier than I am. Only once or twice did I do something that I felt was dirty for my league. I never hurt anyone, but afterward I felt immediate remorse each time. I've never taken a penalty for checking, but I have for boarding, and one for charging. The charging penalty I felt was a good call, but it saved a goal against, and I'd make that play every damn time. The boarding penalty was one of those "What am I doing?" moments.

So am I a target? Probably not. Some of the guys I play with think I am target. I do cause the opposition to take more penalties against me than other players (of my skill). I like to think that I'm a clean player, and as a result players play clean against me. I'm never involved in shoving post whistle, and I never talk negatively to an official who officiates my games because for the most part they do an excellent job of keeping everything in control.