I went to watch the IHSA A Grade '50th Anniversary Game' kick off the winter season. Got there in the first intermission with a scoreline of 2-1. Quite a few had turned up to mark the occasion, perhaps a couple hundred. Unlike this time last season, I recognised a few faces in the crowd and a few more on the ice. Which made it all a bit like a community event (albeit with ice hockey's edge as compared to the comradeship of the inline crowd on Saturday).
Game score was 6-1 at the end, and a good bit of narkiness was showing between the teams through the last period. One of the Falcons was sent off after taking a penalty for fighting, I suspect it was a major within five minutes of full time. The game was studded with penalties both ways. The only obviously significant injury was a concussed redwing assisted off the ice after he slammed his own head into the boards unassisted after failing to properly complete a check (this is a 'full checking league' at A Grade level).
Difference between the teams to my eye was the goalies. The Redwing's goalie was almost impenetrable whereas the Falcon keeper kept getting screened for relatively soft shots. The standard was good to watch. I found it particularly interesting how, at this level, it's doing the little things right that make a cumulative difference. Also, the skill level is an order of magnitude or two above what I participate with.
I won't go every Wednesday to watch the A Grade games, but will make the effort perhaps fortnightly over winter. Watching is a good way to learn.
For me, this was my third day in a row with absolutely no skating of any description. That's the longest I've gone since before Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment