Again, we had one goalie (John). This time, only the one female (Rene). I think there were three blooded C graders. We had a total of nine skaters plus the goalie, which split to 3 white plus 1 orange (Joel, Michael and me, and Rene, respectively) versus 5 of the dark colours (Matt in a black blackhawks, Anthony in his beloved blues, an oiler and a plain black, and Lachie in his Canucks top). The Blues team had the most 'emotionally investive' competitive players as well as the least skilled skater, We had a work/wo/man like crew.
By the time I got onto the ice it was nearly 4:30 pm (puck drop). We played two twenty minute and one thirty minute period, with intermissions of about ten and five minutes between them. The last five minutes of the last period were 'all in'. I kept my own personal tally (3 goals, 1 clear assists), found out from the competitive ones that the score was 7-7 at the end. This added a smile to my face because I'd got the last goal to finish the last play of the evening! That's the second tied game of my weekend. At least I managed to put the puck on net when it counted tonight, unlike in last night's Wheelers game!
The final fifteen minutes saw a general drop off in skill execution. At least once in that time I went down due my legs giving out, and had to really struggle to find the energy to get back to my feet. I wasn't the only one that had that experience. My brain at least didn't shut down (as evidenced by the options evaluation and shot selection for my final skate in (culminating in the game tying goal).
Despite the hard playing and eventual fatigue, there weren't any significant injuries. I probably copped the worst one, when a slapshot puck ricocheted off of my right inner forearm. In almost fifty sessions of ice hockey this is the first time the puck has found the gap between glove and elbow pad. It stung at the time and there's a red welt there now, but that seems the limit of the damage.
'Team White'
Our team (Joel, Mike, me and Rene) had all been together the previous week so, by accident more than design, we also got the chance to experience a bit of team development. I think it really showed in how we played, and that's possibly the greatest lesson to take away from the whole experience.
I felt that I was much more aware of where my team mates were, and we were all much more willing to communicate with and trust each other (maybe the secret of here doesn't lie in juxtaposition, but an evolving feedback loop) to the extent of passing off and resetting, holding the puck to give off a pass rather than take a weak shot, etc. Thus, more offensive puck protection, as well as looking for ice amongst the non puck handlers.
We had three relatively strong skaters, two good stickhandlers, and three skaters under thirty (the oppo had four such), and we are all at least minimally competent at the various arts of the sport, and we all have heart. Despite the oppo's scorecounting competitiveness and size (they had the three largest, and four of the top five) we seemed to be more likely to out muscle it, even after an hour and a half of battling. And, perhaps most importantly, our defence held strong with aggressive checking, slot, player and lane coverage.
My Game
My own game continues to improve in its effectiveness (and not just on the scoreline). When defending, I concentrated on keeping both opponent and play in my field of view and shielding the slot. Occasionally I'd pinch in a race to the puck or to take over the pressuring role on the puck carrier. Around the boards I didn't leave an easy clearance for them, and tried to always make them feel under pressure. The main attack dog role was taken by Mike and Joel, I tried to always be able to be in a position allowing them an outlet or support if they needed it. I even did some creative stick checking, using position to lever an oppo's stick into practical immobility (despite their superior strength) or flicking that extra inch at the outstretch to just put the shot or pass off. A certain ferociousness in the one on one battles certainly added a bit of spice to the whole thing.
Offensively, my game involved more seizure of the puck, when it came up for dispute, a little bit more thought about where or who to pass it to if I didn't have a good shot, and on several occasions the creation of enough time in the slot to select a shot that pierced the goalie's guard (a backhand on a flyby, taking up position by the weakside post to receive a pass, and the final shot from the top of the slot as their skaters covered all my team mates, momentarily creating a clear shooting lane for a 'saucer shot' that fooled the goalie as it dipped). My shots aren't necessarily strong, but the slower puck can still easily lead to a goal (Rene was there and unchecked for the rebound on that final shot).
My skating is improving, though I need to continue to reduce skating backwards when supporting the puck carrier. I am more quick in my accelerating starts, wasn't beaten today. Will need to continue to work on this. My fitness was a minor concern earlier, especially having played last night. After the first ten or so minutes, however, I got into the rhythm. I had good team mates who were happy to give me the shorter shifts I felt warranted with only four of us, and felt that I pulled my weight in time on ice. None of us got blown. In other words, my match conditioning is improving.
The technical aspects of my passing were satisfactory, with the puck pretty well always going where I wanted it to. The decisional aspects, however, were very poor tonight. I turned it over at least ten times by poor selection from my options (I probably stole it that many times also, so didn't feel as bad about this as I should do). My shooting, as said earlier, was not strong but it was on net and I did use my head enough to get a couple goals. The assist was a very neat pass, part of a larger passing sequence, involving delaying and controlling the puck in the corner long enough for Rene to get into shooting position and then passing it to her tape to tape. The later goal when we combined culminated after a swooping series of passes between her, me and Joel where we all deserved a point and even the oppo applauded the way we put the play together. Speaking of which, my puck reception seems to be improving, didn't lose any to bounces off my blade tonight.
At the end of the session, it was a case of pay up and get out of there as broomballers started arriving. I made sure this week I did some stretches before getting in the car, and had a nice warm shower after putting away all my gear and before eating dinner. So my body feels better than it did last week at this time, despite what I know to have been a more intense past 48 hours.
All good.
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