Game Day - Bumpers (7) d Rockers (2)

After playing for the Wheelers in last night's early game I had an hour's rest and then kitted up as a reserve for the Bumpers in the late game against the Rockers.  It was a game that I certainly wanted to win as this would keep the Wheelers in the hunt for second spot on the ladder next week, final matches of regular season.  A Rockers win would have locked them into second.  The Bumpers were stuck at the bottom, regardless of the result.

I played a reasonable game, holding my own against the star Rockers and plundering off their weaker players when appropriate.  I got on the rush a couple times, once hitting the post and another being snavelled (just) under the pads.  Didn't make any significant mistakes, though did leave the puck behind once in the defensive zone when trying to pick it up from the boards with a stick at an awkward angle.  I think I won about three of four faceoffs, mainly through the use of my feet to coral the puck for subsequent tap backwards.  I was on the rink for one of their goals and two of ours.  It was nice to be part of this team as all the 'original' Bumpers got to score and they got their second win for the season.

We had the luxury of a coach/bench boss which meant lines changes were regular and frequent.  This allowed a fairly even division of game time which meant that everyone got a chance to recover and finish the game pretty strong.  Added to the earlier game I had about forty minutes of playing time, which is a lot.  Could feel the muscles in my core, neck and forearms stiffening up after the game, hopefully something I can work off before tonight's game with the Knights.

Probably the most significant thing I'll take away from the game is the experience of having closely watched one of the other Reserves, one of the Shufflers stars, play perhaps the best defence game I've seen this season.  His most valuable ability was that of turning tight and quick, as well as using his skates to block shots and trap the puck.  His positioning was fairly tight, but with his tight turn he can get away with this, and with his large size generally stop larger opponents pushing through him.  Combined with Laura's ability to read the play in our game, quite a bit for me to take away and think about for my last two games on the ice this season.

Inline 10