Monday Musings: Untripodlike Conduct

It’s funny how things work sometimes.

During the day before our game against Norcal Crossover A last Friday, I was contemplating putting up a post about being in the midst of another long goal-less streak. While not as bad as my nine-month one, as of last week I hadn’t scored a goal in about three months. Coincidentally, the last goal I scored was last season against the very same Norcal Crossover A.

I didn’t get around to writing that post before the game and it turns out I wouldn’t have to as I ended up scoring a goal on Friday night. In some strange conspiracy of fate and circumstance, I somehow found myself with the puck on a breakaway during the game, and that normally doesn’t happen to me.  Most of the time, I’m checked before I can take two strides, or I freak out and throw the puck away. But on this play, I picked up the puck around center ice and I still had the puck when I got to the slot.  I decided to try and make a move on the goalie instead of taking a shot. After a little deke, the puck made its way through the goalie’s five-hole and the next I saw of it was in the back of the net.  My slump was over.

On to the next goal-less slump!

Personally, it was nice to score the goal but what really makes me feel good is that with my goal we now have twelve out of sixteen skaters on the Hogs who have registered at least one goal this season (excluding our goalie of course). I’m hoping we can make that 16-for-16 by the end of the summer.  I’ve gone through a season where I didn’t score a single goal and while not everything you do on the ice can be counted in goals, it’s still an empty feeling when you have a goose egg in that category.  When you score, it’s not so much about stats as it is knowing that you’ve contributed to the team effort on the ice.  This is why everyone on our team gets a chance when we do shootouts.  And besides, scoring goals makes for good stories to friends and family.

Some players from another team who shall remain nameless (mostly because I think I’ve run out of names to call them) have been coming out to watch our games for the past few weeks, and they were there again on Friday to see my breakaway.  One of those players cheered when I scored, which was very nice of him.  I definitely appreciate the support.

However, I heard that his captain – who was also there watching our game - made him stop cheering. I’m not sure if the silencing of that player by his own captain (not all nations permit freedom of speech) was related to that captain’s dislike for me or if it was out of concern for Skatetown’s boards and glass (they must be more fragile than I thought).  Something tells me that if the person who scored was someone other than me, there might not have been the same concern about kicking the boards or pounding the glass.  Regardless, that a team would go to the extent of censoring their own players who cheer for me is rather flattering.

I have already “stirred up the hornet’s nest” enough with that team this season and apparently they’re still fuming. When the story of the censoring was conveyed to me, I was advised that it might not be a good idea to write about it on the blog.   So, let’s just pretend that I didn’t write about it.

Singh10.

It’s a goal!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I have a lot of catching up to do…

Two weeks ago, we played the Flying Wizards for the first time this season, and lost out in the shootout 4-3.  Despite the loss, I think we could take a moral victory out of that game considering that we were trailing early and came back to tie a team that has regularly dominated their opponents this season.  We’re still on the “road to recovery” after our slow start this season, so it’s nice that the game had some positives we could take.

Personally, there was an even bigger positive for me, as I finally scored a goal after my nine month drought (the last time I scored was on January 20, when we were still in the Bronze League!), which is coincidentally the typical length of a pregnancy.  So, I’m happy to announce the birth of my new baby goal, at a healthy 5.5 ounces!  Let’s hope it’s not another nine months before I score again.  I wonder what the over/under is on when I’ll get my next one.

In recent weeks, Jones3 offered a reward to the person who would set me up with a goal, and for those weeks the $1 went unclaimed, but not for lack of trying.  I just constantly would miss the net, fan on passes or just lose the puck.  He finally took matters into his own hands and fed me a goalmouth pass during the Flying Wizards game that just required me to tap in.  I got the goal, and he saved himself the dollar.

Respect Yo MaMa

Tomorrow, we face the mighty Flying Wizards – a team that has blown out three out of four opponents thus far.  Considering we’ve been blown out twice ourselves already, this game is going to be a big test for us.

What makes this game more compelling for us is to see if the adjustments we made last week against Yo MaMa will carry over to this week.  We mixed up our lines a bit, and changed some strategy.  You could say that the adjustments worked last Friday, considering the final outcome.  But, as cliche as this might sound, the game was much closer than the score (11-2) indicated.  We were actually outshot in the game, and I think their goalie just had a tough night.

I did try to help Yo MaMa’s cause, in my own way.  In an 11-2 win, I was actually -1 on the night.  At least I can say I wasn’t -2, but I think I might have been the only minus player on the team.  Everytime I came off the ice, we would score.  Combined with my nine month scoring drought (babies have been conceived and born in the time I’ve gone without scoring a goal), I think I might be our opponent’s secret weapon.

The most admirable thing about Yo MaMa was that even after what must have been a devastating loss for them, to a player they all had smiles on their faces in the postgame handshake as they gave the customary “good game”.  I joked with some Yo MaMa players after the game – they showed no bitterness for the tough loss but instead showed exemplary sportsmanship and I think they deserve a ton of respect for this.

This noteworthy behaviour from Yo MaMa is not new – they’ve been that way even last season, which was a tough one for them when they were the Volcanoes.  It’s so obvious how much they love the sport and competing. 

Even though we were on the win side of the ledger, I think the attitude shown by Yo MaMa was a good lesson for me, and a good example for the rest of us as a league. 

Singh10.

Hungover Hogs

After being handily dispatched by the Pints last week, we’ve spent the better part of this week trying to get our team over our Pints hangover - which in rec league circles means we did a lot of e-mailing and talking about where we need to improve and what steps we need to take to get there.  If we were anything more than beer league, we may have actually practiced or something.  But, actual practicing is generally avoided at our pinnacle of competition.

Like on other teams, we are passionate about our team and take how our team plays quite seriously. Puck Hogs or not, we all invest a lot of time, money, physical and emotional energy in playing this sport in any sort of competitive capactiy, and it shows in how edgy things can get.  Being outscored 12-4 in two games is doesn’t put people in their happy places, and everyone has an opinion on what is wrong.  This week, I’ve tried to keep our players focused on keeping a positive attitude and maintaining a good sense of team spirit.  We will need that foundation to improve our game.  Without it, we’ll just collapse.

In fact, our hangover may extend to beyond just this past week.  There is a thought among some people in our team that we haven’t had the same intensity or competitive fire after our Finals loss last season.  And now, this season we’re going through the hockey motions as a team but without the same team-level passion. 

There may be truth to that theory, as we’ve certainly been outcompeted by our opponents this season (which is not a comment on wins versus losses, but of actual level of competition we’re bringing on the ice as a team).  We certainly see it at the NHL level, where hockey teams that make it to the Stanley Cup Finals have a hard time getting back there the next season (which would explain why there are so few repeat champions anymore).  Now, granted we aren’t in any way near the NHL, but  all most hockey players are human beings and we’re affected by the same human feelings and motivations.  So, I wonder if part of what we are going through are the after effects of how our last season ended.

Tonight, we play Yo MaMa for the first time, and it’ll give us an indication of where we are headed as a team.  I’ve used the word “team” here a lot and in the end I feel it’s the most important consideration.  We will get more out of hockey individually when each of us asks what we can do for our team, and not the other way around.

Singh10.