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yesH, you totally scored on them. TWICE!

funny...i have a non-visible bruise on my forehead, too. and one on my calf that's also oddly stick-shaped...

I've got the now-Very-Nice half a crotch one going on, but the best one I have is from where the door of our rental car jumped out and bit me. That thing is HUGE!

I guess I should feel fortunate that I have a shin bruise and not crotch bruise ...

Yesh, crotch bruise=pain every time you pee, because you forget that it's there. Ow ow ow. The good news? It's turning a lovely shade of black and you can see exactly where the biznatch dug her stick in once she realized she'd made contact with my unprotected, crotch-adjacent thigh.

I've noticed that at some tournaments the level of physical play is much higher than we're used to (or even allowed to play...especially in the women's league). Not that I'd really want to play that way on a regular basis, but it's hard to figure out what you can and can't get away with on the fly.

Yeah, and even if I'd figured it out partway through, it's hard for me to adjust and play like that. It's just not in my nature to whack at people simply 'cause they're there and not wearing my color.

Somehow I was thwacked on the ribs, right side. I don't even remember it happening. Just wanting to play clean and hoping that physics would rule the day and karma will come back and bite certain dirty players where it counts. }:-)

I heart Denver for our friends, the people who did right and most of all Dan's awesome pregame spaghetti fest...

I heart the Burninators, for never hanging our heads, caring so damn much about all of our players injured or not and having the class to stick it to NL and #__ the only way hockey should be played, by lighting up the boards. There's no place like home...

Amen to that, and amen to the that before that, too!

I played on the Northern Lights tournament team and played in the FRFO in early May. First of all, I hope that your injured player has recovered well.

Here you all are bashing Denver hockey players which is a bunch of B.S. I was hacked, slashed and tripped by your players during Game 3 & I had the bruises to show for it. Several other teams commented on the cheap shots imposed on them by your players as well. Some of your players conducted nasty, illegal cheap shots and spewed nasty language on the ice as well. Where is the video of the so-called incident? I was on the ice and about 15 feet away from this "incident". Please send me the video clip. I'd like to view it, the same way the tournament director viewed it and compare that to how I clearly remember the "incident". I wonder if the video shows the few seconds leading up to the "incident", the body position of the injured player, where her feet were during all of this and the location of the two players.

Actually why don't you send the video of the entire game? That way all of Denver can see the nasty cheap shots done by the San Jose players, including a very nasty one to #__ of the Northern Lights earlier in the game. Did you get that one on video? Bring it on! I'll pay for the postage and whatever else you need. If you want to send it I'll give you an address.

What about the unsportsman-like conduct by your players during and after the "so-called" incident and during the hand-shake after the game? Give me a break. I'm glad that no
Denver team during the tournament stooped to your low-level of behavior and disgusting language. You are bashing an entire hockey team over a single "incident", during one moment during one game. Now that's real sportsmanship and maturity.

What's all this about Denver hockey? Get a grip. I've played against California teams in quite a few tournaments and have seen my share of nasty, illegal hits conducted by California women's teams at the novice level including being a victim of several nasty slashes by your teammates at the FRFO.

Oh yeah and by the way, we won the next day in the championship game.

Congratulations on your win.

Our injured player returned to the ice last night. Thank you for asking.

To be clear, I was not bashing the Northern Lights as a team. Seriously, I loved the Northern Lights when our teams played in Vegas, and I was glad when I saw NL on our schedule.

I don't play hockey to hack, or to be hacked. I can promise you I didn't hack at anyone that weekend. I can also promise you that I got hacked a lot more than I usually do, from all of the teams we played. This post may have mentioned an NL player as an example, but it certainly was not meant to single your team out.

I do recognize that the women's league I play in here in CA is unique; on a roughness scale of 1 to 10, it's probably a 1. Everything gets called, the players are supportive of each other regardless of what color jersey they're wearing, and everyone plays with a fun "it's just hockey" attitude. I sometimes forget that that's not the case elsewhere, and when I get a reminder (like I did at the FRFO), I am immensely thankful for the playing environment that my league provides.

I cannot personally respond to everything you've mentioned, but perhaps others can, if they so choose.

I appreciate the comments in your post. You say that women's league play in CA is unique. That makes sense - because it's been my experience that here in Colorado - on a local level, most women's teams play each other with good sportsmanship. Sure, the play is physical but not overly-aggressive and I've seen the attitude of..well, that's hockey...it prevails here too. So many of us know each other and opposing teams often get together after games for beer and food. I'm sure ya'll do the same thing!

I think that the physical play and aggressiveness of the sport increases significantly at tournaments - whether they are in Colorado or in some other state. I'll say it once more only - the California teams that I've played against in Vegas, Colorado, AZ, and probably other states have brought their aggressive, physical players with them and I've been the victim of a fair number of illegal hits and nasty behavior.

Sigh...oh well we could argue forever on this so why bother. Enjoy your summer out there and I sincerely hope that the next time our two teams get together on the ice it will be a fun, great game of hockey. Take care.

Nah, I'm not here to argue. I agree about tournament play being more physical. Some tournaments just hurt more than others, and for us the FRFO this year was one of them.

I, too, look forward to fun (bruise-free for everyone!) hockey between our teams in the future. Take care, and may your pucks fly fast. :)

penalties occur during a game, no question, i think we were pretty even out there but it comes down to perspective/interpretation. from my POV, the slightest, *legal* contact was met by a full swing of the hockey stick, not just to me, but several of my teammates. it wasn't a slash, since there was no downward motion, but a level, swinging-bat motion, an action i viewed as threatening, unsportsmanlike and i have to wonder if the intent was to injure. we were certainly startled by this and have not seen such play, so perhaps our gameplay changed to accomodate this.

the nasty hit on #__ earlier on in the game, if it matters at all to you, was honestly unintentional. i got passed on a breakaway and hustled back to help my center, but #__, trying to free herself from said center, unexpectedly turned and skated into me. she wasn't looking where she was going, i had my head down and i didn't stop in time. i apologized then, stopped to make sure she was alright but got another bat-swing into my pads for it. perhaps this was why her "hit" on our player seemed intentional later on and we reacted as such. in addition, her "smile and wave" to our bench after the hit was really not received well to say the least. again, all open to interpretation.

as for nasty language, i apologize on the behalf of our team and will have the captain remind everyone that such language is unnecessary and unsportsmanlike. the worse you'll get out of me is an expletive because i've left my man open in front of the net or when i've gotten burned on a breakaway. =)

and one more thing, you were quick to point out that we bashed denver hockey but you just lumped all of us california teams together! while we recognize players from other (northern) CA teams, we don't play in the same divisions/leagues so i can't speak to their behavior. the burninators have only been to two tournaments - vegas and denver - so far.

you're right, we could argue this forever, but it was helpful to hear your take on things, as well as be reminded that everything is subject to interpretation/perspective and that we're here to play the game we all love. hopefully the next time we meet, we can set everything aside and have a good clean game and a beer. thanks for your comments and take care.

I know this, that the Burninators won't be heading back to Denver next year. Regardless of what anyone on any team intended, one of our players did get hurt and there was a decidedly different style of play than we're used to.

O.k the photo of your girl being rubbed out on the boerds by the Denver girl is just weak. It looks like both girls in the photo need to take a skating lesson. You guys dont even know about Denver hockey. Your playing at the NOVICE level. People fall, those are not hits, why dont you bring a REAL team out to denver for pucktoberfest in Colorado Spring in October and learn what Colorado hockey is all about. If you think you guys are being hit we should at least get a chance to show you what contact hockey is all about right? The Northern Lights girls are great girls, but they are team that is strictly for women playing at a rec level for the love of the game and to learn. Not to hack your wanna be team. If you want to play a team that will give you a reason to devote a page to bitching about your baby boo boo's bring a team that can actually play in a division that is not the lowest in the tournament.

It's so true; we knew nothing about Denver hockey. We came to find out, thinking the NOVICE level would be a fun introduction, but it appears that our brand of rec level love of the game was a little different from that of the teams we faced that weekend.

Given that we hurt so much after that tournament, and given that you don't think the teams we played against qualify as REAL teams, why on earth would we want to come back to play against a REAL team in October? You are generous in your offer to show us what Colorado hockey is all about, but I'd have to devote an entire website to bitching about what I'm sure would be a daycare's worth of baby boo boos afterward, and gosh, imagine how many angry comments *that* would generate. Where would I find the time to read them all?

Incidentally, the player wearing red in the picture you speak of will indeed be taking skating lessons next week, and she is quite excited about it.

On a more serious note ...

I debated whether to approve your comment and allow it to become part of the thread. I have no issues with dissenting opinions on my bandwidth, but I do have issues with threats. This is a personal weblog, not a forum for flame wars. There are plenty of other websites you can visit for that.

Everyone: Keep in mind that what you write is a reflection upon yourself. Think about that before you post.