Hockey :: Blue Timber
March 04, 2008 / Tuesday
A Complete Season!
For the first time ever, I played every single game on my team's schedule (minus one that got canceled, but I didn't really miss it if it never happened, right?). It's not exactly an amazing feat, but I like when things are complete (it's an OCD thing), so whoo for me.
More to whoo about: one of my former coworkers came by and watched tonight's game. I hadn't seen him since he left my current company for greener pastures (actually, he went to my former company; it's a small world), so I was pretty stoked about the visit. We had a good chat, he seemed to enjoy the game, and he didn't freeze.
We also had our team picture retaken tonight, with eight skaters instead of one. The Team of One picture is going to get replaced, so here is a screenshot for posterity.
The game was fun. I had some decent plays and a few good chances to score, but didn't manage to convert. Tami and Kristen did their thing and our goalie made some great saves. Final score: 3-1. It's nice to finish with a win.
So there it is, my first season in Blue. I feel a lot less shaky now than I did my first couple games, although I wouldn't venture as far as to say that I'm comfortable yet. I've definitely learned a few things, and have amassed a sizable list of things I want to work on in the seasons to come.
After the game, my captain asked if I was having fun in Blue. You know what? I am. And that's what matters.
10:55 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (0)
March 02, 2008 / Sunday
Red-Blue Bonus
Played our second to last game at Belmont tonight. I'd been up on the Peninsula all afternoon, and I arrived at the rink early to catch some of the Red game: Wendy & April's team vs. Melancholy Spleen. Got to hang out with April, win some free candy from the claw machine, and play with Val, who stole my Tootsie Roll and then tried to eat my Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I would have given her the RPBC, but I kind of figured Andrea wouldn't want a bouncing baby on a super sugar high to deal with after the game. Making her forget it existed was a lot harder than I expected; she made me go through all my pockets, and I had to pull a fast one when she got to the pocket with the goods.
Both benches were super short due to Regionals (or Districts, whatever you want to call it); the other team had 7 skaters to our cushy 8. Really, 8 does feel kind of normal now, although I have to tip my hat to the players who were skating their sixth game in three or four days; they seemed to skate just as strong as they normally do. April stuck around after shooting photos of the Red game to shoot a bunch more at mine. Lots of great shots, as usual. The other team led the entire game, although we did come close enough to pull the goalie at the end. Final score: 4-5. I scored in the final minute on what I'm told was a pretty roofer over the goalie's shoulder, but I was so concerned with getting to the puck as fast as I possibly could and shooting it as hard as I possibly could that I didn't see it. Too bad!
10:16 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (1)
February 24, 2008 / Sunday
First Hockey Blip In Two Weeks
Drank way too much coffee this afternoon and arrived at the rink more jittery than wired. Played an okay game doing nothing really notable except watching the first line pull off some really pretty shifts. In the end, we didn't get enough pucks past the goalie for a win. Final score: 1-3. Oh well. At least it was good exercise.
[ Update: Woops, forgot to say that I played the entire game at center and didn't die. Yay for not dying. ]
11:44 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (0)
February 10, 2008 / Sunday
No Show Suckage
We did much better attendance-wise today, with an eightfold increase in turnout, although we still ended up with a somewhat short bench because we had a couple of last minute no shows. Still, we had a better time than the other team, whose goalie didn't show. We'll take a short bench over an empty net any day!
Chris, Red goalie extraordinaire, threw her gear back on to stand in net for the other team, but not before we got a couple past them for a two goal cushion. Once there, she did an awesome job, stopping almost everything until well into the third period. In that time, the other team went up 3-2.
Fortunately, we managed to get a couple by her late in the game, and squeaked out a win with less than a minute left. Final score: 4-3.
I managed to score a couple this game, one in the first and one in the third. They weren't fancy, but they don't need to be fancy to count. It's really nice to know that my goals made a difference between a win and a loss.
That said, I was totally rooting for Chris. She did a rockin' job out there. Way to go, Chris!
08:50 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (0)
February 03, 2008 / Sunday
Picture Day!
My first Blue team picture was tonight, and I was the only one on my team who showed up. Really! Everyone else was sick, injured, traveling, watching the Super Bowl, etc.
So what did we do? We took my picture. If we don't get another picture day in this season, that's gonna be it. B1: Viv. Awesome. Wearing Blue. Even more awesome.
We did have five subs, which brought our player count to a whopping six skaters. Not to worry, the other team had only five. The solution: Finish watching the Super Bowl (sigh, Pats), then play 4-on-4. I have to say, I like 4-on-4 at Belmont; 5-on-5 feels a bit crowded there.
Final score: 1-3. It was nice to get to skate with B3. (That's where all our subs came from.)
I'm going to laugh so hard if we don't get a real B1 team picture taken before the end of the season.
11:35 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (3)
January 22, 2008 / Tuesday
Oof, That Hurt
I should have sat this one out. Seriously. I was not on my game today at all, and boy did I pay for it.
Going in, I was nursing sore abs, a sore left hand, a sore left shoulder, and a sore right wrist. The sore wrist was expected; it's been unhappy after hockey ever since the 3-on-3 tournament, and I knew it wouldn't be happy after four MLK games. But the shoulder? I think I hurt that wrestling with my KVM setup under my desk yesterday. You know, the one that IT doesn't feel compelled to help with. (Does that qualify me for workman's comp?) In any case, the wrist hurts more now. It's even kind of swollen. And why? Because I could. not. stop. colliding. with. people. I know I tend to skate with my head down, but it was worse than ever tonight, and my awareness of my surroundings was zilch. Oh, and did I mention I gained a bruise on my knee, too?
To top things off, I got the scoresheet from the scorekeeper and then, well, I don't know what. I don't have it anymore. Lovely. I attribute that to knocking my head on people a bazillion times. Fortunately, I remember the rosters and most of the game details, and my captain filled in the rest from her copy. Still, I'm hoping someone comes across it, notices that it's a sealed, stamped, addressed envelope, and puts it in the mail. I can only hope for now because the rink employees don't like to answer the phone. Bah.
Final score: 0-2. Bah again.
Two days until game one in Vegas. Hurry up and heal, me!
10:37 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (2)
January 06, 2008 / Sunday
2-2-2
A different two, two, and two from last time. Tonight's two, two, and two: two goals, two assists, and two minutes in the penalty box. Not a bad return from holiday slothdom, and a really nice way to kick off the hockey year.
It took a good half period for me to feel comfortable on my skates and readjust to the speed, but once I did it felt like business as usual. I had two really strong linemates, and we combined for 4 of our 6 points. Final score: 6-2.
A part of me wants to detail my points and penalties, and a part of me says to grow up (in a hockey sort of way). I'll compromise and give a quick rundown: Goal one was total garbage. Goal two was pretty and deserved. Assist one was a rebound. Assist two was for poking the puck loose from between the goalie's legs. The penalty was inadvertent, but worth it 'cause it prevented a point blank shot.
There. I'm going to go calculate our stats now. ;)
09:29 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (2)
December 16, 2007 / Sunday
OwchoO!
Played a game with my Blue team today. I'm nursing various achy body parts and still trying to recover from last week's cold, but was decent enough shape to at least give it... 80%. Okay, maybe 85%. Enough to enjoy the game. Plus, it doesn't hurt that we won. Final score: 5-4. I bet the away jerseys helped. I'm telling you, #0000FF is fierce! ;)
11:19 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (3)
December 07, 2007 / Friday
Oh Waah Is Me
What a crappy evening it's been. My road bike is locked in the company bike room, my laptop tried to melt itself (I discovered this after I smelled burning plastic), I have a big welt on my forearm thanks to someone's stick (that's okay, I will return the favor someday), and I strained my groin again. Phoo.
On the upside, we won our game, due in no small part to the efforts of my center, who scored two goals, declared that we needed two more, and proceeded to do so in a single shift. Maybe if I start declaring goals I'll score more too...
Final score: 6-2. At Fremont, in our white jerseys, no less! Hooray, us!
11:08 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (2)
December 02, 2007 / Sunday
I Don't Know Me
I looked at the scoresheet after my game today and saw a number I didn't recognize.
Who's number 27?
*checks roster*
Oh, that's me.
It's bad enough that I don't know what my number is, but the fact that I'm the statistician and I know plenty of other players' numbers in means that I don't show up on the scoresheets very much. Plus, my not expecting to show up on the scoresheet means I probably didn't deserve credit for the assist. Sigh.
That said, I'm still happy to take the point. :)
Final score: 5-7. Left thumb and forefinger hurt lots now. Suck.
09:30 PM | Blue Timber:Injuries| Comments (5)
November 18, 2007 / Sunday
Things Were Going Just Fine Until...
Until what? I won't say, because if I go around pointing fingers then one of these days I'll be pointing at myself. That said, I'll readily point a finger at myself if I've screwed up, so maybe this is poor a reason for why I won't say, but there are plenty of good reasons why I shouldn't say, so I'll just go with "until the beginning of the 3rd period, when four goals were scored on us in under 1 1/2 minutes." 4-3 all of a sudden became 4-7. Yeah, ouch.
Final score: 4-8. A loss, waah, but still fun, yay. Fun, despite the fact that I had zero edges today. I don't think it was the skates, but Ingrid told me to blame the skates, so yeah, damned skates! I'm'a go git'em sharpened so they don't make me fall all over the place!
Oh, here's a finger point: I think I jinxed our fearsome away jerseys with my post about the last game. D'oh.
07:54 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (1)
November 11, 2007 / Sunday
I Want To Be Good NOW
Yes, NOW. Kplzthx.
Played another meh game with my Blue team (a.k.a. the team I refuse to refer to by its half former boy band pinup pop star, half thing you yell when a tree falls name). I had a couple good moments and a bunch of "I'd like to request a do-over" moments. Mostly, I was meh because my legs felt slow in the first period. For some reason, my feet just weren't moving. I wasn't cornering fast enough, not changing direction fast enough. I felt ineffective. Blah.
Between the 1st and 2nd periods, I got swapped back to D. I'd have been worried if this had happened earlier in the season, but now that I'm comfortable with the speed, I was happy to try my hand at it. Nothing terrible happened; the other team didn't blow by me and score a bazillion goals. I even poked the puck from a wing and ran it all the way down the ice, getting around two defenders and taking a decent shot at the net that pinged off the left post. Well, that was almost really nice! My teammates even said so. "That was almost really nice!" Hah.
In the end, we didn't need that almostgoal to win. Final score: 2-1. I'm telling you, our away jerseys give us extra fearsomeness!
I went to the rink early to learn how to operate the little scoreboard control box thing before the game. We seem to be hurting for scorekeepers this season, so I figure if I know how to operate the scoreboard I could fill in once in a while. A big blog thanks to Sarah and Emily for teaching me. :)
[ Update: I forgot to mention, I caught an edge and fell on my ass trying to stop to shake the refs' hands after the game. Oh, that was just lovely. ]
09:01 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (0)
November 02, 2007 / Friday
2-2-2
Two, two, and two. That's our record after tonight's game. The result? Another tie. Final score after overtime: 1-1.
It didn't have to end in a tie, though. I had a *great* chance to win the game for us in overtime, and I didn't. I got a fat rebound late in my last shift, saw an opening, and sent the puck as hard as I could at it. I'm not sure what happened next, but I watched the puck deflect off some part of the goalie and fly over the crossbar by a couple inches. Did it hit her helmet? Her stick? I have no idea. In any case, I didn't get to be the hero. Sigh.
I skated terribly tonight. I felt tired all game, right up until five minutes left in regulation. Then, all of a sudden, I felt great. It didn't just take me 45 minutes to warm up, did it? How strange!
Good news: I've gone from trying to do as little damage as possible to believing that I actually can make a play when needed. Granted, I'm still trying hard not to screw up, but that belief is new, and crucial; if I don't believe that I can, I generally won't.
Also good news: Some of my teammates have been giving me advice about things I can do better or differently, and I've actually managed to remember to try those things on the ice. Generally, what they say makes perfect sense; why didn't I think to do that on my own? I'm learning lots, which makes me happy, 'cause that's exactly why I wanted to play in this division.
Okay, enough of this grasshopper crap. I'm gunning for hero next game. ;)
11:33 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (0)
October 30, 2007 / Tuesday
We Finally Have A Name
And the name is Blue Timber. We had a team vote between that and ROFLcopter, and ROFLcopter lost. OMG! WTF? BBQ. I shall say no more. I'm just going to continue to refer to us as "my Blue team", okay?
We came into tonight's game with a record of 2-2, and finished the game with a 2-2 tie. How appropriate. I'd like to have won, but I'll take a tie over a loss.
I scored my second goal of the season tonight. Huzzah! I happened to skate into the right place at the right time, got a big fat rebound, and lobbed a backhand over the goalie. I credit my center and my new stick. Nice game debut, new stick!
aaron: didja score?
SoopahViv: YESH!!
SoopahViv: :-D
SoopahViv: on a backhand!
aaron: awesome
SoopahViv: it lifted all prettily into the back of the net
aaron: hooray for new stick
SoopahViv: yesh!!
SoopahViv: the wand of magical backhand liftage
Or is it the magical wand of backhand liftage... and liftageness?
I offer some sort of prize to the first person who can figure out the reference in that last sentence. It's been reconstructing sentences in my head for weeks! Please include explanation and/or paraphrase so you can share the joy of ___.
11:36 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (3)
October 15, 2007 / Monday
Two In A Row!
Woohoo, another win! We're now 2-2. I feel better. Well, except for my sore back and neck, which got rearranged thanks to my usual on-ice chiropractor. *crack*
Had the usual mix of decent and not-so-decent plays. On the upside, I learned a few things from the not-so-decent ones. The trick is to roll that back into what I do the next time I'm presented with a similar situation. Impatience is setting in again. I want to be better now!
Final score: 4-2. Okay, now on to other hockeyness unrelated to the game.
After last Tuesday's game, I (finally) retaped my stick, saw that the blade was starting to chip at the end, and decided it was time for a new one. I figured three years was a long enough time to have played with it, I owed myself a present for making Blue*, and my $100 award check** from work was burning a hole in my pocket. Off to EWH I went, where I promptly dropped twice the amount of my award on an Easton Synergy Elite***. I didn't have a chance to tape it before yesterday's game, so I'm hoping to get some ice time with it during the week. Thursday clinic, anyone?
* Everything is an excuse to buy gear!
** After taxes, that would be, what, $60? Still, it's better than nothing!
*** Note that I didn't TOTALLY splurge and buy a Stealth.
12:32 PM | Blue Timber:Hockey| Comments (4)
October 09, 2007 / Tuesday
Finally!
It took three tries, a different rink, and our away jerseys, but we finally won a game. I finally scored, and even followed with an assist. I feel SO much better now. I was afraid I'd finish the season with a row of goose eggs. Phew!
I'm actually so relieved I don't know what to say about the rest of the game. That's it; that's all I have to say. Final score: 6-3.
Oh! I remember now. Keisha, who toward the end of the last game told me to quit passing and just take the puck in and shoot it, told me today that I wasn't allowed to pass at all in the first period; passing would be allowed only in the second and third periods, because by then I'd be tired.
I thought about what she said, and it made good sense; I tend to score more early in the game, precisely because I'm not tired yet. She was right, too. On my first shift, I chased the puck into the other team's zone, fought for it, got it, shot it, and scored. Instant relief!
I'm going to treat myself by updating the stats tonight. And if you're wondering why only the Blue stats are updated, it's because it's the only division for which I've received both scoresheets and a final roster. I'm not playing favorites, I swear! ;)
10:31 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (3)
October 07, 2007 / Sunday
A Wee Bit Better
Played my second official Blue game today. I felt a little more comfortable, and didn't have any more moments of, "Holy crap, this is fast." Yes, it's faster, but I'm enjoying the challenge. I had a few decent plays and shots, but also hastily got rid of the puck several times too. I trust that that ratio will tip in favor of making plays as I get more comfortable in this division. I'm no longer feeling impatient; I know I'll improve with time. I just hope I'm not disappointing any of my teammates while I ramp up.
Right, 'cause it's all about me and how (not... yet) good I am. Okay, so what about my team today? We, uh, didn't score. Well, except for Elissa, who had many almostgoals and finally a nice one in the 3rd period. Go Elissa! Bummer for us to lose again. Final score: 1-4, with the last goal against us on an open net.
Our next game is in two days, and we (finally) get to wear our away jerseys. I can't wait.
09:24 PM | Blue Timber| Comments (1)
September 23, 2007 / Sunday
Starting Over
Skated my first real Blue game today. (Last season's sub game doesn't qualify because it was at the little pond rink with only one goalie.) I will sum up the experience with the following:
Whoa, that was fast.
This sentiment was echoed by my new-from-Maroon teammate and one of my also-new-from-Maroon opponents. Go go go go go. No coasting, no watching the play. No luxurious benches of 13. We had 9, and that, I reckon, was normal. No looping around in circles; stop hard and sprint, over and over. It felt like a chaotic ladder drill at times. No easy breakaways, no extra second with the puck. Go go go some more.
Schwew. That made me feel out of shape! My heartrate wasn't dropping back down the way it usually does between shifts. There will have to be more midweek clinics and riding up mountains for me! Work, dammit. Work harder.
I didn't feel slow, but I don't like not being fast. One more item for my list of things to work on.
I'm going into this season feeling like I have to prove myself. I know that proving myself happened officially at evals, but evals mean nothing if I don't contribute once I make it in. In typical fashion, I'm impatient; I want to do what I did in Maroon here in Blue, and I want to do those things right off the bat.
I did not do those things today. I didn't suck, but I didn't shine. I don't like being mediocre. I don't like not being able to give my team that extra boost when we need it. I've long known that I have lots to learn and work on, and here it stares me in the face to make sure I don't forget it.
As for the game, well, it didn't go so well for us. The other team scored seconds into the first shift, and that pretty much told the story for the rest of the game. Final score: 0-6.
I'm too new to be bummed about it. Next time, I say. Next time.
We need a team name. I'm usually chock full of ridiculous suggestions, but my silly dreams, the usual source of team name ridiculousness, have gone missing. I miss giggling myself awake.
More on that in a separate post, perhaps.
