Hockey :: Team Ingrid
March 01, 2006 / Wednesday
Team Ingrid: Last Game of the Season
We wanted to make it a good one, and boy was it a good one!
Actually, things started off a little shaky for us. We had trouble clearing it out of our zone for most of the first period, and was down 0-2 after the first 10 minutes. But then we started get in our groove, and by the end of the first we were up 3-2.
We scored one more in the second, but ran away with it in the third, putting four more pucks in the net before the final buzzer.
Final score: 8-2. The other goalie is having a rough week. We got 8 on her Sunday, too.
Rough week aside, she totally robbed me of what I thought was a sure goal. I took the puck in (from D! yeah!) and passed to Ellaine, who shot it. The goalie gave up a faaat rebound in front of the net, and had taken herself down and out of position. I came up, shot the puck, aimed for the center of the net, the puck rose, and just as it was squarely above the center of the crease, she came down on it with her glove and trapped it on the ice. Aurgh!
But gosh, what a beautiful save!
Players of note: Lindsay with five points, Ellaine with three points, and ... Gina! Gina with two goals and two assists! It's been awesome watching her get better since she started subbing with us midseason. You could tell she was subbing up her first two games, but these last few games she's looked totally comfortable out there, and if it weren't for the bright red jersey she's been wearing, you'd think she'd been playing in Maroon this whole time.
Coach of note: Corey was all dressed up in his work clothes. He looked like a pro-fessional coach! Totally cute.
Note to self: Don't line up on D against Malinda. We ran into each other head first three times in the first period, and by the end of the period I actually had a little headache. I felt bad, and tried to avoid her, but that led her getting shots on net, so I had to stop avoiding her, and then I made her fall, and then I felt *really* bad. Despite that, she gave me the rest of her cookies, er, cookie crumbs. Mmm, cookie crumbs. Thanks, Malinda!
08:11 AM | Team Ingrid| Comments (2)
February 26, 2006 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Go Stretchpants!
Whoo, what a game!
Where to start? I guess with the final score. We won, 8-0, with 39-21 shots on goal.
Highlights: Ingrid wit da hattie! And Gina wit da goal, which I'll go into a little more below.
I played D again. I fully expect to play D now, which suits me just fine. In this league, I actually prefer it over playing wing. It's not new news anymore, but I'm still totally surprised by it.
I had a few things to work on this game. (1) More of that wrist shot with oomph, which, unfortunately, had less oomph today. (2) My slap shot, which stopped working last week, but appears to have partly returned. (3) Shooting more quickly when I get the puck. I did a good job of that today, launching a few one-timers from the blue line. Whoo.
And now, the I'm-writing-this-for-me section: my points recap ...
Point one: GOAL! On a breakaway! From D! Yeah! No fancy dekes; I think I just lucked out on the shot. Actually, I didn't even know I'd scored until Ellaine told me. Ha!
Point two: This was an assist, but it was far more satisfying than the goal. I had another breakaway, and the approach was nearly identical to the one before that led to the goal. I knew Tami would be ready for my shot this time, so I looked to pass. As I approached the goal, I looked up and saw Gina on the other side. I sent the puck across the crease and put it on her stick. Goal! Yeah! Way to be there, Gina!
I subbed the game afterward, too. A couple things of note there: (1) I played center and didn't totally suck, which is totally amazing because I haven't played center in over a year. (2) I wasn't tired at the end of the game, which is also amazing, because I'm usually tired by the end of just one game ... and that's *not* playing center!
I credit today's super ice legs to this morning's super tasty pancakes.
And to the sweet pancake chef. ;-)
09:57 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (2)
February 19, 2006 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Cookies, Yum
I finally remembered to TiVo an Olympic women's hockey game last Friday. I didn't watch the entire game, but I did happen to catch a really nice goal. They replayed it in slow-mo, and as I watched the stick flex I thought, hrmm, I'm not even trying to do that. Maybe I should.
So tonight, I tried to do that. And I think I really did manage to put some more oomph in my shots. Unfortunately, with the added power came less control, and every shot I took tonight sailed a foot wide.
Also on the shooting front, I seem to have lost my ability to take slapshots. I tried a few during warmups, and they all scooted along the ice. The aim was perfect, though. What the heck?
I played D again. Unlike last time, I had fun, didn't want to or try to knock anyone over, and pretty much grinned the entire time. That's more like it!
I was told after the last game that my enthusiastic stick-lifting was resulting in many inadvertent high sticks, so I made it a point to be more careful on that front. Could you tell? Huh huh?
Final score: 4-2. Three of our goals were in the first period, when the other team didn't have a goalie. Bummer for the other team, but we're happy to have the win.
08:34 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (5)
February 07, 2006 / Tuesday
Team Ingrid: I'm Pissed Off!
I'm totally pissed off, and objectively I totally shouldn't be. What the hell?
I think it had something to do with getting dumped on my ass after the whistle in the 1st period, which is fine if it's an accident, but the person who did it absolutely meant to do it. That ticked me off, and I fed off of it. By the end of the period I wanted to beat everyone up. I played the rest of the game like I wanted to beat everyone up.
It's long after the end of the game, and I still want to beat everyone up. Calm down, me.
In happier news, we won. Final score: 3-1, although the win feels like an afterthought at the moment.
I owe Christy a burger. I hope to owe her a full meal plus milk shake after our next game.
11:04 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (4)
February 04, 2006 / Saturday
Team Ingrid: Dammit?
We lost, dammit. We played hard, had many breakaways, tons of great passing and shooting in front of the net, outshot the other team 34-20, and came away empty handed. Not a single goal. Tami was just that good in net last night.
Final score: 0-1. Siiigh.
I brought Christy the Drama Queen a tiara. Still waiting for Liz to post the picture.
When I left the rink, I dropped my stuff off at my car and hung out a bit to play with Emmitt (sp?), Daisy, and Sparky in the parking lot. After a little while, I gave Aaron a call. "Look toward your car," he said. So I did. Many many maaany seconds passed, and I finally realized that his car was parked next to mine. I'd been out there for HOW long?? 10+ minutes, I think, while he was sitting there laughing at my parking lot obliviousness. Go me.
A hour or so after the game, I noticed my left shoulder was sore. I have no idea how I hurt it, but it's worse today. Just when my right shoulder was starting to feel better, too. Poopie.
12:07 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (11)
January 20, 2006 / Friday
Team Ingrid: Ow, My Hip Flexor
Well, that sucked. I pulled my left hip flexor on my first shift. I tried to stretch it out on the bench, but with each subsequent sprint, it hurt more than it did the last sprint.
After the first period, I decided I was done. I wanted to be able to walk out of the rink.
I want to be able to skate in Vegas next weekend.
I think the game was tied 2-2 when I left the ice. I watched a bit before leaving the rink in the third period. It was 6-6.
So, who won?
11:11 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (9)
January 15, 2006 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Malinda Ruuules
Nothing too exciting to say about today's game. We won 5-1. Huzzah!
I played D today and screwed up only once, and even though that screw up resulted in a breakaway for Lindsay, our goalie blocked the shot and Mary came in to secure the resulting loose puck. Phew!
Aside from the screw up, I think managed to turn in a decent game. I chased down ever-speedy Ellen and Mo and stripped the puck from them a few times. *petselfonhead*
The highlight of the game? The brownie corner that Malinda saved me from her game just before mine.
Thanks, Malinda! :-D
11:06 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (0)
January 08, 2006 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Didn't We Just Play This Team?
Indeed, my last Team Ingrid post tells me we did just play this team. We had a much more even outcome this time, finishing the game tied 3-3, including overtime.
It went kinda like this: we scored, then they scored, then we scored, then they scored, then we scored, and then, with 38 seconds left in the game, they scored. And then overtime, during which nobody scored.
I played right wing today, and lined up against Mary, which usually spells disaster for me. She pushed me around a lot in the first period, as usual. At the beginning of the second, I decided I needed to change my style to play effectively against her. At the next faceoff, I bounced a puck past her and took off after it. I knew she was going to try to get in my way, so I braced myself, got nice and low, kept skating, and broke through. After the game, I found out she got called for interference on that. Strange that I didn't notice it at the time; it was probably because I was too busy being excited about having made it past her unscathed. ;)
Later, she got called for checking me into the boards as I tried to get by. I definitely felt that one, but not as much as ...
... when I got my butt kicked by my own teammate. Literally. I was on my stomach tangling for the puck in the corner when Ellen came flying in and kicked me in the butt. Ow!
It hurt enough that Cara ended up playing my Red game for me. Well, that, and I was declared "too fragile" to play in net before Vegas. Thanks, Cara. :)
There were a couple really pretty shots this game ...
1. Karen's 1st period breakaway buzzer beater.
2. Cindy's 3rd period almost-game-winner wraparound.
*clap clap clap*
11:17 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (3)
December 18, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: I'm Hoarse from Cheering
This team's had some off games, but when we're on, look out!
Played the 'Lugis today. Went up 5-0 by the end of the first period. Ouch. For them, that is.
Ingrid was nice, though, and asked us to (1) shuffle up for the second period and (2) pass instead of shoot. We obliged, and ended the period with only 4 SOG.
Then Liz told us she was bored with the non-scoring. We were sick of our shuffledness anyway, so we unshuffled and promptly scored 2 more goals.
Final score: 7-1. They snuck one in with under five minutes to go. Cara would have had a shutout otherwise. Bummer!
I played D again. I think I might actually like playing D better than wing. Amazing.
Ellaine and I had the telepathy going tonight. On both offense and defense, whenever I needed someone to pass to, she was there. For future reference (I'm thinking maybe Vegas reference ;), me at right D plus Ellaine at left wing seems to be a happy combo.
I deked toward my backhand and didn't lose the puck. I couldn't do that one season ago. :-D
In all, 2 assists, and I think just as many non-embarrassing slapshots (albeit non-scoring) for me tonight. Woot!
11:45 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (0)
December 11, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Waah
That's it. I'm done making lines for this team.
Thanks G for being flexible enough to play a different position every period.
One line game recap: We threw 43 shots at BP and got shut out.
Final score: 0-2.
At least the cookie was good. Thanks Malinda.
09:03 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (0)
December 04, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: So Many Forwards!
Another game, another three periods playing D. I think this position is going to stick.
Works for me, despite the fact that it felt like 3-on-2 in front of the net all game. I'd cover one player, and see another player wide open. What the heck?
We paid for it, too, losing 4-5. All 5 of their goals were from a wide open player on the weak side.
It sure was an exciting game, though. We started off slow, but came back, and eventually outshot the other team 34-27 (or something like that).
The slapshot report: I'm still on wrist shot hiatus (originally due to my shoulder, now also due to rustiness), but playing D gives me more time to work on game-situation slapshots. In the first period, people kept blocking them. Later in the game, they started to flinch, which amused me greatly. Late in the 3rd, someone actually flinched herself out of the way, and I landed a blue line slapshot squarely on the goalie's chest ... in a game!
I guess I should start working on actually trying to aim the thing now.
I guess I should also work on a backup plan for when I don't have a shot path to the goal.
The flinching is funny, though. Maybe I should just keep doing what I'm doing, and hope that the flinching will evolve into getting out of the way. ;)
06:35 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (3)
November 16, 2005 / Wednesday
Team Ingrid: That's TEAM Ingrid To You!
Team Ingrid faced off against a STACKED 'Lugi tonight. Before the game, I watched top Maroon player after top Maroon player walk in, all to sub for the other team. I was NOT happy about that. It's expected that a team will bring in a couple strong subs, but when half the constructed team consists of the very top players in the division, that seems a bit excessive.
Rarr!
Before I was done rarring (in my head), I was informed that I'd be playing D. Oh, lovely! I braced for a busy night.
But whaddaya know, we won! Final score: 2-0. BP had a great game in net, stopping all 30 shots they sent her way. You ruuule, BP!
Cara had a solid game in the other net, too, stopping quite a few decent breakaways. Finally, in the middle of the 3rd period, G, just back from her slapshot-to-the-head induced vertigo, found herself a rebound and scooored. That was huge.
Late in the game, they pulled the goalie, and Ellaine scored on the open net. I cheered like an asshole (that's right, no aardvark tonight). Take that! Goodbye, pregame unhappiness. *kick*
On a positive personal development note, I'm feeling much more comfortable playing D these days. I don't panic, I take time to look, and I'm starting to enjoy hounding players in front of the net. Perhaps a little too much, as one of their forwards declined to shake my hand at the end of the game. I think it was on purpose, 'cause I watched her pull her hand back. Chill out, you! In all seriousness, you should take the hounding as a compliment. If I thought you sucked, I'd leave you alone!
Not that you read my blog.
Oh, wait, a lot more people read my blog than I'd like to believe.
A couple amusing blips ...
Amusing blip 1: BP tried to tell me to use the boards to clear the puck out without icing it (we were playing at Belmont, which is so small you can pretty much blow on the puck and accidentally ice it). Unfortunately, she was trying to talk through her mouthguard, and I kept thinking she was telling me to "use the force". Sorry, BP, Heather's the league Jedi, not me!
Amusing blip 2: Before the game, Janet eeked and threw her skate into the middle of the locker room. She said she saw a spider on the skate. We looked, but couldn't find anything crawling around. After the game, I went to get something out of my bag. I looked at the top, jumped back, and screamed, "AHHHHH! SPIDERRR!" I guess that's where Janet's skate spider went.
Whoo, what a great win. Awesome job, team!
12:03 AM | Team Ingrid| Comments (7)
November 13, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Volume Adjustment
Another fun game for Team Ingrid, a.k.a. Team Stretchpants. (Please do not think from that sentence that Ingrid is interchangeable with Stretchpants.) We fell behind early, but managed to come back to tie 3-3. No OT 'cause we ran out of time. Too bad. It would have been fun ... er, more fun.
I finally did another stint on D. Ellaine had been graciously filling the D vacuum the last few games, and it was finally time for me to step forward (back?) and stop weasling my way out of D duty. ;)
I paired up with Mary, and woot, we did pretty well! Our line didn't give up a single goal, and we finished +2. Mary got herself a goal, and I got myself an assist, thanks to a great pass back to point by ... Karen, I think it was! Yes!
I will stop now so I don't clutter the internet.
09:57 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (0)
November 06, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Ingrid Stretchpants!
It reminds me of Spongebob Squarepants. I know they are completely unrelated, but it's amusing nonetheless.
Why "Stretchpants"? To honor Liz's wardrobe for the next few months.
We had a between period "STRETCHPANTS!" cheer. That was the best.
Our team started off slow today, and by the end of the 1st period we were down 0-2. We picked it up in the 2nd and 3rd, but it wasn't enough to come back.
Final score: 1-3. Oh well.
Toward the end of the game, we sent the puck deep into the other team's zone. One of their D was skating after it. I skated after it too, as fast as I could, starting from about 6-10 feet behind their defender around the center line. I was dead tired, and, for some strange reason, thought that if I yelled at the top of my lungs I would skate faster. So I yelled. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I think I scared the defender, because when we both arrived at the puck (I caught up! WhoO!), she swerved away without even touching it.
Roops. Sorry, I wasn't yelling to scare anyone! I don't know what got into me!
Anyway, I got the puck, but I was even deader tired from the sprint, so I did absolutely nothing with it. Phooey.
Did anyone else actually hear me yelling? I am both amused and embarrassed that I did that. It's like grunting in tennis. Ha-UNH!
A fun game, despite the loss. Yummy cookies, too. :)
07:47 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (9)
October 30, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: A Bit Of Perspective
Walked into the rink today still a little grumpy from last night's game. (It takes me a while to simmer down when I get really upset.) I had fun once we started playing, though, and was in a fine mood by the time I finished my first shift. On top of that, a few of my favorite Red division players were subbing, and I was quite happy to be out with them on the ice. :)
That is, until sometime late in the 3rd period. Marci, who had been protecting her net and goalie from me all game, tangled with me for the puck deep in the other team's zone. Sticks and skates and legs everywhere, both of us trying to win the puck. All of a sudden, Marci went down. And didn't get up. I stood there with the puck in front of me, and I didn't move. I couldn't move. All I could think was that I'd done something to wrench her knee.
Thank you, ref, for blowing the whistle.
Medical know-how is not my forte. There are plenty of other people in the league who handle injuries better than I do. They came over and helped. I felt kind of useless there, but I couldn't skate away. Not when I felt responsible for what had happened.
Eventually, we helped Marci up and she got off the ice. I still didn't know what had happened. I assumed (1) her knee was very busted and (2) it was my fault. I was pretty distraught over that, and about ready to cry. (Yes, this from someone who wanted to bash some dude's head in last night, but hurting a friend is a hell of a lot different from beating on a dumbfuck.) I finished my shift and got off the ice. I seriously considered just walking off the bench. I was in no mood to continue playing.
Something about that incident shifted the entire momentum of the game. In the 3 minutes remaining, the other team came back from a 2-5 deficit to tie at 5-5. We ran out of time after that, and finished without going into overtime. Phew.
I caught up with Marci after the game, and found out that (1) she can still walk and (2) I did not wrench her knee with my stick. I still feel bad that it happened, but I feel a *lot* better knowing that it's not as serious as I'd feared, and that it wasn't the direct result of something I did.
Anyway, it's been a pretty emotional hockey weekend for me. It sure puts getting pissed off over a few words into perspective. Trash talk from someone I don't really know doesn't matter. Seeing a friend get hurt out there matters a lot.
Heal fast, Marci!
08:53 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (7)
October 23, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: This Name Might Stick!
We made progress on the Team Ingrid naming front today: one "Team Ingrid" cheer between periods and several "Ingrid! Ingrid!" chants during play. I'm officially creating a category under this name.
After last week's 49 shot shutout frustration, we finally felt more like our old selves, putting 37 (or was it 39?) shots on net and winning the game 3-1.
Ooh, ooh! I scored a goal! I wound up with the puck mid-zone, put a backhand on net, my wing pair got the rebound behind the goal line, I called for it up front, she sent the puck to where I was, I shot another backhand, and, finally a third backhand, which magically sailed over the goalie's left shoulder and into the back of the net.
As I will say for all backhand goals I score from now on, thank you Josepi! :-D
Bonus 1: The Green practice was just before our game, so I got to see my Green Division peeps ... and scream CHEDDAAAAAAH! during the end-of-practice scrimmage.
Bonus 2: I got to meet Cheddah's bro. He looks like, well, Cheddah's bro! That's totally cute. :)
11:06 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (3)
October 16, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid: Purple Mehlhornies?
We still don't have an official name, but we did have a team Mehlhornies cheer between periods. :)
We put 49 shots on net, but came away with nothing. Nothing! Zeeero. BP shut us out. :(
I played D again. Blah! I totally screwed up on a breakaway in the 3rd. I kept backing up until finally I screened the goalie and the other team scored. When the whistle blew, I turned around and acked, 'cause the net was right behind me. I'd thought I was still near the blue line! I guess I would have been near the blue line, at any other rink. It's been a while since I've played at little Lake Belmont. ;)
I got called for tripping in the 3rd. I'd like to use this opportunity to say, "*#$^(*^(*@^$&*^!!!!!" I WAS TAKING A SHOT, I CONNECTED WITH THE PUCK (I think I even got it on net), AND THE OTHER PLAYER DOVE! DOVE! I have no problems with having penalties called on me, but if I don't deserve it, *#$(*^@(*&@#^$*&^@!!!!!
*@(*#$#(*&@)($#$!!!
Final score: 0-3. No complaints there, given the shot count. Great game, BP.
10:36 PM | Team Ingrid| Comments (7)
October 08, 2005 / Saturday
Team Ingrid Game 3: Boo, I Missed Game 2
Still no team name. None that I really like, at least. Screw it, I'll just call it Team Ingrid here for the rest of the season.
Either that, or Qapla'!. Qapla'!
We won! Final score: 3-2. The Ballerina Pimp made some sweet saves in net for us tonight. Woot!
I played D. If I play it fairly often I'm okay with it, but if I haven't played in a while I hate it. I don't mind the messing with people part, but I definitely hate skating the puck behind the net. I think it has something to do with the fact that I hate being chased. It has nothing to do with hockey and everything to do with me.
Three goals against Tami. That doesn't suck. Go Team Ingrid!
Not much to say for myself, except that my spine and neck got rearranged. I broke my own rule and tangled with Mary. It was either that or give her a clear path to the net.
Legs are sore. I am so out of shape. Moo.
Moopla'!
02:23 AM | Injuries:Team Ingrid| Comments (2)
September 25, 2005 / Sunday
Team Ingrid Game 1: WoooooT!
My new Maroon team is not really named Team Ingrid, but until we decide on a name, that's what I'm going to call it.
Team Ingrid played a rockin' game today. Passing lots, shooting lots, scoring lots, and having a ton of fun in the process.
Final score: 8-2. WaahoO!
I managed 2 goals this game. That's 2 more than I scored all last season, and equal to the number of points I had. Not a bad start!
Uninteresting goal recap (the for me, not you section) follows ...
Goal 1: 2-on-1 with Christy, who passed the puck just a bit behind me. I went in to the corner, fought for it, fought for it again, saw Christy open at the hash calling for the puck, passed it to her, headed for the net, watched her shoot it, watched the rebound come out to me, and hopped it just over the goalie, through a little gap between her and the goal post.
Goal 2: All I remember is stick handling a bit and taking a backhand, sending the puck between the goalie's legs. I'm told it lifted over the stick. I'm super stoked about that one 'cause I've been practicing my backhand a lot lately (I can't shoot a wrister with my waah I'm Rob shoulder). And, of course, thank you Josepi!
The only bummer about this game is that we had to shoot on Cara. It's just a game, but still, it's Cara! That reminds me, I had a breakaway, and Viv somehow sent me into the goal post sideways. I remember taking the puck in, thinking, "Hat trick, here I come!", a sudden loss of ice traction (if there is such a thing), hoping that I wouldn't crash into Cara, watching her step aside, and coming to a stop against the goal post.
Viv vs. Viv. That's kinda funny. Well, except for that sending me into the goal post bit. At least we got a power play out of it. :)
