Hockey School Dropout

I spared for a buddy's team yesterday afternoon.....they play in the bottom division of one of the major leagues in the city (Traveller's League for those in/around Ottawa). The scouting report on the opposition was they were very aggressive, liked to shoot, and played 2 division higher in the summer and the previous winter. Oh goody!

I will say this: The team I was on did a good job of letting me see the puck, and they made sure to box out guys charging the net and clearing the puck when I couldn't freeze it. The down side, was they only got maybe 5 shots on the other goalie. I faced at least 20, plus at least another 10 that missed the net altogether.

I was able to get in a groove right away, and my experience from playing in the summer on a higher level team had me prepared for the onslaught I faced. I've noticed in my last few outings that my traditional weak spots are going away, as I am anticipating and reacting better - and quicker. Far fewer 5-hole goals and squeakers between my skate and the post are going in, and it was that way yesterday. My rebound control was at its peak (thus far in my "career"), and I was able to intentionally direct pucks to the corner, or at least away from the slot. What was nice was even though I would recover and be in position for a rebound stop, I only had to make 1 or 2 rebound stops.

The game ended 2-0, though a couple of goal post hits and a goal called back (player in crease) kept the score low. Both goals against were on the powerplay. The first one was a 5 on 3 and someone got loose in the slot, and I butterflied as I couldn't see it. I located the puck just as he released and I just missed it with my glove. The second was a 5 on 4, and he came out from the right side and just snuck it under me as I was starting to move across. I reached behind, but stopped it about 2 inches past the goal line.

On the plus side, I saved a lot more than I let in, and I won "player of the game", my first as a goalie! I'm very pleased with my progress lately. Gotta find a new goalie school though, as the one I was in last winter isn't at a convenient time anymore.