synesthete's Personal Thread

[synesthete]

A little about my background:

I was a defenseman from 7-13, and then switched to goalie. At 14-15 I played all inline, mostly in travel. From 15-17 I played mostly ice with a little inline thrown in. At 17 I moved to Canada to play Junior "A" in the now-defunct World Jr. "A" Hockey League. I came back and finished out my high school career and then played both inline and roller in college. Won a national championship, regional and national best goalie awards, set a bunch of records, and whatnot in inline; didn't do a damn thing in college ice since the college team disbanded after one year. I was named the third goalie on the Missouri River Otters (UHL) but never got in any games; only some practices. I used to be a goalie instructor under Bruce Racine [Blues] (along with Ben Bishop [Blues] and Mike McKenna [Devils] and Rick Heinz. Then I gave up goaltending for a few years and have mostly been playing left wing/center. Now I'm back to playing in goal in addition to playing out, and I'm having a ton of fun.

Pictures from today's drop-in:

[nuckinusa]

Good to finally know a little bit more about you.

[synesthete]

Great!

Here are a few more pics from today:





This was the -- believe it or not -- third time in my life I've tucked in my chest protector. I think it makes me look very small. Not sure if I like it yet or not. Usually I like it out, but the chest protector I wear is very floppy and almost lends itself better to tucking. I'll try it a few more sessions/games and see how it goes, though. At least I don't get hot, like I thought I might.

[Admin]

Do you use suspenders over it and tie it down?

[synesthete]

I only used the pants belt through the loop on the front of the chest protector. I hate the feeling of suspenders (too much downward pressure on my shoulders) and I'm too lazy to tie it with a lace. The belt is more than adequate.

One mod I always do to the back of my pants and chest protector is add a clip so it keeps the back of the chest protector down. That way you don't get the dumb-looking ridge at the back of your neck and makes it more comfy and protective for the top of your spine.

[maalivahti]

What kind of clip do you add to the back of pants and chest protector? Is it something you sew on? I get that ridge and it drives me nuts.

[synesthete]

Goalie Pad Buckle 1"

Was hoping to find one at Goalie Monkey for the referral, but nonetheless that was the only one I could find, and this is who I ordered from.

I attach the male end to the bottom horizontal strap on the back of the chest protector and the female end to the belt on the back of the pant. I had to make a small slit and then take the back strap out in order to get it on there. It's important when taking out the belt to do the old "attach a string to it before taking it out" trick; that is, attach a string to it using a safety pin and then pull the belt out. Then to get the clip on you can take the safety pin off, put the clip on, put the safety pin back on and then just pull the string, which is still inside the belt tunnel. That way you don't spend an hour trying to feed the damn belt back through that tunnel.

Here are some pics of my set up:

[synesthete]

So my first game after a three year hiatus wasn't as impressive as I wanted....

Here's the long story somewhat short:

A few weeks ago my friend calls me up and says he needs me to sub. He plays in the best league in the area in the advanced division. Not a problem, really, as my skill level would normally be suited for that. So I say that's fine. I look up the standings and my friend's team is in last place and who are we playing? The first place team, of course. They score on average 9 goals per game. I get to the rink and my other friend goes, "I'm going to be honest with you.. we have a good group of core guys. But we don't like to play defense." And they were right.

I felt OK in warm up. It was only like the third time I had been on the ice in my pads, but nonetheless it felt largely fine. Still getting used to my knee guards, but otherwise fine. Man, that hockey was fast; probably the fastest hockey I've seen since Juniors. Surprised the hell out of me.

The first goal against was an unguarded one-timer; second goal against was a rebound; third goal against was an unguarded far-side tip in; fourth goal I should have easily had. First period ends 4-2 them.

Second period went much better. Still a little sloppy movement-wise, but not as bad as the first period. First goal against was an unguarded rebound. Second goal against was an unguarded screen where I had no idea where the puck even was. Second period ends 6-5 them.

Third period was much like the second. Getting better but not all the way there. First goal against was another unguarded rebound. Second goal against, which was the game winner with about three minutes left, was a completely unguarded one-timer. Game ends 8-7 them.

Now, I know I didn't play as well as I would have liked to. But absolutely no one said anything to me after the game as if they were all my fault. I mean, if you have to warn me that you guys hate playing defense and you're last in the league, are you really going to blame it on me? I'll take the heat for the loss; had I let in two less goals, we would have won. At the same time, since it was my first game in three years and I did let in less goals than the other team's average goals for, I was somewhat OK with my overall play. Take a few chances back and it would have been another story.

I figured I'd never get a call from them again. That is, until today. Apparently they need another sub, and I'm good to go. Feel much more comfortable having gotten in the net once or twice a week since the game. Made some mods to the set up to be more comfortable, so I'm hoping for a much better outing. Of course, we're playing the second place team and my friend's team is still in last, so it's not a whole lot better. The second place team has scored less goals than the first place team, but have also let less in, so the game may be as tight but a little less scoring, I hope. Hopefully I have time to stop by the hockey store on my way to the rink to get my skates sharpened.

Hope to update more later.

[Avsfreak]

Ah the life of a goalie. If you make amazing saves and win the game because of it, no recognition unless it was a shutout, because you are doing your job. No defense and you lose a game, its your fault for not making the saves. C'est la vie. Way to keep your team in it. Sucks they wouldn't talk to you, you're helping them by subbing, I hate that.

Good Luck on the next one!

[synesthete]

Ain't that the truth!

Well this game went much better. Fortunately I had time to get my skates sharpened beforehand or else I would have been in trouble. With a short bench and some stragglers playing regular minutes, I wasn't expecting much out of the game. I decided to try tucking in for the game for the first time since it's felt pretty good in drop-in. It felt pretty good in pre-game, and I didn't notice any outstanding issues.

In the first period it was pretty evident they were trying to go glove side. Which isn't good for me at the moment since I'm still getting used to a glove with a pro palm, which I absolutely hate. I may have to order a new glove with the regular palm in it if I can't get used to it. It doesn't help, either, that one of the finger-separating pieces of leather digs into the webbing between my ring and middle finger. They ended up scoring their first goal glove side on a 2-on-1. But then we took the game over and scored some quick goals, making it 3-1 at the end of the first. I decided, due to my chest protector coming up on the sides a bit, to go back to untuck. And it also didn't help that the middle string on my dangler came out, so my dangler wasn't moving or protecting properly. One of my teammates attempted fixing it, and it held for most of the rest of the game.

The second period wasn't bad. One goal against, which was a really weird play where everyone just decided to watch it happen. Off the faceoff it goes to their defenseman, who takes a shot on which I was screened. When it got to me I tried to catch it, it goes off my glove funny and to my blocker side, where one of their players was waiting. So I slide over to the right, only for him to start going across the crease to my left. Of course my defense just watches all of this happen, and I tried jumping back to my left, but he still got the shot in. And, oddly, I ended up cutting my finger on, of all things, a bit of clearcoat on my mask accidentally left over by the painter. I'll need to sand that off so I don't fit my finger again. Second period ended 7-2, I believe.

Then in the third the other team woke up while my team got a bit lazy on D. One goal against was a point shot that was screened and ended up somehow going five hole. Another shot was a really nice one-time shot off a pass behind the net that went top shelf. Last goal was my fault; their guy came in on a partial breakaway, and the puck got away from him a bit so I attempted the poke check, completely whiffing, I believe. Not that big of a deal, though, as the game ended 7-5, beating the second place team while we were in last.

So I'm pretty happy with the result even though I'd prefer to let in less goals. Got some things to fix -- make my chest protector tighter on the sides, attempt cutting out a tiny bit of leather separating the fingers in the glove, and sand off the clearcoat chunk that cut me -- so at least I have some things to do before the next game. Hopefully there will be another game with that team, as even though they aren't the most defensively-conscious team, it's a fun time in that league, and we can definitely hold our own against any team in the league. Just I need to really be on my game. Almost there.