EdmGoalie's 2011-12 Season

Played again with my regular team on Friday night, and wow were we bad. We were up against a team that started the season two divisions above us, and they've now ended up in out division. We were overmatched from the outset, and the play was constantly in our end. Barring the first minute of the game, we held up not too bad - but it was one that you just knew wasn't going to go well right from the start.

I made reference to the first minute of the game - 58 seconds in, and suddenly we're down 3-0. I know that looks awful on my part especially, and while I'll certainly take the hit on that one, they definitely weren't shots that went in easily. On all three goals, I made at least 2 saves in tight before the puck going in, and the early barrage was certainly a sign of how busy I'd be for the rest of the night.

All in all, we lost the game 11-3, but according to the timekeeper, we were outshot 57-30, and even though I had so many get by me, I'm quite happy with my game. My positioning felt good most of the night, made a couple of sweet glove saves, and even had a couple nice breakaway stops on their top scorer.

It definitely wasn't a pretty game, but it was fun nonetheless. It can certainly be frustrating at times (especially since as a sub, I've got better numbers playing in higher divisions), but it is certainly allowing me to work on my game. Our next game is on Saturday night against a team in the middle of our division standings, so hopefully we can put up a good effort and get back on the winning track.

One plus of this season so far - we were told at the beginning of the year that for every facility that the ASHL runs a league, the team with the lowest penalty minute total for the season (in the entire league, across all divisions) would receive a set of new Bauer gloves for every player on the team. They said that they'd figure something out for the goalies, but in any case, we're currently sitting at only 44 PIM through 20 games, and we've got at least 20 fewer PIM than the next closest team. At least we're leading the way in something!

Had a late game on Saturday night with my regular team - we came in with a 3-17 record through 20 games, up against a team that was 9-9. We were short a couple of skaters, so I used my connections to a team in a higher division to see about some spares. My buddy came through, and had three of his usual guys come out to help - and help they did.

Through 20 games this year, we'd yet to net a PP goal, and that all changed on Saturday night. We won the game 6-4, and I think 4 of the goals were on the PP - and two of the guys that I brought out had a hand in all 6 goals. We'll see how that game helps out our confidence going forward. I could see a change in a lot of my regular guys having some more skilled players to play with - turnovers were FAR less frequent, they were skating harder, and just all around having better games.

Personally, I played alright. There are a couple goals that I'd like to have back, but hey, it happens. First goal was a shot that was wide and came out the other side off of the back boards. I slid across to my left just in time to have the puck bounce off my pad and into the net. Second goal was a goal mouth scramble where I made 5 or 6 stops before the rebound was finally put by me - just couldn't get through the maze of sticks and skates to get to the puck. I easily had 3 other guys in the crease going for the puck at the time.

Third goal, the opposing player went wide on my d-man and got around him to cut across the front of the net all alone. I went to slide across with him, but he managed to get me to open up and tucked the puck five-hole. That one I'd really like back - should have had that one. Final goal I allowed was another that I should have had - puck was just wristed from the faceoff circle to my right, and beat me just inside the post on the far side. Was definitely off on my angle on that one. After the puck went in, I looked to see exactly where I'd dropped down, and I was just way too close to paralleling the goal line. Mistake on my part for sure.

Next game is Thursday night, and is against the second place team in our division. Going to be a tough one for sure, especially since they've got the second leading scorer in the division as well - the guy's got 35 goals through 21 games. He's got more goals than our teams leading scorer has points...

For me personally, Thursday will be the start of a stretch of 3 games in 4 nights - 2 with my regular team on Thursday and Sunday, and another with my old office team on Saturday night.

Played last night against the team that was in second place in our division. For the most part it was a good game - lots of chances back and forth, but I feel like I just played awful. Every single goal that I allowed, I got a piece of in some way, shape or form. We ended up losing the game 9-6, and the last goal that I allowed was probably the worst one I've had in some time.

The game started off pretty good - my save of the game came in the first few minutes. The initial shot came in from the slot, I dropped down and went to catch it, but it caught me in the heel of the glove and bounced right back out. There was an opposing player standing right at the top of the crease - he took a swing at it, caught ALL of it, and I kicked out my left pad just in time to rob him. The play immediately went back the other way, and he stuck around at the top of the crease to tell me, "You can't do that!" and give me a tap on the pads. Unfortunately, the game was all downhill from there.

After the second goal I allowed where the puck hit me square in the palm of my glove and somehow still wound up in the net, I had a feeling that it was going to be a long night. I still can't figure out for the life of me how that shot went in. Even without catching it, it should have dropped straight down in front of me - and my pad was there if there'd been any spin on it. Only thing I can think of is that it hit my glove, dropped down and bounced off my pad and in. I just flat out couldn't buy one last night.

After that, and having a couple that were off my pads and in - including one that slipped in just inside the post right before I sealed my pad against it - the night was capped off by a shot that came in from the blue line, was knocked down about half way to me, and as it was coming in, I went to knock it into the corner with my stick. I've done it hundreds of times, and 99% of the time, there's no problem. This must have been that other 1%. The puck deflected off my stick and right over my left shoulder, top corner. After knocking my stick against the post after that, frankly, I'm surprised its still in one piece.

It's been a while since I've had a game like that, but I've got to just have a short memory and shake it off. Next game is tomorrow night with my former office team - basically just a pickup game, so I plan on using it as more of a practice - try and work on some things, and get ready for my next game with my regular team the following night.

So I had my two other ice times on the weekend. Saturday wasn't too bad - I was pretty happy with my overall game, even in a losing effort. We had a very short bench, so I was busy all night. There was a couple that I'd like to have back, but all-in-all, not a bad night on the ice.

Played for my regular team last night, and I really don't know how much more of this I can take. When I'm the best player on the team, there's something seriously wrong. By the time the third period rolled around, I was completely done, and my players just stopped playing. An opposing player would cross the blue line, and my d-men would back off and basically just let the guy walk by them. It was bad. We were down 6-1 after two, and I was having a pretty damn good game in spite of the score on the board. The play was constantly in our end, and any time my guys did touch the puck, it was for a clearing attempt that maybe made it out to centre ice where the play was just turned round again.

Then the third period came, and as I mentioned, they stopped playing. All the d-men had to do was stay standing in front of the oncoming player and make his impending shot a little more difficult. Easy right? Apparently not. On more than one occasion, I literally saw my d-man take a step to the side, and the oncoming player would just walk into the high slot, or cut across the top of the crease. That third period was not fun, to say the least.

I really need to find me a new team for next year. I can't take playing for these guys. I mean, I don't mind losing when it's a competitive game, but this is getting ridiculous. I need to get some support out there - I can only do so much between the pipes. Frustrating at this point would be a severe understatement.

Anyway, that's my rant for today. Our next game isn't for another 10 days, but this one is against a team that we're 1-1 against this year - and both games have been very close. Hopefully this one goes a little better.

Been a bit since I posted in here, so I figured it was due time for an update.

I wound up playing games last week on Tuesday (spare), Thursday (regular team), and two on Sunday (first as a spare for another team, second for my regular team).

The week started off great, stopping (what the timekeeper recorded as) 15 shots en route to my second ever shutout in a 10-0 victory. The team I played against was actually directly ahead of my regular team in the standings, so I helped our cause in the win. I didn't have a whole lot to do, but there were a couple of tough stops, including a nice sliding stop on a one timer cross crease. Felt pretty good about my play, and hoped that'd translate into better play throughout the week.

On Thursday night, I played for my regular team, and we were taking on a team we'd already played twice this year - and had a 1-1 record against them. I brought out a couple of spares at the request of our team rep, although only one made it beyond the halfway mark of the first period. We were short-handed, and the puck was cleared from centre ice into the other teams end. One of the guys I brought out charged hard for the puck, and the goalie decided to do the same. They collided, and my guy proceeded to slide hard into the end boards, breaking his wrist in the process. He's now done for the season - worst part is, for his regular team, he's their leading scorer.

For the most part, I was pleased with my play in this game as well. There was 1 or 2 that I'd like back, but I can't do anything about them, so it is what it is. My shutout streak continued deep into the second period where I was finally beaten on a goal mouth scramble (after making the initial 3 stops). Just couldn't cover it up, and I paid for it. We wound up winning the game 7-5, and as a result, moved past the team that I helped beat earlier in the week.

Onto Sunday. First game was at noon, filling in for a friends team in a division above where I usually play. The team we were playing against had one really good player, another that was above average, and then there was a drop off from there. Their top scorer came into the game with something ridiculous like 84 points in 22 games. In any case, it was a game we should have had. I thought my play all-in-all was pretty decent, and we started the third period off in the lead 7-2. About halfway through the third, you could tell that the opposition had severely shortened their bench - their best players always seemed to be on the ice, and we were trapped in our end for long stretches. As much as I hate to admit this, we wound up coughing up 5 goals in the final 6:30 of the game, and headed for 3-on-3 OT. While there was one for sure in the final few minutes of the third that I'd like back, most of the plays that resulted in goals were VERY nice plays, and we just got burned.

Overtime featured a bunch of back and forth (as is usually the case 3-on-3), and one of my guys had a golden opportunity to end it with about a minute to go. He took the puck from centre ice, and had a clear breakaway. He went in on the goalie, and I don't know what the hell he was trying, but it didn't even result in a shot on goal. Sadly, the opposition completed the crazy comeback with 3.9 seconds left on the clock - guy came down the boards on my right and rifled a shot high glove - off the far post and in. We played well for 80% of the game, and everyone, myself included, just couldn't get it done in the end. That was as much of a team loss if there ever was one. Tough one to swallow, but as is the case with most time on the ice, a short memory is of massive benefit.

After that game, I packed my bag, stopped off at a local store for a quick sharpening, then headed home to relax, grab something small to eat, and dry as much gear as I could before my next game at 6:15 that night. Headed to the rink that night knowing full well we were going to be in tough - played against the team that I had earned a shutout for earlier in the week. I caught myself playing too deep a couple of times, and got beat because of it. We wound up losing this one 9-3 (our third goal was very late in the game). Our opposition had two very good players, and we just couldn't shut them down. Having played for them earlier in the week, I knew who to watch for on the ice, but there's only so much I could do about it. The play (as it has been for much of the season with this team) was primarily in our end of the ice, and all things considered, I'm fairly satisfied with how I played that one. I knew it was going to be tough going, so my expectations were quite low - that probably had an effect on how I felt about my game... haha.

After we got back to the room that night, one of our guys gave us a big scare. After a couple minutes, you could see he was in obvious discomfort, and was complaining of chest pain. One of our guys went and grabbed one of the league convenors for some first aid, and shortly after he arrived in the room, our guy briefly lost consciousness. The convenor got on the radio to the office and called for an ambulance right away, and a short time later, the medics showed up with all their gear and a stretcher. In the time it took for them to arrive, a couple of our players helped him out of what was left of his gear, and after an assessment in the room, the medics carted him off to the hospital. The good thing is that he was alert and joking on his way out -- even had time to throw in a, "What..? You guys aren't banging your sticks for me!? You guys are a**holes!" Everyone got a good chuckle out of that one. He sent an email out to us today saying that after tests were run and such, he officially had a heart attack, and he'd be in the hospital until he's told otherwise. Scary moment for sure, especially since the guy isn't even 40 yet - but it sounds like he's doing well.

Anyway, that's been my eventful week in hockey - until next time!

Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear he's okay.
Did anyone do/know CPR?

Originally Posted by caveman27

Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear he's okay.
Did anyone do/know CPR?

It never got to that point, fortunately. When the guy from the league office came in, he did so carrying a defibrillator and an oxygen tank. After our guy had his momentary loss of consciousness, they laid him on the floor with a towel under his head. The league rep hooked him up to the oxygen tank, and had a couple of our guys lift his legs to promote blood flow back towards the heart. He was awake the rest of the time and talking when necessary.

One good thing about playing where we do, is that there's always staff on site up until the very end of the night, and there's always someone around that knows first aid, just in case.

Been a while since I updated things, so figured I'd take some time to do so.

Since my last post, I've had two more games for my regular team - both losses, unfortunately. The first was the Sunday after our teammate suffered from his heart attack, and he actually showed up in the locker room for our game! He didn't play of course, but he was there nonetheless - was good to see him up and about after such a scary incident. That game went back and forth for the entire game, and we ended up losing it in OT while short handed. Don't remember what exactly led up to the OT goal other than coming out of my net to play the puck - passed it right onto the tape of a teammate at the blue line, and the next thing I know, I've got a guy barrelling in on a breakaway. Got a big piece of the puck, but not enough unfortunately, as I turned around just in time to see it cross the line. Tough one to let in, but overall, I was pretty happy with that game.

Second game a few days later wasn't nearly as close unfortunately. All-in-all, I was fairly pleased with my play in this one as well. There were a couple I'd like to have back, but thems the breaks. All I can do is move on to the next one.

I believe I mentioned in an earlier post about a competition that the league is having where the one team in the entire facility with the fewest penalty minutes throughout the season will win a full set of new Bauer gloves (with something separate going to the goalies). We had been neck and neck with another team a couple divisions above us, but a couple games ago, they had a game where they took 10 minutes in penalties, and now we've got a 12 minute lead on them with one regular season game to go! We've only taken 78 penalty minutes through 27 games, so I think we've got this thing all but wrapped up. I'm kind of interested to see what they provide the goalies. Maybe they'll just give me a gift card or something equivalent to the value of the player gloves.

Our final regular season game is tomorrow night, and while I'm not expecting anything spectacular, it certainly would be nice to go into the playoffs on a winning note. First playoff game isn't for another 10 days beyond that, and we'll definitely be playing one of the top 3 teams in our division. We've only beaten one of them, but I've been on the good end of a playoff upset, so here's hoping I can experience that once again. We're guaranteed two playoff games - two game series against the same team. Weird thing though is that the league doesn't use a goal differential to decide who moves on - so if you lose one game 10-0, and win the other one 2-1, you play a sudden death OT to decide who moves on. I'd hate to be on the other end of that for sure.

In other news, I've found a team for the summer, so I'll get to keep playing on a regular basis. These guys sound like they've got some skill, so hopefully the games go a lot smoother than they have been. I think once summer starts, I'll drop this thread and take up a blog post instead, just to keep it there for anyone who cares to read it. Until next time...