Weird game...

So, we won. Poor Bang got the shit kicked out of him in the first two periods and I think the score was something like 5-0 in the first, 8-2 in the second, and then in the third, my defense let up out of pity and the floodgates opened on me and I let in 5. Ugh.

But I played well and made some darn good saves, even when things got hairy. I felt good and focused the whole game, except for a few missteps.

My first stop was actually one that Bad Heather wouldn't have gotten in the past, but I was screened by my own guy and I saw Jessica had the puck (yeah, Jessica's back... more on that in a bit) so I dropped. It took a bit for the shot come to me, but if I hadn't gone down, it would have been a goal. As it was, it bounced off my toe, hit the post and then went to the corner. Phew!

But I made up for it with two stupid goals in the second. First, I dropped but my stick was off the ice and the puck went 5-hole on me. Soft as a basket of kittens.


The second, Mikey parked his ass at the top of my crease and that pissed me RIGHT off. And I'm thinking, "I can't nut him." So I start shoving him. And I was watching the puck, but I guess I did get a tad overzealous in my mission to make it as uncomfortable as possible to screen me, and my stick was off the ice when Jessica released her shot.

I was PISSED. I mean... woo! CRAZY BITCH PISSED. But I learned my lesson. Stick with nutting. It's more efficient.

Okay, kidding. But Mikey got on me. "It's okay for someone to screen you if they're outside the paint." Well, yeah, you're ALLOWED to do it, but if I can make you not want to be there, by fuck, I'm gonna try! But I won't do it at the cost of a goal again. Gotta find a balance. I don't care what these guys say, I'm not gonna let them just stand there. If you don't like a blocker in the back, you can fucking well get the fuck out of my way.

Plus, for where she was (mid-high slot), *I* needed to be at the top of my crease and I couldn't be there because he'd grown roots in the ice or something. I couldn't budge him.

Anyway, I was straight up homicidal for a bit after that, and it's good that Mikey got the hell away from me, but I shook it off and it was okay.

But then the third... My defense backed off because the score was so unbalanced, and the red team definitely took advantage and put a lot of pucks on the net.

I'm trying hard to even remember them all. I know a couple of the later ones, I was getting a bit mental and playing too deep. Tethered to the crossbar again as a result of getting shelled.

One of them was a nasty tip-in by my own defenseman. I was down for the original shot, which was clearly going wide, but it hit the tip of Tom's stick and deflected right in the empty net. Ugh. But it happens.

Another, I got my blocker side leg pad on it and it took a funny bounce and went right over the pad. I really don't even know what I could have done better on that.

So that and Tom's tip-in, I'm not upset about. A couple, I was just too deep and not cutting off the angle properly and they hit the post and went in. Those, I'm irritated about. And the first two I'm irritated about big time. There's one that I can't seem to account for (they weren't actively keeping score and then at the end they put it at 10-10, but that definitely wasn't the right score for my team, so I'm kinda guessing anyway).

Whatever.

Afterward, I was getting pretty good props from the boys for some strong saves and a good game, so that was nice, but it was still too many goals. So somehow I'm really happy with my game but also ... I guess we'll call it, "seeing clear room for improvement."

I was lamenting the score and telling them that I have to recount each one for Scott and they were like, "Meh, screw it, you played well." Well, yeah, but I should have stopped 4 of those if I'd been on the ball. So, I don't really know how to feel about this one.

I do know it was a fuckload of fun though. I love playing goal.

So, like I mentioned, Jessica is back (and the score showed it). I know she got two of the goals. One of those too-deep ones and then the Mikey-screen.

But I love having her back. She's determined and more unpredictable than many of the red team, so I enjoy the challenge. And it's often a breakaway with her, which I really enjoy in sort of mano-a-mano, who's gonna flinch first, way.

Speaking of flinching, Jesus H. Christ, another of her shots hit me in the bicep (but bounced down to me to freeze it). I swear to God, I'm gonna get swim floaties to wear under my chest protector to protect my biceps. I might as well have nothing on my arms at all for how bad that hurts. It's big time OW! But, of course, totally worth it if I make the save.

Anyway, loads of fun. And now the sleepies are setting in. I don't think anything will haunt me too bad tonight when I close my eyes. I made a few dumb mistakes but nothing I can't fix. It's the stuff I don't know how to fix that keeps me up at night.