How many fingers am I holding up?

Wow, so I'm glad I didn't cheap out on my mask. Took a few months of tension headaches for my neck muscles to get used to the heavy Hackva lid, but I think I really would be seeing double right now if I had gone cheap.

The biggest dude on the other team just wound up and NAILED me, square in the forehead where the top bar of my cage overlaps my mask. I know this because about an inch of paint is missing in that spot.

Also, I'm a bit sore right between the eyebrows. My head hurts a bit and I feel a bit scrambled but I'm not sure that isn't how I normally feel. :) You can bet I'll be using this as an excuse for at least a week for everything dumb I do. "Oooops! Too many pucks to the head!"

Actually, I was laughing to myself on the way to Sugar Land, thinking about this one goalie I know (not any of you... he doesn't read this) who I really just can't figure out, and I thought, "Hah, I dunno why I'm over-analyze this guy. He's a goalie! Too many pucks to the head. Of course he doesn't make any sense."

Maybe he'll make sense now.

Anyway, my ears rang for about 15 seconds and it stung and I still feel like somethings pressing on my forehead. But otherwise, I feel fine. Why is my ear bleeding? (Kidding)

I took my mask over to the shooter after the game to show him his handiwork. He was apologetic, which totally wasn't my point in showing him. Said, "You barely even flinched!" Hah, the one advantage of not having binocular vision* is that you can't see something coming at you fast, so you don't really know to flinch. I mean, I saw it come off his stick and I know I'm square to it, but where it actually is? No clue.

Later in the game he put a pity shot on me (for no reason, because I played pretty well the whole game) and I kinda fussed at him for it. I wouldn't be a goalie if I didn't want to get hit with pucks. I'm sure that doesn't make a lot of sense to a skater, but really, trust me on this.

Oh well. It was fun. One thing about getting hit square in the forehead is that I KNOW I'm square to the puck, which is what I've been working hard on lately. :)

Yesterday, I was reading my post from my very first game, and my buddy Nick in NY dropped a pearl of wisdom in the comments about how shooters can't shoot with the puck right in front of them.

And I think for a good long while there, I'd really let that thought go and was squaring to the shooter. I think I really hurt myself by forgetting that, but the last few games I've been getting back there and doing much better positionally.

Deflecting a lot more pucks out to safety with my pads. I'm also trying to get my stick square to the puck even if I'm off a little bit. I think that's what you're supposed to do anyway, but to be honest, I do it because I like the sound it makes when I make a stick save. I know, I know... roll your eyes. :)

Heard this song on the way home and I'm in love with it (notice the guy in the band who looks like Marian Gaborik?) It's like rap for white people. That should just be a station on XM: Cracker Rap.



*More on the lack of binocular vision later.