Purple Power; Goalie Introductions

I'm in a little bit of a post-awesome-game euphoria tonight. This was by far the most fun I've had at women's league. I played for the purple team for the first time and they were short-handed by a full line vs. the green team that not only had their best players but even had one of the better women players I know dropping in to play with them.

So, lots of talent on that green team but my team had more heart and patience, and they just hustled and hustled and I made some timely saves and we got the win. I know it can't be this way all the time, but it sure does feel great when the stars align like they did tonight. I'd go into battle with these gals any day.

As usual, the save I made that I deemed absolutely mind-blowingly amazing got no reaction from anybody. I guess you have to be a goalie to understand what all went into it, so I'll break it down for my goalie friends so someone besides me can appreciate it.

One of the best players on the green team picks the puck off one of my girls in the NZ and carries it in pretty much on a breakaway, though my D were on her tail so she had to keep moving and couldn't set up.

But she's quick and a good skater and good hands, so she's coming at me from the blue line on a little bit of an angle but on my glove side. But the way her body and stick are looking, she's projecting that she's going to try and sweep across the top of my crease and get me moving and hope I'll either bite too early or not get over quick enough and she'll try to pop it in high blocker side before I can get there.

So I read this from her body language and I. just. stay. with. her. I don't even remember when I dropped into the fly or how I got over, I just know I stayed in front of that puck, and when she tried to pop it in just inside the post, I put that blocker up just in the nick of time and batted it into the corner, Bob's your uncle!

*crickets* (And for the record, even the most retarded, ugly, easy saves get cheers from these gals, cuz they're nice like that)

And I'm thinking, "Shit, that might be the best save I ever made." Sure, mundane blocker save but to read the shooter perfectly and react perfectly... I rarely put it all together like that! LOL Oh well, as long as I appreciate it. So much I stick figured it....

Apologies if I made anyone pregnant with that save. It's a gift and a curse.

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The other thing is that, as I mentioned, I'm pretty jacked for the season about now, but it's still a solid month before Aeros pre-season starts and I get to see live, professional hockey again.

I heard the song below and was thinking how I really like this song but it seems like more of a shooter song. And then I was thinking if hockey players had some equivalent of an "at bat" song, this would be a cool one, lyrically anyway. Not exactly a beat that makes you wanna crush skulls, so maybe not.

Anyway, that led me to think about the goalie introductions and how that's one of my favorite parts of a game. I got chills thinking about it.

The spotlight, the announcer, "AND, IN GOAL, NUMBER 35, ANTON KHUUUUUUUDOBIN" or whoever.

It's dorky but I always get nervous before games. Almost as nervous as when I play my own games, sometimes more. And the goalie introduction is the absolute height of my nervousness. They're standing there in that spotlight, separate from the team, the most pivotal guy on the ice.

I wonder what he's thinking right then. What a moment.

Man, I love hockey. October just can't get here fast enough.