Shootout Shutout
One of my favorite hockey "things" ever is a victorious team hopping the boards in unison and racing to their goalie after a shootout victory. I didn't know if I'd ever get to be that goalie, but tonight I was. And the feeling was every bit as joyous and wonderful as I thought it would be.
Our game ended in a 3-3 tie and in this league, we don't need no stinkin' ties, so we do a 5-round shootout with "fuzzy rules," which means if you lose the puck or whiff before the top of the faceoff circles, you can keep going, but if the puck's forward progress is stopped below the top of the circles, your turn is over.
I had a feeling I was due for a shootout and really had been dreading the eventuality. But something in my attitude shifted when it was go time and suddenly I was just completely dorky-excited to be in my first ever shootout. It was weird. I shifted into mano-a-mano gear and just shut 'em down.
Man it was fun. My team scored one goal in 5 attempts, so it was tight and went down to the last shot on me. At my net, two shots never made it to the net, one went wide and one lost the puck before she could get a shot off, but the other 3 were good shots.
My timing at keeping pace with the shooter was great, I stayed up and patient until they took their shot. It was just magic. And the cheers after each save, and then hopping up after the good saves feeling like the cockiest rooster on the farm? OMG... most fun thing ever.
In this league, the winning team gets a free pitcher of beer. I don't normally stick around since it's around 11 p.m. by the time I'm undressed and a solid 30 minutes home, but tonight I made an exception and man did that beer taste good. I don't even know what kind it was. I didn't even care. It was Victory Beer and it was delicious!
Pads are already feeling better, too. Almost felt normal tonight, except with happier knees. And I'm selling my old pads to the other goalie, who looked as good as I've EVER seen her when she was trying them out tonight. She was not really in butterfly-style pads before, so these really had her sliding nicely. After the game, she came into our room and said, "SOLD!" to me. :) Happy they're going to someone who will appreciate them, and they're the right size for her!
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6 comments:
BRAVA!
Congrats (again) on the shutout! Especially considering it was your first one - you're nurturing your inner goalie just right when it comes to feeding your self-confidence.
The leagues I work with (at least the C-levels, which is what I've got this fall barring last-minute-subbing) run a 5-minute 4-on-4 OT and that's it, so I'm unlikely to see shootouts any time soon on this end of things, but it sounds like a lot of fun.
Also, 11PM? That's nothing! Due to HS & Junior-level team scheduling, our adult games run @ 9:45 and 11:15, meaning the second one ends between 12:30 and 1AM.
Regardless, glad you got your beer (sounds like you earned it!) and doubly glad you found someone to buy your pads. That should hopefully defray the cost of the new ones at least a bit, eh?
~ Marienne
Haha, thanks Christa! I feel like an opera star! :D
Yeah, I only charged her $50 for the pads because money is tight for her, but they fit her great and she's playing great in them, so it's worth it to me. They're probably not worth much more than that anyway. Pretty cheap to start with.
That's pretty late... Woof. All of our rinks are shutting down by 11 usually, though our C league used to start at 11 on Saturday nights. Pretty sure they won't do that with novice league now that we're on Saturdays. Doesn't exactly encourage newcomers. Gotta get 'em hooked first.
Of course, you make music in the crease, LOL!
Good times, congrats on your shootout stoning! You were due for feel good night like that. ;-)
It's so great to jump over the boards and congratulate the goalie! Glad you got to be on the receiving end of the celebration!
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