Friggin' Awesome

So, my first ever experience playing goal went by in an instant, was totally surreal, and was an extremely positive experience thanks to a defense that played their asses off in front of me and were very protective of me. I think maybe I saw 8 shots. I think I let in 4, maybe 3. Honestly, it was a blur.

I'm going to need someone to take notes for me to tell me how goals went in on me. I can't remember from one to the next. I know a couple were just back door passes that I couldn't get back over for. I need to learn to deal with those situations, but I know that's one of the more difficult situations, even for an experienced goalie, so I'm not too worried about it. What was nice was that I don't think any rebounds came back in on me. Either my team cleaned it up or I froze it or the rebound went to the corner. Though the last goal hit my stick and went in because I had it angled into the net. Oops!

Anyway, the other goalie was also a newbie to the position and is actually quite a good forward, so I'm not sure why he subjected himself to this, other than Scott TCG put him up to it for a dose of humility. :) The green team did NOT take it easy on him like the red team did on me. They didn't run him or wind up on him but they crowded the net pretty hard and showed little mercy. I think since I'm committed to the position... and I'm a girl... they were more cautious and considerate. That and my D just gave them no room to breathe. It was like having the Red Wings in front of me! Gonna start calling Coach Dan "Lidstrom"...

I'm just really glad to have that first game out of the way and for it to have been such an intensely positive experience. I heard the ref asking them what had gotten into them tonight, they were being so fierce. Just protecting the newbie goalie, ref. God love every one of them.

Going forward... Dan said I was doing a good job tracking the puck and staying square to it, but I need to play a little further out of the net, which I knew I'd have a problem with. I think most goalies do at first because you don't want to leave those sides open in a way that you can't cover quickly.

The hardest part was, honestly, just the standing around. My feet hurt like a mofo because these skates aren't broken in. It was a relief to get a shot that I got to drop down for, just so I could get off my feet for a few seconds.

The only gear weirdness is that my arm padding interferes with putting my gloves on. It's a bit of an ordeal. I've heard of women having to shorten the arm a smidge on chest protectors, so that may be what I need to do. I'll look into that tomorrow.

And I think the sorest thing is going to be my stick hand and forearm from handling the stick. That should get stronger pretty quickly, I hope. I also need to put some tape where I hold the stick so I've got a little more solid grip. My crusty old blocker glove turns sorta slimy with sweat. Blech.

Bottom line, what an incredible experience. To have spent the last year working toward this goal, and very often feeling like it just wasn't going to happen and there were too many odds against me, to have it finally happen and for it to be everything I hoped it would be, at least to start... I couldn't ask for much more. I'm so grateful, more than anything, for the little pushes and the bits of advice and encouragement along the way and the enthusiastic support of my team and Coach Stalin and Coach Lidstrom and Scott TCG, and of course, Mr. C, who has been so patient and supportive with this rather angst-ridden and expensive process.

My one super dumb moment: I was totally dressed and then one of the gals in the room mentioned something about a cup and I thought, "OH SHIT." I forgot to put my jill on. Had to strip everything down and start over. But it was fine. I've gotten pretty quick putting everything on. What I haven't sorted out is juggling a stick, glove, blocker, and water bottle to get out to the net.

And my one "ohh, this is what they were talking about the Goalie Store message board" moment: When the team was warming up and one of my teammates deked on me and got a goal in behind me. I always thought, geez, what whiners. A shot's a shot and it's just warm-up. Well, no, it messes with your head a bit. I was kinda in and out of net for warm-ups, just trying not to get too rattled by it.

Okay, that's all. I'm so tired and I think I've finally consumed enough water to not wake up at 3 a.m. thirsty as all hell.

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Sweaty palms

So, out of the blue, I'm playing goal tonight. I literally have beads of sweat forming on my palms. And a HUGE grin on my face.

*shriek!*

Of course, the question screaming in my head right now is: "Great! So.... how do I play goal exactly?" Oh boy.

All the goalies in the house, send me lots of good vibes tonight, will ya?

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Blanket Aeros Coverage and other stuff

Didn't want this to get lost in last night's game post but John Royal, the Houston Press Aeros writer, had some extra thoughts on the team that are worth heading over to read.

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Meanwhile, I've spent half the day shopping for our nieces and nephews for Christmas. Honest to Buddha, if someone had come to me in the Target toy department with a razor blade, I might be writing to you with bandages on my wrists right now. I don't do kids, I don't do toys, I don't do toys for kids I see maybe once every 5 years. But I did them all anyway. Hope they like 'em.

I really wanted to get the oldest nephew (one of a handful of children I actually like and kinda miss, not having seen him for a couple of years) a little hockey set, but the ones that are reasonable to ship are cheap crap. Plus, that's clearly an agenda on my part. I don't even know if he's ever seen hockey. But I figure finding it fun to use a stick to hit a ball into a net doesn't require a love of hockey. Just an excess of energy and love of sports, and he's got that.

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Wild are suck-minus right now. Thanks to my hockey spirits being buoyed by the Aeros recent success, I'm watching with sort of interested detachment. I can't be bothered with the emotional drama. Either they'll get it sorted out or they won't. The sun will still come up tomorrow.

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Late hockey game tonight. I'm guessing it's going to be pretty sparsely attended since it's the last game of the season and it's not until 10:05. Wish I were playing goal. Scott TCG won't even be there so I bet we're playing against cones on both ends. Bleh. Coach Stalin won't be there either, since she, her DH, and Mr. C are going to AC/DC tonight. I could have gone but I'm just not a huge concert person. I'm sure they'll have a great time though.

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Aeros v. Hershey Bears - Game 27

Well. That was a helluva thing.

I've seen some crazy things at the Toyota Center, but the Aeros outdid themselves tonight. With an hour of hindsight, 6-1 doesn't seem like THAT outlandish of a score. How it got that way WAS pretty outlandish.

The first period had the feeling of a typical Aeros grind-it-out game. The Bears came out strong, hitting everything in sight, trying to wear the Aeros down early. The Aeros were definitely on the losing side of the physicality. They weren't getting rattled by it but weren't firing on all cylinders either.

Kolanos got on the board first with a beauty of a goal from a terrific feed by Mike Hamilton. Kolanos just fired a rocket from the bottom of the circle that beat Bears goalie Machesney. Thus ensued the rain of teddy bears onto the ice. Always a fun moment.

The note I wrote during the middle of the first was: "Hard hitting team and they shoot EVERY chance they get." Sure enough, one of those shots went in. Nearly 14 minutes in, Kyle Wilson fired a laser past Brust's glove side that just beat him fair and square. It was so hard, it rattled around the top of the net for a while. Nothing to do with that one.

There was a group of what looked like about 30 Hershey Bears fans sitting together and they celebrated heartily, did a little chant, etc. I was thinking, "Oh boy. I'm gonna hate them by the end of this game."

The first period ended one-all, but the shot count was 4-10 in favor of the Bears. Clearly the score didn't reflect the Bears' dominance in the first.

Second period starts with more of the same, though the hitting let up a bit and it felt pretty even. At 6:20, Olvecky got a breakaway with Schultz trailing. Olvecky shot and Schultz banged the rebound in... except he didn't. The goalie got a pad on it and it wasn't a goal. Now, at this point in the game, it's 1-1 and knowing the Aeros, I'm thinking, "Oh crap. If THAT didn't go in, we're never going to score again."

I'm not sure when I've ever been more wrong about something.

At 10:58, Kolanos scored again from Locke and Madsen on a 3 on 4 power play opportunity and, suddenly, the floodgates were open.

• 12:02 - Goal by Deitch from Schultz and Mojzis on a 4 on 5 power play
• 12:57 - Goal by Locke on a semi-breakaway drive up the ice by Kolanos, who fed the puck across the crease and Locke banged it in from the other side of the net (second assist went to Albers... especially nice to see him get on the scoreboard having played a terrific, fearless defensive game tonight)
• 14:59 - Goal by Olvecky from Schultz and Deitsch
• 16:59 - Goal by Schultz on a terrific feed from the top of the circle from Rosa (!) and Olvecky

What's even more incredible is that this wasn't just 5 goals in quick succession. This was 5 goals on 5 consecutive shots.

Mercifully for the Bears and their beleaguered netminder, the period ended shortly thereafter with the Aeros still trailing in the shot count, 19-21.

There were no goals in third, but it wasn't for Hershey not trying. They put it to Brust with everything they had, but he and the defense cleaning up in front of him were absolutely unstopabble. There was one save by Brust during a 3 on 4 Bears power play that I still can't believe. Fred has pictures at the link below. I can't even explain this save, but it was un-f**king-believeable. Barry is one hell of a goalie.

Of course, when the score gets this far apart, there's gonna be a fight or two. Or three. Or four.

Greg Amadio fought 3 times, though for some reason, this ref penalized the fights in a way I've never seen. The first fight was between Amadio and Stoner. It wasn't a great one but it was a fight, for sure. But he gave both guys four minutes of roughing minors.

Then Scott and Amadio fought, with Scott kinda jumping him, though I didn't see what precipitated it. So the ref gave Scott four minutes of roughing minors and Amadio just two. The fight was about 5 seconds long, but it was a fight. I actually don't mind this way of calling fight penalties. Some fights are worthy of 5 minutes, some really aren't.

The next two were. Love dropped the mitts with Wellar and looked like he was going to get beaten pretty soundly, but he just doesn't ever quit and came back with some nice shots in the end. And of course, he finished with some arm-waving flourishes, encouraging the crowd to embrace their blood lust (a message I heartily approve, of course).

Then Scott and Amadio decided they had unfinished business and those silly roughing penalties weren't gonna cut it. They were both pretty pissed and went at it hard and with a ton of emotion. I love when Scott fights like that. There's just no stopping him; he won that one and then took a page from Love and did a little warrior shouting and fist pumping himself. Ha! What a show for one of, if not the, largest crowd the team has seen at home this season.

At one point, between minor penalties and fighting majors, there were 5 guys in the Aeros penalty box. I'm not sure how they were all sitting down but they were.

I think that's all the excitement I've got. If you're wanting to see the Aeros and have a spare $4, this one is worth watching in the AHLLive.com archives once it's available. Amazing stuff.

Some housekeeping:

Scratches were Falk, R. Hamilton, Lundbohm, and Kassian.

Stars were 3-Locke, 2-Schultz, 1-Kolanos, all of whom deserve the recognition but Brusty was incredible. He even delighted the crowd (okay, me, too) by throwing a huge elbow on a Bear who was coming in on him while he was playing the puck behind the net. He got 2 minutes for it, but it was late in the game and totally worth it.

I would say that makes Brusty the unsung hero of the night, but I was delighted by some slick moves by Paul Albers, who was a shot-blocking beast in the face of a ton of flawless PKs tonight. They'll have to share the honor, I guess. Gold stars for both of you.

Also, apparently Steve Valette's contract ended and was not renewed. Kind of disappointing as he was playing well, but it looks like Mike Hamilton will be filling his role. Seeing as how he's got a point in each of his last three games (and he's only been with the team for four), it's hard to send him back to Vegas.

Andrew's Chronicle article
Fred's photos
Royal's blog

That was the last home game until Dec. 26. Bummer. I've gotten spoiled on this home stand and am not looking forward to a couple of weeks of having to watch on the computer.

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Noticed that Joel Ward had two goals against Dallas tonight and got On The Fly's Performer of the Night. Atta boy, Wardo!

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Aeros pre-game

Here's a preview from a Hershey Bears fan blog

It's probably not going to be much of a break but some of the best Bears players, including their #1 goalie (if you missed the great story about the Caps goalie situation last night, check it out), are up with the Capitals. You recall how much being up against a #2 goalie helped against Manitoba... zilch. So, overconfidence would be discouraged here.

I love teddy bear toss night, so I'm looking forward to the game. And Reitzy bobbleheads!

See you tonight.

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Aeros v. Quad City Flames - Game 26

I'm having trouble figuring out what the lead for this game is.

1. Barry Brust's triumphant 33-save performance after a third embarrassing shootout loss Wednesday night?
2. The Aeros playing a fantastic team game (continuing the absolutely smothering defensive play) against a less than sharp, road weary Flames squad, and winning 4-1 with 19 shots to their 34 shots, and notching a much-needed 4 point win?
   
3. John Scott not only getting the game winning goal but getting it during the Bayou City Wings Minute (which was renamed the John Scott Bayou City Wings Minute the rest of the game)? And continuing his greatly improved play. It's like he grew hockey sense over the summer. Oh! And then he stood up for Kolanos after Vandermeer whacked him in the face by the bench. Scotty was waiting at the door when Vandy's penalty ended. He got an extra 2 for roughing (lucky it wasn't instigating but I think the ref used some discretion there), and it was absolutely the right thing to do. Big time atta boy.
   
4. Rosa doing what I asked him to do (mouse to the house) and getting an assist out of the deal. Thanks Rosy. You get two cookies.
   
5. Max Noreau adding a ninth goal to his impressive, league-leading (among defensemen) stats. Later in the season, when the suck-minus that is the Wild are out of the playoff hunt, I'd love to see him get some call-ups and maybe shake some of those "ZOMG NHLZ!!!" nerves he had in pre-season. (There ya go, Andrew!)
   

I don't know what the answer is but all those things happened, and it was a stellar game by the Aeros. Now, how much of that can be credited to a tired Flames team not putting their best foot forward, I don't know. Some, I'd wager, but this was a game to build confidence around. And they're gonna need it against the Hershey Bears on Saturday, who lost 3-0 to a streaking (win streaking, not nekkied streaking) San Antonio team tonight.

QC did some interesting goalie juggling, too. Keetley started the game, but after the first Aeros goal (Noreau's PP goal at 5:45 in the first), they put Irving in for about 28 seconds, and then put Keetley back in. He subsequently let in Scott's goal in the first and two more from Olvecky and Locke (on a delayed penalty with the extra man) in the second. And then they put Irving back in to start the third. Peters got the lone QC goal, though my boy Chucko had several excellent chances on Brusty.

Of course, one of the interesting stories for this game was the reunion of Krys Kolanos with his team from last season, where he was a major offensive contributor but, I've gathered, wasn't as well received there as he has been in Houston. (Pouliot should preceed him at every team he goes to.) But they did neutralize him pretty well, which I fully expected. He had at least two guys defending him all the time, sometimes three, and he still managed to get an assist. They knew what they were up against with that one.

Scratches for Houston were the injured parties of Hamilton, Lundbohm, and Lammers. Healthy scratches were Falk and Kassian.

Oh and my little bonus for the night is a set of photos from a terrific QC fan from one of last year's games in QC that went into a crazy shootout that the Aeros won. I enjoyed looking through them and seeing the boys in their handsome darks and seeing Reitzy and some of the guys who are gone, so I asked to share them here. And he sent me an extra special one of Cal to post. Thanks, DS!

Awww... I miss him. But since the Wild were playing Phoenix tonight, and Phoenix really kinda hates him from Gretz down to JovaMinusNovski, you had to know he'd be the center of attention. I only saw the third period, apart from a little bit earlier on where Yandle and Bouchard had a very manly slap-flight, but they were all over him and he appeared to be loving every minute of it.

I don't know how every other team in the league just glosses over his antics but Phoenix gets sucked in every time. At least this time it didn't cost them the win. The Wild lost that all by themselves. Frankly, the Aeros looked like the better team tonight and I can't say I've EVER even come close to saying that.

Here's Andrew's Chronicle story. Royal's blog post (with lots of happy from the locker room. Yay! I love having a coach who was a goalie and understands what goalies need.). And then I'm hoping against hope for some good action/fight photos from Mr. Fred.

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Aeros v. Rochester Americans - Game 25

What can I say about this game? It was typical 07-08 Aeros game where the defense, especially the penalty kill, was spectacular and the offense was painfully anemic.

Amerks goalie Mike Brodeur (who is either very blessed or very cursed with that name) saw little in the way of challenging shots in the 27 he faced, almost as though the point of the game was TO hit the goalie with the puck and not actually get it PAST the goalie. Even Kolanos wasn't picking the top corners like he usually is so good at.

What's especially sad about this game is that the Amerks came into this game with ZERO road wins. Well, you're welcome, Rochester. Now you're 1-10-0-1 on the road.

And to top it all off, Brust was in net and saved some doozies, but again, in the shootout, he was abysmal. I love watching him play, but if this team is going to continue struggling offensively and games are going to be tight all the time, this has GOT to get fixed. The longer it continues to haunt him, the more ingrained the problem is going to get in the psychology of his game. (Post-game reaction here in Andrew's Chronicle article and here in Royal's blog post... which, after reading, I'm feeling really, really sad for Barry right now... poor guy needs a hug.)

I'm not even gonna rag on the guys who participated in the shoot out and didn't score (only Kolanos did... and made it look like there wasn't even an goalie there... it was a beauty). It doesn't matter as long as Barry's letting every single puck past him.

Also, Marco Rosa is back to his dilly-dallying with the puck. Bad Rosy! STOP IT! He's like a cat playing with a mouse, the way he's just batting the puck around, as though there aren't 5 other cats descending on him, wanting that mouse. You put that rodent in your teeth and you head for home, son! Family needs to eat!

That said, it wasn't all bad (just mostly):

• I drove to and walked into the rink in a barrage of snowflakes. It was beautiful and magical and put me in a terrific mood. I smiled from the moment I opened my garage door to leave until the time I sat down in my seat at the TC. Lovely.
  
• Noreau got the lone goal for the Aeros on the power play and now leads all defensemen in the league in goals and power play goals. The kid is Solid. I'm more impressed with him all the time.
• The National Anthem was nice. No choirs. A different music mix, which was a wonderful change of pace. And both intermissions utilized the ice. First with some little figure skater girls, and then some little kid hockey teams playing each other. That's the way you do intermission, gang. Well done.
• There were three fights, none worth writing home about. Kassian and Emmerson did the required enforcer fight. Edge to Emmerson but only because he's taller and had a little better leverage. Then Rogers and Stewart went, though I think Stewart instigated and it ended quickly, though they both just got 5 for it. And the Irmen and Henry went after a scrum in the corner or something. By then I was so bored I didn't even care why or what happened.
  
• There was something else that didn't suck but I can't remember what it was. Oh, in spite of the 2,400+ official attendance, my very generous estimate would be 400 people. So, you know, if you're gonna suck, at least you're doing it in front of die-hards who will come out in a blizzard on a Wednesday for hockey.
  

Our deck when I got home, before the dog went out and decided his new mission in life was to eat all the snow on the deck. Fortunately his feet got cold before he got too far into that mission. He was fired up though. Very cute.

Tomorrow, Chucko and the Flames comes to town. Apparently he's playing pretty well this season. And he's catching a break because my little crew of Chucko-haters won't be there.

Though I did learn from a QC fan that the team is leaving QC pre-dawn, having to come through Atlanta, eat their pre-game meal in ATL at the airport, and then fly into Houston, maybe/maybe not get a pre-game nap, etc. So for once, the Aeros get the benefit of a travel-weary team rather than being the travel-weary team themselves. They'll need to take advantage of it and come out strong and with a helluva lot more fire in the belly than they showed up with tonight.

Oh and I have a special treat for tomorrow, including some Clutterbuckage. Stay tuned.

ETA: I forgot to say, the scratches were Hamilton (concussion), Lundbohm (groin), Lammers (undisclosed), Love (healthy), Falk (healthy)

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