Minnesota Day 5

I was pretty happy to see the last day at my doorstep yesterday. I was tired and banged up pretty good. My knee now has this loud/hard popping when I unbend it from a sharp bend. Kinda worried I'm not going to graduate from PT now, but the original pain I went in for didn't bother me one bit, so I guess that's something.

The practice schedule was pretty light. Only 2 hours and the first hour, we hardly saw any shots. But my calves were burning so badly, I was happy to just have a long warm-up. The final practice was the red team and LOTS of shots.

I feel kinda stupid saying this, seeing as I've been playing for a year and a half, but I realized during the red practice, that the stance I've been playing in is too high. I started getting really low in my stance and stopped almost everything. I think there's a strength factor there because being low AND mobile is the trick and that takes strength. I was pretty pleased I was able to do it, being so tired.

A friend I used to play with in Texas before she came up to MN for her internship came by and we had lunch after that. Sat outside and just enjoyed some really beautiful weather and tasty food at Coopers by my hotel. Then we headed back for my final hour of ice, the red group's scrimmage.

Chris "HOSS" Jerina and his lovely gal, Michelle, also came down for the scrimmage, so it was pretty cool to have the market on fans in the stands between the three of them. Unfortunately, I didn't play so well in the first half and let in 4 goals to 1 at the other end. But then we switched ends and things got a little better. I let a couple in, as did the other goalie, and the head coach (who reminded me in demeanor of Jacques Lemaire and didn't know my name, so he called me "Houston") says over the loud speaker, "Goalies? Jax, Houston, don't go down unless you have to. Get square and you'll stop most everything."

So, you know me, I'm thinking, "Don't coach me in the middle of a game, dude. And also, thanks for letting the teams know to shoot low."

Next shot on me? I stayed up. Caught it in the crook of my elbow as they tried to pick the corner. Ha! So I thanked him for the coaching tip, which definitely helped me seal it up the rest of the game. I guess maybe I looked kinda biased for the white team since I let a bunch in at their end and then played well in goal for them. Haha. Oh well.

The highlight of my game was a diving poke check like none I've ever even attempted. It was full on Brustyfied, knocking players over like bowling pins.  I think I pretty much just startled them all so much and sent at least 2 people flying and got myself all tangled up that the chaos gave my team time to pick up the puck and get out of the zone.

It was cool, too, because I didn't think about it. And those are the kinds of goalie moves you just can't think about. You just have to feel them in the moment and go. My 1-second thought process was, "I've let a few in here and I'm not feeling real confident. I don't want this person shooting on me, so I'm gonna do what I have to do to prevent it." Apparently Chris got pics of this, so I'm hoping they turn out. I'll post the good ones here when he gets them together.

I have to admit, I was fighting back tears a little at the end. It was a really great experience and I love playing so much, even though it hurts and I'm exhausted, goaltending is really an bottomless pit of learning and growing and improving, so what a treat to get to do SO MUCH of it in such a short time. I feel like I got a lot out of the camp, even though I failed to really focus on anything specific to work on like I'd planned. It kinda turned into more of a survival thing.

But just in the course of seeing that much rubber, you HAVE to learn something.


Anyway, after all that, Chris and Michelle and I headed over to Cossetta's across from the Xcel Center where the Wild play. I guess a few of the players snag their pre-game meals there, which I understand. It's pretty darn good stuff. And then we walked a block up to Tom Reid's where we proceeded to throw a few back and laugh at the parade of douchebaggery that was coming in and out the door. At least the douchebags of the world seem to have figured out that Ed Hardy and Affliction t-shirts are over. Props for that, I guess. The king of the douchebags needs to send the memo about popped collars and ridiculous hats though.

But it was super fun hanging with those two, who are living Bad Idea Bears. "Drunk texing? YAAAAAAAAYYYY! Do itttt!" :) I didn't, BTW, in spite of a very tempting premise, other than to tell Bourney about Michelle questioning whether the Islanders were still a team. Hahaha... ouch.

Back to Texas today though. Gonna grab some breakfast and then lay my gear out in the sun to try and get it a little bit drier before I pack it all up. Another long slog through the airport today. Hopefully I can find a cart and an elevator this time to make it not so clumsy and painful. Or a strapping man. But I'm thinking a cart is more likely.

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Minnesota Day 4

AKA the day I wasn't sure I'd survive with the ability to walk. But I did.

I played 2.5 hours of practice mid-day, 2 hours of practice in the evening, and then 30 minutes of the coaches game at night.

The practices weren't anything out of the ordinary. Just a lot of them. The highlight of the day was my friend Bryan, whom I've known for a few years now but never met, coming to visit. And his wife and daughters joined him, so it was awesome meeting the whole family and just chilling during my lunch break. Also, always funny to watch little kids get freaked out by us goalies. I get it. I would have been scared of goalies, too, as little kid. Wish more skaters were. :)

Always nice doing something like this to have some friendly faces who know more about you than you're from Houston and you're a goalie. In fact, he knows me so well, he brought me a huge bag of Funyuns and a chocolate milk! How clutch is that? VERY! Love a man who pays attention!

That night, I played the first 30 minute game against the coaches. The camper team was the blue (most novice) team plus one red group player (I'd say easily the best player in camp) to give us some hope vs. the 5 camp coaches.

I've mentioned how good these guys are.... someone compared it to the Harlem Globetrotters. They just toyed with us. It was a show. And it was an impressive show. Lightning fast EVERYTHING from these guys. But my team did a great job getting sticks in the way and minimizing direct shots as best they could. But they still put 8 past me in 15 minutes.

I had some good stops but they all have such quick releases and are such good skaters that it feels like no matter what you do, they can find a way to beat you. Having defensemen taking away some of their options helps but those guys can put the puck anywhere they want. As a goalie, it's awesome to have guys who can do that, especially when you're warming up. Nice to get some right on the blocker, right in the glove, etc.

You kinda see how a guy like Max Noreau gets it done. You get a ripping shot like that and you really can't see it. You just have to hope to be in the way, but these guys can pick the corner from center ice, so how can you be completely in the way? Unreal.

Anyway, after all that, I headed up to the Blue Fox and had an absolute blast with my Russoville friends. One of them is in the band that was playing (shout out to 100 Watt Jones!) and hooked us up with t-shirts and played the cowbell (okay, and saxophone.... and tambourine) like a beast. It was big fun watching the white folks dance like white folks. I was up laaaate and the beer glasses are really really big there. Saturday morning hit like a load of bricks.

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Minnesota Day 3

This is the day that was awesome, and then it sucked, and then it got awesome again. So much better than the reverse, isn't it?

Started my day by sleeping until 10. Booyah. That was nice. Yay for black out drapes at hotels. But then I had to hustle because I had to return the chest protector to Hockey Giant and buy some skates, or at least try to.

So I go to Panera for brekky. A cinnamon roll AND a power breakfast sandwich because you can eat like that when you play hockey all day.

Then I jetted down to Bloomington to return the c/a. No problem. Looked at their goalie skate selection, nobody offered to help me, so I said, "Fuck it." and headed to Blaine back to Hockey Central where the guy'd been so helpful before.

The guy being Jason. At Hockey Central. Love that guy. I felt bad because he was SO helpful the other day but I just wasn't seeing anything that was just right. But I knew exactly what I needed for skates: Under $300, widest skate you got.

He measured me and determined I needed a 6.5. WHAT? I'm currently in an 8 and I wear a 10 or 9.5 in street shoes. So I thought, NO WAY are these gonna fit. He brings out some RBK something or others. Bottom of the line, basically, but whatever. I'm no diva.

Well, they fit perfectly. He said one of the reasons my skates were killing me is because of the size difference. Everything was hitting my feet in the wrong places.

The wide 6.5s were still a little crunchy across the forefoot so he stretched them and that was better. And then we heat molded them and that was even better.

I was nervous about jumping them into such intensive action, but it turned out absolutely great. They're very comfortable. Only a bit of lace bite on one foot, but I think I can fix that with a different lacing technique. Nothing to worry about and LOADS better than my old ones. I can't even tell you. There was a bit of adjustment to the shorter blade in terms of my balance but half an hour in, I was fine. They also seem to weigh about half as much, which was kinda weird, too, but I certainly don't mind.

So anyway, I got all that done and hauled back to Parade for my ice times, which were a 75 minute and 60 minute session back to back. I thought that was going to be it for the day, but the goalie wrangler asked me to come back for the open ice at 8 because the campers wanted to scrimmage.

Well, I sucked pretty bad in both my sessions. My net was filled with pucks on the drills they were doing. I was being kind of hard on myself about that and feeling a little low and just wanted to come home and lick my wounds.

But the hockey gods smiled on me in return for coming back and putting on a wet sports bra (worst piece of wet gear ever) and blessed me with a really good game that lifted my mood again.

So much so that I'm completely exhausted physically but still buzzing. It'll wear off soon enough, but it definitely gives me the mental energy to face tomorrow and not be worried about everyone thinking I'm a huge sieve all the time. Just most of the time. :) Gimme some defense and real game action and mayyyybe I can turn it on a little bit. I did tonight anyway.

Tomorrow is another very busy day from top to bottom. Have to be on the ice at 11:45 but I also need to find a Play it Again and sell my old skates. Figure they'll go for a bit more up here than in Texas. I think I'll just eat lunch at the rink and stay there until my later session, unless I'm feeling energetic, in which case, I'll drag my soggy ass to the Hockey Lodge at the X and get a new Wild t-shirt to replace my stupid Gaborik one. Pfft.

Then tomorrow night, after the coach's scrimmage, which is supposed to be a lot of fun, I'm heading out to the Blue Fox in Arden Hills (wherever that is) to see the Russoville house band and hang with the Russovillians. That is my reward for surviving the day on the ice. :)

And somewhere in all that, I need to find a damn drugstore to get some bandaids. I ripped a big hole in my finger from lacing up my new skates so many times today. There's something about the slimy interior of a goalie glove that makes you not want to expose your open skin wound to it, you know?

Okay, nearly midnight. Time to give the old bones some rest. Thanks for reading. I know it's all been rather self-indulgent lately, but it's summer and I'm incredibly self-absorbed and that's how it goes. I still want to do posts on the Wild goalies and on Brusty signing with Binghamton. I think Baby Sens and Jackals fans should know how lucky they are and I'm pretty sure I'm equipped to tell them. :)

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Minnesota Day 2

I headed to the rink first thing to check in and drop my gear off. Met everyone and just sat in the rink and taped my stick and took it all in. As a Wild fan, I've been hearing about Parade for a while, so it was cool to finally get to see it, even though they only practice there occasionally.

It's kinda weird to go to a rink and not see loads of little girls and their little rolling figure skater bags. And in spite of it being fairly warm out, the ice at Parade is probably the nicest I've ever skated on. Smooth and clean. Not too hard, not too soft. Just perfect.

Then I went to Al's Breakfast over in Dinkytown (UM campus is in that area). Al's was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and looked like a swell place to carb up for the day. It is even tinier than I expected, but the pancakes and hash browns were fantastic. Well worth the long wait and risk of getting a parking ticket (only had 28 minutes worth of quarters for the meter).

Then it was off to Hockey Giant again, which I wrote about in my last post. I'd gone back intending to get some different thigh protectors, but the ones I wanted don't work with my pads. And then I got to looking at the chest protectors again. $220 later...

Then it was off to the rink again. I'd planned to go to the Twins game, but was told that due to street closures for a parade, I needed to be there by 3. Turned out that didn't really seem to be the case as there was a back way into the parking lot (which is how I got out last night), but not knowing my way around, who knows if I would have figured that out.

Probably better to rest up a bit instead. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

Anyway, back at the rink, I watched the campers do their power skating sessions and figured out that the Red group is the top (would call them C/C+ in Houston), Green is the middle group (D+/C), and Blue is the true novice folks.

It's interesting to see how the coaches change the drills up to teach the same stuff but in a manageable way for the level of students, both in the power skating and in the individual skills sessions I tended. And that was all I did yesterday: 3 back to back to back individual skills sessions at an hour each.

Nothing too strenuous though. Because of the level of shooters, 75% of shots were stoppable standing up, either with a stick or skate or leg pad or whatever.

The best part was taking shots from the coaches, all of whom are Canadian. Honestly, if I tended in a pro game, you'd see football scores on the board. These guys just rip 'em. Not even heavy shots really, but just fast and precise and instant release. Lasers. I have even more respect for what pro goalies can do now than ever before.

The coaches beat me pretty much every time except for once. It was a 3 on 0 drill and they came up the ice after all the campers. That's without question the most talent and skill I've ever faced en masse. I stopped the first shot, stopped a rebound shot, and then the final attempt hit the cross bar. No goal, bitches!

One of the coaches reminds me a ton of Kevin Constantine, just looks-wise. He's a lot sillier though. I like him a lot. Seems like a guy you'd wanna party with.

Anyway, so far, so good. I'm having fun and feeling pretty good. Somehow I hurt my glove side pinky finger. The whole middle section of the finger is purple and swollen. Took another hard shot off the bottom of my elbow. Just a weird spot from a weird angle. No bruise yet but it hurts.

Easy day today, tending a 75 minute team skills session and a 60 minute individual skills session. Friday is when all hell breaks loose and I'm playing 5+ hours. Not in a row, thankfully.

Meanwhile, time to see about getting a little more sleep. I'm not a very good hotel sleeper. Too many strange noises. And an ant in my bed just now. That's nice.

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Caffeinated Late Night Brain Spew

Sooo, I drank a bunch of Coke when I got home because I don't play for 4 days, so why not? I'm on vacation, bitches. I can keep ridiculous hours if I wanna.

But that means I'm bored, so I'm sitting around remembering stuff I could have mentioned about my (really great) game tonight or have had on my mind. It's kind of rambling since I don't have anything better to do, and it's, as usual, all me-me-me. I promise my next post will be about the Wild's baby goalies I watched in their scrimmage today (and hopefully again tomorrow). I tweeted a bunch of stuff, but can't wait to expound on that after I get another look at them. I'm pretty excited about them.

Gatorade: Too much of a good thing?

I only drank water during the game tonight. For as long as I can remember, I've been mixing Gatorade in my water bottle (about 3/4-1/2 strength). But tonight I felt really good with just water. So I'm wondering if I'm over-Gatorading myself by drinking only that and not water.

I'd already planned to keep bottles of both on my net at camp so I can choose, but I'm thinking going forward when I'm back home, I should stick with water. I did have a granola bar about 1.5 hours before game time since I knew I wasn't going to have Gatorade.

Anyway, just thinking out loud really. I learned a LOT about my hydration needs when I used to do all that distance walking, so I thought I had this down, but I actually felt better clear to the end tonight. Was I feeling better because I was playing well? Or was I playing well because I was feeling better? Hmmmmmm....

Intimidation

Another thing that was different was, as I mentioned, the other goalie essentially being a non-goalie fill-in. I think the typical phenomenon is for goalies, when they realize their opponent is probably weaker, to maybe let up a bit. But for me, I look at it like, "Holy crap, I have a chance here!" and actually play better.

Intimidation is my biggest mental game killer. I get intimidated by players who beat me regularly and by goalies who I can plainly see are much better than me. And I think being intimidated by the other goalie might even be worse than by the players. *I* control the outcome of my interaction with a player. But the goalie? All I can do is hope my team solves them.

I know it's silly to be intimidated by someone I can do absolutely nothing about, and yet, there it is. Why can't I *always* believe I have a chance, even if the other goalie's some kinda puck eater?

I guess part of it is that I'm not stupid. Repetition is what drills something into your mind, and as a new goalie, I've spent most of my time losing. So it's tough to believably encourage that little seed of confidence when the self-doubt is repeatedly validated with empirical evidence. All I can figure to do about that is keep working to improve and let Success feed that seed.

And I'm not one for whom pithy rah-rah bullshit really has much impact. However, I do get the occasional bit of advice that sinks in and rings true. My favorite of late that I call upon quite frequently to combat intimidation from players came to me from the pro ranks. I don't remember the whole story, but the bottom line is that you have to stop the puck, not the player. So don't worry about who the player is. Worry about the puck on their stick.

Not to say you don't pay attention to tendencies and whatnot, but it's all about the puck at the end of the day.  Stop the puck. "Puck, not player," I say to myself on my drive to the rink.

Sticking it to 'em

Something I'm noticing improving in my game since I started going to goalie clinic is my ability to make stops with my stick. Before, I was keeping my stick in close to my body to the point where, because of my bulky gear, I almost couldn't even see it if I looked down. How the hell can I track a puck to something I can't see?

So, lately I've been keeping it further out in front of me AND I'm doing a much better job keeping it on the ice. Every shot along the ice, my instinct now is to try and get my stick on it first, whether I'm staying up or butterflying, that stick is the moat around my castle.

And not only does this change in behavior just plain make sense, it saves me a few up and downs, and as a goalie who is interested in economy of energy, I really dig that. :)

I think one of the best parts of my game tonight was getting my stick in passing lanes around the net, creating deflections, etc. I'm pretty proud to see a small improvement in some part of my game, especially so unexpectedly. Never know where the little epiphanies will come from.

Camp Plans

One of the great things about camp is that I'll see a brazillion shots from all different kinds of drills. There are two kinds of ice times we're tending: individual skills and team skills. So, one of the things I want to do is have a piece of my game I want to work on for each session.

Nothing too complicated but I'm thinking of things like keeping my glove and blocker out in front of me in my field of vision, keeping my stick on the ice, challenging more aggressively, etc. I probably need to go through my goaltending books to see if I can come up with some more ideas.

Have I mentioned here that I'm going to be on the ice 15 hours over 4 days? As one person said, "Isn't that why you're going?" Well sure, but holy hell! That's a lotta time between the pipes. Most I've ever done is maybe 5 hours over 3 days. Eep! I'm playing 5 hours in ONE day next week. Pray for me! Pray for my feet! Pray for my ass muscles!

Foam Roller

I finally broke down and bought a 36" foam roller. I've been wanting one for months, but after using one as part of my PT, I'm completely sold on the benefits. It will hopefully be here waiting for me when I get back. Boy am I gonna need it. And whatever that can't get, I've got the lovely Ally to rescue me from my ache-related woes.

(BTW, if you're a Houston reader and want a GREAT deal on a massage, go see her at the Memorial Hermann Wellness Center down off 59 and Beechnut. She's doing her internship and it's only $29 for an hour. A steal and she somehow magically finds every angry trigger point and whips it into submission. Though I'm pretty sure she can do one of those feel-good massages, too, but if I'm not crawling off the table and going, "OW OW OW" at some point, then we're not getting anything accomplished.)

Okay. I think I'm done dumping my brain. Now I need to make lists. I hate making lists because then I need a list to remember my lists, but when it comes to a) moving or b) vacations, I have to break down and do it.

For what it's worth...

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Dreaming in bigger skates & other stuff

So, I had this realization Thursday that has had my head spinning for a couple of days: The Aeros defense sucks.

For the most part, anyway. And I mean that relatively. We've been spoiled with outstanding, mind-blowing, beautiful, hard-working, gutsy defense the prior two seasons. But I've just come to realize... the Aeros are no longer that team that will sell their souls to keep the puck out of the net. And this is the reason I don't care that much about them. Heart-wise. And worse, it hurts Brusty, so that pushes me into full-on dislike.

You wanna know how bad it is? (How bad is it?)

I go to bed tonight at 10:30. I warn Mr. C, "If I go to bed this early, I'll be up by 1:30." I just can't sleep through the night. My perfect world is 5 hours of sleep at night and then a solid nap during the day.

Anyway, I wake up at 2 (so I was wrong, but not really), but the REASON I woke up is a little freaky.

I jerked awake, yelling at a puck going into my net, because I was dreaming that I was Brusty and I was playing goal for the Aeros. In my sleep, I was trying to make a save on a shot coming back door but couldn't reach it. You know how your dog growls and barks and kicks its feet in its sleep? How cute that is? Not so cute when it's a people doing it. Trust me.

Now, I've played goal in my sleep before, and that's plenty weird enough. But then to do it as another goalie... super weird. Man, I was so good looking though. And tall. And... And...

What was I talking about?

Oh yeah. So, the newsflash is that somehow being a hottie doesn't make getting scored on any easier. I definitely woke up with a distinct, "Augh, goddammit my defense suuuucks" feeling.

For a team that was billed to be driven by Defense! and Character! I'm sure not seeing that dominance on D (how much do we really miss Luke Strand? I'm thinking lots and lots). And character clearly isn't enough to make up for lack of talent.

I'm not calling anyone out. Yet. I'm just saying.

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Every time I think about my trip to Minnesota this summer for hockey camp, I get a little more excited. I have visions of Pretty Woman-style* goalie gear shopping sprees in my spare time. Me, wearing a tiara, lolling around in a pile of leg pads, drinking champagne, and laughing at skaters. Ohhhmygod, it's gonna be great.

Gonna need a shopping buddy who knows goalie gear and the shops there. But it's Minnesota, so if they really are the state of hockey, I'll be able to round someone up, right? Suuuure.

*No kissing on the lips.

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Am I weird for being excited about putting new windshield wipers on my and Mr.C's cars tomorrow? Also get to change out some tail lights, which is fun, too.

I hope I get to use my socket wrenches. I'm such a whore for my socket wrench set. If you crazy kids ever have some nuts you need tightened, give Ms. Conduct a call. ;)

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One solomn hit and a few quick ones

God, how heartbreaking is the tragic death of Brian Burke's son, Brendan? Completely. I would never have known anything about the guy if not for Justin Bourne tackling homophobia in hockey, which prompted Brendan to make the bold decision to come OUT out (he was already out, just not out on ESPN).

From everything I read, he was an amazing guy, a passionate hockey guy of the highest quality, a great person in general. And then for him to tackle something so big and forbidding... wow. What character and strength.

One can only hope something good will come of this. That someone will pick up the torch and use this tragedy as the impetus for continued awareness and change. I think it's safe to say that's what Brendan would want.

Words seem empty right now, but I think all hearts in the hockey world... and they are some of the biggest hearts in all of sports... go out to the Burke family.

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I'm being asked for my firm commitment to attend the hockey camp this summer where I'll play goal for a bunch of skater campers. There's no goalie instruction, but plenty of shots to face as the skaters do drills and scrimmages. It's a great chance to work on things on my own, and I'd certainly work up a plan for making the most of it for my benefit.

Just trying to figure out the budget for it as I think our household economy is about to take a rather grim hit. I can fly for free and stay at any Marriott for free, but baggage fees are going to be ridiculous (must remember to ask my favorite frequent flying goalie for tips... remind me!), need to get a stick bag, then the camp fee (nominal for goalies just to pay for a jersey and other incidentals).

And then probably a car rental so I can toodle around the city in my off time. I have a feeling there will be no shortage of off-ice stuff to do, seeing as how I have quite a nice bunch of folks up there I have to meet. Will have to arrange a "to do" and invite everyone out. I'm thinking a Russoville reunion? Yeahhh...

Probably higher on my list of must-dos is go to wherever the best selection of goalie gear is, spend a few moments trying not to cry at the sight of pads and chest protectors and everything that aren't just pictures on the internet... and then make that store my bitch. Depending on finances, I might not buy a thing, but by god, I'll be making a Christmas list that will perceptibly boost the Chinese economy.

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Props to Nick for the pep talk tonight. After watching video of me playing, I'm having a little bit of a crisis of confidence and was kinda freaking about not being good enough for this camp.

How is it that saves seem so fast and dramatic to me when it's happening, but on video, it's like, nobody should miss that shot, ever.

But the good thing is that it reinforces some things for me that Scott's been harping on and gives me a goal to reach over the next 6 months before camp. And that goal is simply faster recovery to my feet after a save on the ice.

I could be giving blow jobs between shots for how much time I spend on my knees. Jeeeezus....

But I do that because I don't recover quick enough and most of my shots come low, so in the heat of the battle, the logical and lazy side of me says, "Meh, just stay down until the puck is to safety."

Still, it's just brutal to watch and it's wrong, so I have to fix it. The good thing is that I'm doing other stuff better than I thought I was. My movement around the crease is not horrific, I'm doing much better about getting tight to my posts, tracking the puck, staying square, etc.

Playing too deep and not popping up after a low save are the two challenges I need to make a significant dent in over the next 6 months. Not really sure how I'm going to do it to be honest, but I'll find a way.

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Dear Barry's Leg,

Please get better quickly. Nie is quite literally out of his league. We need you back. I kindly offer gentle boo-boo kisses or whatever would make you heal up quick and let the big guy do his job.

Kindest regards,
Ms.C

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Jaeger got a big win tonight in Corpus that put him over .500 for the season finally (unless you count those silly couple of OT and SO losses, which I don't... haha). CHL has to have the worst traavel of any league anywhere. I guess those guys just live on the bus because it looks like they just drive through the night.

They played in Corpus tonight and will play in Shreveport tomorrow night. If Mr.C had gotten stuck in Missouri this weekend, I'd planned to surprise my parents (who live an hour from Shreveport) and go up for the game. I STILL haven't gotten to see Jaegs play since I've known him. My luck, Palmer would have started.

Though the one Mudbugs game I've been to, he was the opposing goalie. I just didn't know him at the time, though I do remember telling my parents, who were attending their first hockey game ever, that the other goalie was pretty good. In fact, he got the win.

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I fucking love this song.

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