Behind the Cage

Whenever I reminisce about playing goal in hockey, I think back to the crazy Frenchman that tended the net in Slapshot. He was, by all accounts, completely out of his mind, both on and off the ice. To a certain degree, you have to be a bit "imbalanced" to want to play a position that:

1. The entire opposing team is out to humiliate.
2. Hard objects are hurled towards you at frightening speeds.
3. An "off" game means that you single-handedly doom your team to failure.

Now, we do need a little perspective here - we're playing men's rec league ball hockey, but even this is not without it's challenges. All the laid back street hockey in the world doesn't prepare you much for performing in front of complete strangers, in a competitive situation, with a finite time limit. We'd play street hockey to 10 goals, which could take 15 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the pace. In this league you've got 50 minutes to work your magic, or alternately, 50 grueling minutes to endure a relentless ass-kicking. Game to game you just never know if you'll be facing a group of weekend warriors or an entire off-season Junior A Provincial Champion squad.

For me, personally, I've been happy with my progression in the few games that I've played goal. In my first game I was nervous, scrambling, and so hot-n-tired that I was on the verge of collapsing before the end of the first period. Since that game I find myself a bit less nervous, but way more confident. My positioning and speed is still a major work in progress, but at least I'm not fighting my own body for endurance.

Also, like most goalies, I'm completely obsessed with my stats. These, I'm happy to report, have absolutely showed signs of progress:

Game 1: Loss, 26 GA, 65 Shots, 39 Saves = 0.600 SV%
Game 2: Win, 10 GA, 42 Shots, 32 Saves = 0.762 SV%
Game 3: Loss, 8 GA, 49 Shots, 41 Saves = 0.837 SV%

Sure, I'd love nothing more than to have a 3 - 0 record, but for the moment I'll be content with statistical progress!

Currently: Starting to hydrate for the game on Saturday. Drink water boys, plenty of water!

Balanced Breakfast

Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. Apparently Maizey is a firm believer in this mantra.

I'd made 2 "Egg McMuffins" for my early morning commute to student teaching - the first one was delicious though the second one tasted God-awful. The reason for this discrepancy currently eludes me.

The vile disappointment sat in my car all day and froze solid. Upon returning home, Maizey was quick to pounce upon the frozen morsel. Very quick and very sneaky she was. Very sneaky indeed.

She was, however, nice enough to pose for a few pictures before dropping the inedible McTurd and slowly, ashamedly, marching straight into her kennel for some quiet reflection.

Currently: Battling a wicked cold I picked up while student teaching.

Update pwned...

Okay, so this isn't exactly a new post to get all excited about, but it is representative of potential future posting. I've been so busy lately, with so many things to do, that logically, I've done very little of anything at all. My finely crafted procrastination skills are battling head-to-head with the academic demands of my semester...and well, I suppose, the professional demands of becoming a certified educator.

I've fiddled around with the design a bit, brought on by my switch to the "new" Blogger standard. I'm quite pleased with it. I find the layout to be rather pleasing on the senses.

During coffee this morning I was reflecting (as one typically does while drinking coffee in the morning) on how many exams I've probably written in my university career...the potential tally was quite shocking. A conservative estimate would place it at over 130, with at least 45 of those being final exams. Consequently, that would also indicate I've dedicated approximately 130 nights to studying/opening my text books.

Over the course of 6 years.

Currently: Skimming over 200 pages of "supplementary readings" for my Classroom Management midterm.