Oh my aching pride!

Well, that sucked. We finally got guys to show up for our summer C league team, and our first game together, we had to play an established B league team. I held us in it for about half the game, and then my legs ran out. Our opponents weren't exactly "nice" about the whole affair. They ran the score up right till the end. I actually just stood up and gave them 3 goals in the last minute and a half, just to let them know I wasn't impressed.

I have to wonder, how much pride could you have to take your B league team, and beat on a C league team in their first game?

I also hit somebody for the first time in... a while, now that I think about it. Nothing real bad, just a shove in the chest, and when he didn't back off I gave him another. He was bigger than me, but what the hell, you gotta play the hand your delt. After having worked to instigate something, the guy just looked confused when I hit him. That's a winning combo for you -- aggressive and stupid.

Still, if the crew of people we're getting together is anything to judge by, we should be a strong C league team by this fall, and maybe even B league level by next spring. That, at least, gives us something to shoot for.

Salvation... at least for now.

We were on the verge of having to cancel our little summer team following the dismal play and lack of players Monday night, but we have been granted a reprieve.

The league director said he will take a per player/per game fee instead of the whole team fee, if that will keep us playing. Saves him changing his schedule. Also reinforces our commitment to bring our full team there to play in the fall.

We were short handed Thursday, so we forfeited the game, got the other team to loan us a few players, and scrimmaged for an hour. Most of the players were mid to high B level, with a handful of A level guys. Pace was very fast, and the skill level very high.

Turned out to be just the thing the doctor ordered for my sagging attitude. I let in a bunch, but I made a ton of great saves along the way, which is all that matters when you are playing for fun. No one counts the occasional weak goal, they just remember when you make the huge save on the best guy on the ice.

After the fun we had, the new team manager declared himself rejuvenated, and he is making arrangements for us to play on.

The horror... the horror...

Every once in a while, I play a really bad game. The kind of game where you lose, and you know it was your fault, and you hang your head, apologize to your team mates, and focus on getting better.

And then there's the game I played tonight.

Never mind the fact that my team had scraped up 6 players, that they were putting up a valient effort against a team with a full bench, or the fact that I knew a couple of players on the opposing team (always a motivator). Nope, never mind any of that. I sucked.

I played the kind of bad that makes you want to toss your gear in the dumpster on the way out the door. The kind of bad where you think, "I still have cycling..." The kind of bad that is so far beyond excuse that you wonder if someone shouldn't bar you from the rink for the good of the game.

I played that kind of bad.

2-12 loss. Even my ego can't survive that kind of beating...

Theater of the absurd. OR Ouch! That looked like it hurt!

Five players and a goalie is just not the best roster for a hockey game, and four players and a goalie is pretty much a show-stopped.

And yet, there we were, playing the 2nd best team of from last season in the first game of this season, with 4 players, me, and a guy we borrowed from around the rink. The four guys we had were not exactly all-stars, but not exactly scrubs, either. The one defenseman we had is from the D league (we are playing mixed B-C), the other defenseman was a high C/low B winger. The three forwards were a high B league center, a solid B league winger, and a utility player that has mostly played D, but also played C as a defenseman. Like I said, decent guys, but not all-stars. Plus, all 5 guys skated the whole game.

The puck spent most of the game in our half of the ice, which is never fun. I never thought I'd be able to say I played well and "only" gave up 8 goals, but I guess I can say that now. Made lots of great saves, including a couple of huge glove saves that I wish I had on tape. First save of the game, they passed from the right boards to the back post, where a shooter one timed a high shot. I reached back and caught it behind my body while sliding accross. Honestly, it took as much effort to act like I had expected to catch that as it did to catch it.

Our center scored 5, basically netting one on every shot he took, and our guest player netted 3, including a penalty shot. We scored on about 3/4 of the shots we took, and spent the rest of the game in our zone. By the middle of the game, my guys were bent over after every whistle (one looked positively sick). I had to keep my water bottle extra full, since the only chance to drink they got was at my net, when we managed to ice the puck.

At one point, late in the game, I realized that 5 guys and me might actually hold our own against one of the better teams in the league. Then I started laughing. It was just silly looking, these 5 guys, skating with lead boots, me getting shelled, and the scoreboard, all tied up.