Black and blue
My summer team played one of the top teams on Monday. I've played these guys every summer now for a few years, and I have to say, I really hate playing them. I hate losing to them even more. They play dirty, but just dirty enough to get and edge, not really dirty enough to hurt anyone, and usually not dirty enough to get called for it. I know, in fact, I learned to play, along with some of their guys, and lots of them remembered me by name. They always say hello, ask how I am, who I've seen around the rink, where I plan to play in the fall. I just f-ing hate it! For 4-5 summers, I've had to play, and usually lose to, these guys. I told one of my skaters, "Just once, I'd like to face them with a team that was good enough to give them a run for it." He smiled and said, "Yeah. That's not us."
Pre-game, I talked to one of the reffs and one of the rink guys. They said that the news of my team beating the number one team a couple weeks ago had spread through the rink like wildfire. One of them told me that it was the talk of the rink for a while. Turns out they were the top A league team last season, and everyone was laughing at them losing to the last place C league team. Everybody likes an underdog.
The reff told me that he found me funny. "There's nothing you can do, you have no defense back to help, they score their 10th goal, and you're still analyzing it." He said he didn't get why I'd bother. After all, I'm not supposed to stop that 10th goal, when the other team comes in 3 on 0, and even if I did, it wouldn't matter. Some nights you can't elevate the team by playing better in goal. If you stop everything, the other guys find ways to pass around you and score any way. Why worry about whether the 10th goal was good or bad on my part?
"Some nights, there's nothing to play for but pride and your own satisfaction," I told him. And it's true: some nights you're so out-gunned that no goalie will win the game for your team, but there is still some satisfaction in making the other guys work hard.
Jump to game time: We started out with both teams in white, since we only have white jerseys, so I couldn't keep track of a damn thing until the rink loaned us some dark jerseys. Even after that, we were getting pounded on. This other team doesn't quit - they try as hard to score when they are up by 8 as they do when they are down by 1. Someone on my team described it as "They're winning 8-1 in the third and skating like they're playing for the Stanley Cup!" Fact is, our opponents are a top BB team (half step below A), and we're a C league team. And it showed. It showed by a score of 10-2. One or 2 were bad goals, but that still leaves about 8 good goals that I didn't have a chance on.
So, we got pounded. I came home bruised up, and I am still sore 3 days later. After the game, I said to one of the refs, "I think that was one of those nights you were talking about."
"Yup," he said, "tonight was just one of those nights."
Pre-game, I talked to one of the reffs and one of the rink guys. They said that the news of my team beating the number one team a couple weeks ago had spread through the rink like wildfire. One of them told me that it was the talk of the rink for a while. Turns out they were the top A league team last season, and everyone was laughing at them losing to the last place C league team. Everybody likes an underdog.
The reff told me that he found me funny. "There's nothing you can do, you have no defense back to help, they score their 10th goal, and you're still analyzing it." He said he didn't get why I'd bother. After all, I'm not supposed to stop that 10th goal, when the other team comes in 3 on 0, and even if I did, it wouldn't matter. Some nights you can't elevate the team by playing better in goal. If you stop everything, the other guys find ways to pass around you and score any way. Why worry about whether the 10th goal was good or bad on my part?
"Some nights, there's nothing to play for but pride and your own satisfaction," I told him. And it's true: some nights you're so out-gunned that no goalie will win the game for your team, but there is still some satisfaction in making the other guys work hard.
Jump to game time: We started out with both teams in white, since we only have white jerseys, so I couldn't keep track of a damn thing until the rink loaned us some dark jerseys. Even after that, we were getting pounded on. This other team doesn't quit - they try as hard to score when they are up by 8 as they do when they are down by 1. Someone on my team described it as "They're winning 8-1 in the third and skating like they're playing for the Stanley Cup!" Fact is, our opponents are a top BB team (half step below A), and we're a C league team. And it showed. It showed by a score of 10-2. One or 2 were bad goals, but that still leaves about 8 good goals that I didn't have a chance on.
So, we got pounded. I came home bruised up, and I am still sore 3 days later. After the game, I said to one of the refs, "I think that was one of those nights you were talking about."
"Yup," he said, "tonight was just one of those nights."
posted by Micah at 12:10 AM
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