Not This Time, #24!

Guest post by the bloggohusband.

Barb and the Evanston Tigers Orange squad played their best game of the year this past Saturday, scoring a 1 – 1 tie against the same Michiana Sting team that had defeated them 5 – 0 a few weeks ago, and that had also beaten the Tigers (higher level) Blue Team 5 – 2.

Saturday’s game was closely contested throughout, with the Sting netting their only goal off a rebound near the end of the first period, and the Tigers scoring an equalizer early in the third when #7 – Tina Croniser redirected a #20 – Catherine Wang shot past the Sting goalie.

It was also a very well played game, with both teams applying significant pressure on the opponent’s goal — controlling the puck in their respective offensive zones, throwing passes to the crease, looking for one-timer opportunities and trying to convert rebounds into goals.

However, in the face of this pressure, both goalies and defenses held up well. According to my stats (shown at left), both Barb and the Sting goalie stopped 24 of 25 shots, although the official scoresheet listed 24 shots on goal for the Tigers and 22 for the Sting.

Either way, Barb’s save percentage of 95 – 96% was by far her best in a game this year — or any year, for that matter — and it was especially great to see her do well against a team that had given her a lot of trouble, just a few weeks ago.

For instance, in the photo above, the Sting player shooting the puck is #24, the woman who scored four goals on Barb — including one on a penalty shot — in their first meeting. In this game, Barb held her scoreless, and the only game Michiana scored was actually netted by a former goalie wearing Barb’s old forward number (#11), and, ironically, whose former goalie number is the one Barb wears now (#1).

See the games pics here.

The Tigers Orange team has one final game this season tonight (February 17th) against the Frozen Snappers — another team that has given the Tigers trouble in the past. We’ll let you know how that game goes next week.

NOTE: There’s no post for Game 13 against the Snappers because Barb was in the hospital at the time and unable to play in the game.

I got to come home Friday evening and even played in a hockey game yesterday afternoon in South Bend, IN! This is going to be a quick post, though, because I have to be back in the hospital tomorrow, Wednesday, and Friday of this week for the rest of the (outpatient) ECT treatments. After this initial six, my p-doc wants me to get maintenance ECT once a month, but I asked him if we could do it every 6 – 8 weeks instead, and he was fine with that. I guess it’ll just depend on how I respond to these first few.

I’m not currently taking Klonopin or Tegretol, because they affect the convulsions — Tegretol is an anti-convulsant, after all. As a result, my anxiety is higher than usual and I’m having some slight mood swings. Mainly I feel completely in limbo because the treatments aren’t finished yet, I don’t have a “regular” schedule, and there are just so many things up in the air, like my disability application.

This is also the last week of the Orange Tigers? hockey season. We have our last practice on Thursday, I think, and last game on Saturday. Until yesterday, I hadn’t played in about two weeks, and although I couldn’t exactly work out in the hospital, I did my goalie stretches every day. Still, when I hit the ice yesterday, I felt physically off kilter. I’ll write the game details and post pictures tomorrow if I’m up to it, but certainly in the next few days.

Brian and I went to the gym late this morning. I felt the overwhelming yuppieness of the place more than usual, probably because I hadn’t been there in weeks, wasn’t on Klonopin or Ativan, and didn’t think it would be as crowded as it was. I had a slight, teary panic attack that I managed to quash with a little bit of deep breathing and an even stronger determination to do what I came to do — work out. And it worked out.

Hi….

Unfortunately, I’m going into the hospital early tomorrow afternoon and won’t be discharged until sometime next weekend. The anti-depressant patch didn’t work for me, so I have to go back for ECT, which my doctor and I now know definitely work for me.

As you can imagine, I’d rather not have to go through this again, but it did help me reach my greatest achievement of last year — starting to play hockey after a five-year hiatus. Ironically, it was exactly in February of 2006 that I went ice skating for the first time in five years — I made it my goal to skate in Millenium Park, and I achieved it. Still, I needed to undergo ECT later that spring/early summer in order for the clinical depression to go into remission, and to gain the courage to join the Tigers. Here it is, a year after I first ventured onto the ice, and now I have to go in for what the doctors call “maintenance ECT.”

My depressive symptoms tend to be more on the physical side — overwhelming sense of fatigue that leads me to sleep more than necessary; lack of appetite; lack of interest in my normal activities (except hockey!); and eventually, withdrawal from friends and family. I’ve spent most of this past week lying in bed, and by Thursday, I knew I wouldn’t be able to summon enough energy for practice, let alone last night’s game. Missing these events has led me to feel angry at myself for what I perceive as letting the team down, and for having bipolar disorder in the first place. I realize though, that this anger is misguided and is a result of the depression.

I plan to be at our next practice and to play in our last game of the season. Unfortunately, I doubt I’ll be able to make it to the game next Saturday.

Darth Goalie & Boba Fett (see here) prepare to blast the puck out of the atmosphere. Or at least the other end of the ice.

Guest post by the bloggohusband.

Barb and the Tigers had another game this past weekend, losing to the University of Chicago club team 11 – 6.

These two teams had played earlier in the year, to a 6 – 6 draw, when each team featured one player well above the beginner level. Well, in this matchup — though the Tigers had improved — the U of C brought two or three more high-level players along, and as a result, Barb’s team was outgunned.

In particular, two very good players (#s 2 and 24) did almost all the damage for the Maroons — scoring 9 out of the 11 goals on a number of very difficult shots. Although the stats to the left don’t show it, Barb actually played fairly well — keeping good angles with the shooter and the goal, coming out to challenge the skaters on breakaways, etc. However, because of the skill level of the U of C players, they were generally able to outskate our defenders with the puck, put a move on Barb as they approached the net, and then, once Barb had committed, shoot the puck high, into one of the top corners of the net. Out of the Maroons’ 11 goals, 7 were unassisted, and all but one of those on a breakaway.

Although Barb played fairly well, she certainly didn’t feel like she did — feeling “devastated” (her word) after the game, because of her performance. She was especially disappointed because she felt like she was more experienced than the U of C’s net minder — which she probably was. However, the U of C simply had three or four players that were far above the level of most of Barb’s team and, as a result, they won. All in all, Barb’s team played well, too — scoring six goals and holding the puck in the Maroons’ zone for at least half the game. It was just the breakouts by the U of C’s stars — and their ability to shoot the puck better (both harder and more accurately) than our team that won them the game.

In other news, I had to keep score again (even though we were the away team, and shouldn’t have had to), so the pictures suck. The blurry one above is probably the best of the bunch (although that one’s cropped and blown up). Still, you can see the rest here.