My Spring Mixer Jersey Fits!
(see Week 9: Moussaka vs. the Turtles)
(click here to see the game pics)

I had a bye week the previous week, which is why there’s no Week 6 post. On this particular week, I wasn’t scheduled to play until Thursday, but we were so short on skaters that I (foolishly?) volunteered to play. Many of you know that I was a winger long before I played in net, but without recent practice and coaching, I didn’t know what I was doing, so I just tried to get in the other team’s way!

My forward skates felt so wobbly, and I actually have bruises from falling or whatever! Skaters just aren’t protected as well as goalies are! I had even sworn several months back to never skate up ever again, ever since I got hurt at a women’s skate clinic. But we really needed skaters, so I figured, why not? Brian was happy that I’d be able to carry my own bag and that he wouldn’t have to keep stats! I still won’t skate up during the regular season, but I may consider it for something like spring or summer if we’re really desperate.

Well, I was the only sub! (You’ll see in some of the pics that I’m the only one sitting on the bench, while the other team had almost two full lines!) Thank God I’ve been working on my cardio skills, but towards the end of the third period, I thought I was going to die. I don’t know how our defense did it — they were on the ice for the entire game! Not only that, we tied 1 – 1! Go Turtles!

We remembered to bring the camera, but left the battery at home, so Brian took videos with his camera phone, which aren’t the best quality, and a few pictures with his phone, also. Normally pictures turn out well, but maybe he was too far away.

Anyhow, this was the second game in a week that I played since hurting my knee. It was versus the Purple team, whom I played against that Monday, except this time I wasn’t subbing for the Blue team but playing with my own team: the Turtles. I don’t know how I got my groove back; I think it happened in the third period of the last game, but as soon as I hit the ice this time around, I was totally on.

We were short a bunch of skaters and only had two subs, so my teammates told me to cover the puck as much as I could to give the team a break, a chance to switch players while getting ready for a face-off. The video shows me covering the puck, but playing it, then covering it again shortly afterwards and keeping my glove on it so the ref blew the whistle. The rest of the videos may only interest the people in them, if they’ve never seen themselves play. Not a whole lot happens, and there are two in which I let the puck in — but it’s good to know what sort of mistakes I’m making, or if the goals just weren’t my fault. Anyway, we won!!!!!