Hockey Night In Philly

I am really sorry for the lack of early posting. This daywork thing really has my schedule shot to hell. Do people really work when the sun is up? Wow. Anyway, get ready for two posts of solid gold. And by "gold," I mean "crap."

Last night, I laced 'em up for the first time in two weeks. The ribs felt manageable, so playing didn't seem to be a problem. Of course, I picked the absolute worst time to make a comeback - we were playing the Bad Land Boys, who are cruising atop the standings at a lofty 7-1. Getting dressed was fairly painless, and when I took the ice, I could skate like I usually do (read: slowly).

It didn't take long to realize that it would be a long game.

The Bad Land Boys came out on fire, scoring three fast goals to our none. Already we were in a hole, and some of my teammates were blasting the refs - who really were terribly one-sided, and I never criticize refs. Soon the zebras had enough, and we started the second period with our captain in the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Brian, gentleman that he is, screamed at the ref again, and caught another two-minute minor, which had to be served by yours truly. Now I'm pissed, because I never get penalties. I let Bri have it.

The Boys scored another, and we got one back, ending the second period down 4-1. The penalties must have given us a boost, because we dominated the third, scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game! Shameless self-promotion alert: with 20 seconds left in the game, the Boys were rushing into our zone, until some soon-to-be detective poked the puck away, saving the tie. The team jumped the boards to celebrate tying the best team in the league, until the refs came and informed us that we will have to break the tie with a shootout.

Swell.

As I was sitting on the bench saying, "I'll take the tie!," Brian picked the five players to go one-on-one with the other goalie. I was passed over - and rightly so. The Boys started first, and were stopped by our goalie, Rock. Our guy then went and was stoned. Their second guy came in, and was stoned by Rock again. Our next guy went in and was stoned. So far, it's 0-0. Their third guy came in and was stoned again! Our third guy went in and scored! Their fourth guy went in and Rock stood him up again. We're up, 1-0, and if we score here, it's over. My best friend Chris took the puck, skated in, did a terrific head fake, and beat the goalie through the 5-hole. X-Men win! X-Men win!!

All in all, it was a damned fine night of hockey.