No More Pucking Around

Guess who scored a goal last night?

Someone check my karma meter; something really bad must be on the horizon.

As if the weight loss news wasn't good enough, our hockey team came out fighting last night after the three-week Christmas break. Unfortunately, the 7:45pm game didn't get started until almost 8:30, since the referee and the scorekeeper were busy watching the Eagles game. Nice.

Since we had forever to warm up, I figured I'd skate a little more than usual. After stretching, I took a puck and skated/stickhandled around our zone for a few minutes, until Badger joined me for some passing drills. As we were skating, I noticed I wasn't getting as tired as usual - chalk up another benefit to losing the pounds. Finally, the ref and the bimbo scorekeeper showed up, and we were ready to roll.

As usual, Vinnie and I were playing wings on the same line, Fish and Badger were the first defensive line, and Randal was the top line right wing. Almost immediately, we scored a goal to take the early lead. Things were looking up. For a few minutes, anyway.

During the first period, our opponents took two penalties almost simultaneously. Luckily for them, our power play has been as awful as a ten hour Hot Tuna concert. Vinnie and I were on the ice for the first penalty, and watched as they scored a shorthanded goal. We were not amused. The second penalty time began right afterwards, and while Vinnie and I were cursing ourselves on the bench, they scored a second shorthanded goal. Just like that, we were down 2-1. The first period ended, and Randal skated up to the bench for some of his patented motivational speeches:

"Hey, pussies! Let's get our heads out of our asses and score some goals! "

The second period started, and Vinnie and I were on the ice. The defense cleared the puck out of our zone, and our center took it up ice. I was on the right wing, and Vinnie crashed the net. The pass came to me, but I didn't have a decent target, so I took the puck behind the net. Vinnie was at the side of the goal yelling, "In front!," but I couldn't get him a decent pass. I came out from behind the goal and backhanded a shot toward the crease, hoping for a miracle.

I got one.

The puck slid across the crease, bounced off the opposing defenseman's skate, and into the net. Wyatt scores! I never saw the puck go in, but I heard Vinnie's family screaming from the bleachers. In an uncharacteristic bout of emotion, I pumped my fist and smiled broadly. Life is good. The game was now tied. On our next shift, Badger, Vinnie, and I skated into the zone. Badger took the puck to the net, and fed a perfect pass to Vinnie, who was once again clogging the net. Vinnie took the pass and slammed it home. The good guys were now up by one, 3-2.

The rest of the game was a blur of giddy emotion. 32 Degrees scored two more goals, but Randal got them back quickly. After a hard-fought battle, we won the game by a score of 6-4. It was an overall terrific team effort, and everyone played well. We haven't lost in four straight games, and are playing our best hockey of the season. We take on The Blue Dogs on Sunday night.

Oh, I almost forgot, our sponsor, Harrigan's Pub, finally opened, and we stopped by after the game for a few adult beverages. The owner treated us like royalty, and suggested our new uniforms resemble those of Notre Dame. Ugh. Our current ones are USA jerseys as in the above picture.