Tournament Recap, Day 2:
Game 3: Green v. Black. Green won, and I am currently blanking on the score. It was at 9am, but we did quite well (though a few of our fellows dragged themselves in under the wire to get dressed). It took me a little while to get going - I was tired by virtue of being up at 6:30, but I woke up quickly enough and didn't let it any particularly dumb goals. I did let in one that I remember being stupid, I was caught off guard because I thought one of the Black skaters was off-sides and spent a second or two too long on him. I stonewalled absolutely everyone in the third. Black even pulled their goalie at the end to put on an extra skater, which just made me feel better because no one has ever considered me enough of a threat to need six skaters to score on me. ;)
There was a two-hour break between this and our fourth and final game, so I had a donut and tried not to take root on the lobby benches. Was definitely starting to feel the sluggishness by 11:30 or so.
Game 4: White v. Green. White won, 11-8. All of Green was tired by this point, and this was White's first game of the day. I started off okay, by the second my body recognized that we were playing the 4th hockey game in two days, and I let in several stupid goals that if I had been faster or thinking more clearly, I should've had. I woke up again in the third, mostly by sheer force of will, and only let in one.
Three friends came to see me play, and I could not be more grateful. I had a lot of fun playing and met some super nice folks from all over - there was a team from Albany, from NYC, people from Montreal, Wisconsin, Denver, other parts of New England, and Atlanta. And Boston, of course.
A good number of people complimented my goaltending, and the White team specifically addressed my tenacity and unwillingness to give up at any point. My team captain said he thought I just got better and better as the tournament went on. I think that was true - tired, of course, but tracking the puck well and moving well and making mostly good choices.
Oh, and also: we medaled! Second place, which is a damn sight better than losing every game, and second out of five isn't bad at all. I feel like I did my best, and I feel like I earned it.