IPv6Freely

Championship game, Feb 21.

First game with the new mask, just in time for playoffs! First playoff game ended pretty well, 7-5 win. That's the first time I've won a playoff game, I'd been 0-3 prior to this. It's funny, it was in the 2nd period when we were up 5-3 I was sitting there thinking "okay, so I have a 5.00 GAA this season... so if we score 6 I'll be good" and that ended up being exactly correct. We DID need 6 goals. Anyway, camera fell off about midway through the 3rd, which sucks because I had some really big saves after that. Two with the glove, one robbing a guy who had a half open net when it was 6-5.

Same.

Paul Kantner, guitarist of Jefferson Airplane, passed away yesterday in San Francisco at the age of 74.

Passau or Brown are going to be the two best options with regards to protection.

My old Bauer's elbow area wasn't great really but never had any issues with it. The Passau on the other hand... whole different story. I'm pretty sure I could take a slapshot to the elbow and barely even feel it. I also like that the protection basically goes right down to my wrist, too.

I mean I'm confused... you wear player elbow pads AND your C/A?

Elbow pads??

Yes, heat moulding IS the end all be all of the fit. That's the entire point.

I didnt have any issues with mine, but yes it was impossible for me to get the boot on prior to baking. This shouldn't be surprising to you, they're meant to be heat molded.

As somebody who hasn't been following this thread and is therefore watching the videos all for the first time, at the same time, I will say.. wow. What a huge difference. Even the difference between the Jan 14 and Jan 25 videos is staggering. Quite honestly, I think your skating backwards is even better than your skating forwards. Crazy. I wish I could skate backwards like that, and I've been playing hockey for like 7 years now. I'm super impressed.

It's so weird seeing pictures of people in a butterfly position with the 5-hole shut and they don't have their knees together at all. I squeeze my thighs together as much as I possibly can and still have a 4-6" gap. This is pretty much what mine looks like:

What do you mean by 'knee flaps'? I'm honestly still a bit confused, but I'm probably just misunderstanding or not picturing it right.

It's the GAA that hurts. Then again, the 14-3 loss kind of killed that. It had previously been hovering around 3.00 which I was very happy with. There are enough goals scored in this league that 3 GA will win you most games.

I'm not sure I'd be up doing doing 3-on-3. Not for any longer than maybe 20 minutes at the end of a stick time or something. Can you explain how making your thigh rise smaller will close your butterfly more?

Total Hockey, and only in store at this point.

The toe box, the heat mold-ability and the fact that it isn't a ski boot are the biggest plusses for me.

Decent enough game on Sunday. We won 11-4 (though the official score sheet says 10-4... they do that sometimes, stop recording goals over 10). With the exception of one stupid play trying to poke a puck away that had gone up in the air and getting caught (and luckily not paying for it), the play was pretty good. First and second periods weren't especially eventful but they turned it on in the 3rd and I got pretty busy. I'm fairly happy overall with my play. The second goal I should have had though, no excuse for a puck to go through me like that.

Nice.

We have a Monday at 11am skate here that actually HAS A COACH to do drills with. Usually 5-6 on the ice total. I really wish I was in town more often so I could go to one of those. Daytime public skating at another rink has at most 3-4 on the ice, two of which are a figure skating pair that practice every day.

I hear you. 6 goals against when you're getting shelled is one thing, 6 goals against when they only managed to get 6 shots is another. It sucks. Hang in there. As for stick time, honestly I'd expect it to be totally dead based on your description. Regardless get out there and work on some movement drills. Don't even take shots until near the end.

More moldable, though I'd agree that the selling point is that they're shaped to your foot (and then the heat moulding makes them wrap around your foot.. Almost TOO well, actually)

He's been wearing them for quite some time, in Graf cowlings.

The down time during pickups is probably a more likely bet than during a game, but those are so damn long the whole 'trying to save energy' thing is multiplied even more. 90-100 minutes on the ice without any significant amount of rest is brutal. At least games have whistles! I've started including a small bit of footage of me putting my mask back down and grabbing my stick only 3-4 seconds before having to make a save just to show how little time I often have for a break. Hell, there's been times I've skated out of the net with my bottle because they seem to have decided only THEY get water breaks. By the end of the last video I posted I was barely able to skate back to the benches, and definitely needed somebody to open the door for me. I can definitely tell when I haven't been working out, it really shows on the ice. What I REALLY need to do is to actually just hit the open ice times or stick time/puck play. Just wear the lowers and maybe the mask (just in case) and work on movement. However being on the road away from home almost every single week kills that idea for the most part. I hate travel! I also really should hire a goalie coach, even if just for 1-2 sessions. It's not THAT expensive and would probably go a long way. That said, even if I'm not specifically working on some things, its definitely getting better in general. I just can't wait for my new pads... likely mid february!