bunnyman666

Drop In Report: Yesterday was the first time I went to my home rink with a good turnout in awhile. I first thought it was going to be another day at the rink with no dance partners, as when I signed in, there were two skaters and two goalers. That ended up not being the case, as it was four on four with two subs each bench. As I was warming up, my left hip was killing me. I did not want to go down as I was afraid of not getting up. It was not feeling good whilst stretching. I thought for certain I was going to end up going home. I was in a good amount of pain. I have had problems with over-tight hip flexors dating back to my days as a cyclist, runner and duathlete. Needless to say that I was not going to go down without a fight, so I fought through. Weirdly enough, it got better. After a crappy warm up where it seemed I let in everything, I was on fire. I stopped McDangles on several break aways. I was actually making it hard to shoot against me. The other goalie was getting lit up like a Christmas tree on the other end. After 40 minutes of straight, end-to-end four on four with no significant breaks in action, I made the executive decision to break for a few. "You hurt?", one had asked. "No, but unlike the pros, there are no TV breaks and this end-to-end action has never allowed me to even get a sip of water", I replied. The goalie who got lit up wanted to switch ends. I agreed. Unfortunately for him, his fortunes only got worse, as he was now defending against McDangles. Sure, my new D was bad; McDangles can split the D like a knife through hot butter. Play ended up on the other end so much that I nearly fell asleep! I got a lot of 3 on 0 rushes, which there is no way to defend those. Maybe I am improving, but I think I played well above my pay grade yesterday.

That's a pity about the silly ref, @OptimusReim

Good to know. I bought mine for chips ($160), so I knew I got a bargain; now it seems that I got the bargain of the century! Yours is around 3-4 years old? The former NHL-er who shot at me a few weeks ago didn't give me a stinger, but mini MacInnis just made me feel the puck with a bit of a sting; he did give me a Zowie on my Factory Mad knee guard!

I did like it as far as the instructional aspect. It was just a bummer at first. Those arms are something in that CA, aren't they! I hope this thing holds up! I hope the design sticks around for a long while, as I don't want to go back to anything that resembles a Vaughn or a traditional design.

Drop-in Report: We had four skaters, two goalies. Ugh. Nearly a waste of time. I said *nearly*, as we played cross-ice two on two, then someone was helping me work on my angles. I'm a silver-lining sort of bloke- I got to work on some things I don't get to work on in normal drop-ins. But it was a bummer, none the less. :(

@psulion22 I am in LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE with my Ritual Pro CA for the reasons you state. I don't let in pucks between my arms and body any longer and shots to the body fall lifelessly to the ice, even when mini MacInnis was shooting bombs at me. He was, incidentally, the ONLY stinger shots I have felt, and they weren't terrible.

I like the airflow and protection for the back of the head with a helmet. I am rethinking that right now...

Wearing an open-eared helmet and cage (combo). Freak hit, but I think I am going back to my closed-ear combo or starting to wear my Mage.

Drop-in Report: I played against mini-MacInnis today. Fack me!!!!! Every shot he took against me STUNG, made HUGE noise on the glass and made the goal SING that familiar E flat "tink" of a goal post a whole note (okay, maybe exaggerating a whole note); bloody fackin hell- he has a HEAVY, HEAVY shot!!!!!! He found every stinger spot on my CA (which was anywhere he shot), popped it over the stick blade when shooting my 5 hole (and I have the dents to prove it) and managed to ding my jaw bone and the top of my knee cap (fack me). Every shot against my Factory Mad knee guards were a non-event until mini MacInnis came along. That was in the non-scrimmage part. The scrimmage was challenging, to say the least because we had bonafide benders to mini MacInnis (and every type between). One bloke shot low-speed knuckle ball shots that were vexing, to say the least. One would wind up to compete with mini MacInnis and those shots would be weakly elevated to well above the goal. But the bar I normally go to apres' hockey stepped up fine, as the tender happily provided me an ice bag for both my knee and my face. The beer tasted very good.

I need to get out further to cut off some sightlines for the shooter. I guess I play like some Euro goalies, lol. This is where *dunh dunh dunh!* a video camera would probably convince me that my angles suck. Thanks for the tip. I only need 10,000 more to get better.

Drop-in Report: Does the group you play with make a difference? Hell's yeah!!!! The first shot against me in goal was a softy (and really embarassing), but other than that and maybe a couple of others, I didn't do too badly. I still get beat on a 2-0. I did my best OptimusReim impersonation a few times on break aways with a poke cheque; sometimes they worked, sometimes I was Father Christmas and gave up a goal. Once I was beat on my poke cheque, but the shooter's angle was so bad that the puck went 3" wide of the post. I am feeling more confident and am able to recover better from poor angles. My stick shaft saves more goals that should have gone in, and it has many dents to prove that point. Can't wait to get my Wilcox blocker as that silly Vaughn is so wallowy, especially after I get amply warm.

I am so, so, so lucky that the longest I am without ice is three weeks at the most around here within reasonable driving distance. It's a laugh when I see what "improvements" were done to my home rink for three weeks in July. My new favourite drop in spot is closed for 2 months or so in the summer. I don't know how long my home away from home rink is closed for the summer, but my third choice rink is open 24/7/365, with few drop-in opportunities.

@OptimusReim i am sorry, but seisures are NO excuse for being a dick head, PERIOD. I don't like when my main rival (Mr. Kneediver) is out due to a medical issue, either; but his goony play is on him. On another note: what the hell company thinks they are *ENTITLED* to your leisure time? What a bunch of tossers.

@OptimusReim Watched the video- those dead deer are wankers, plain and simple. They play very dangerously. I did like your super-aggressive save attempt (and it worked!), especially with how they trip your teammates. My only criticism- if they are going to try and fish the puck from your glove that aggressively, you need to get in touch with your inner Billy Smith ? You are impressive in goal, sir.

I was still playing forward on those occasions.

@OptimusReim Hitting in beer league unprovoked is uncalled for; that being said, I have only hit four times in my modern day play: 1) and 2) I stood my ground on a guy looking down coming in like a freight train, which I admit was a bit douchey on my part. We're still friends after that. He now plays with his head up ? 3) In the league I used to sub in, I drove someone into the boards who was head-locking my teammates (and myself) when he couldn't take the puck fair and square. He had the nerve to complain when the biggest bloke on my team went after him, even after he had "Paul Bunyan'd" half of us. Even his own teammates were pounding the sh** out of him for being such a douche in the bench clearing brawl that ensued. He was asked to NEVER RETURN. 4) Two of us went into the corners hard on a puck. This mofo tried to put all 250# into my knees when dropping and gave me the "I got you muthaf*ckah" look whilst doing it. The next shift, I took four hard strides and put him into the boards as he wound up for a (weak) clapper. He had it in for me since we started playing together with such stupid shit like grabbing me around my head, so it was time to stand up to that bully. Times 1 and 2 were not cool. Times 3 and 4 were to stand up for myself and/or teammates. I would have rather not done any of those times in retrospect. I will watch the video and make a judgment. Knowing the history between your team and the Dead Deer, I hope you and your team exact revenge. Jawing makes me nuts; why not exhibit good sportsmanship?

Drop in report: Returned to the home rink. I actually was doing well today. My ear got pinched from a shot to the side of my head. No blood, no foul. I did let in a few clunkers, but more goals were from motionless pylons around the crease who were standing five feet away that would not even try and cheque the back door plays. Many I let in were tic-tac-toe plays that were poorly defended. That group even noticed my improved play, though I also had puck luck today. I felt okay about my play. Guess I have to go to that other pickup on occasion ;) They improved my game by a fair bit.

It takes YEARS to not make those blunders frequently.

For someone who hasn't played goal for all that long, you're looking cracking in net.

I just hope that you turn the corner soon and have a few months WITHOUT a cold ;)

I hope you take no offense by what I say. My wife has a rare immunity disorder that requires monthly treatment. Call me your concerned internet friend.

It seems you are perpetually ill. What keeps you ill?

Got a ways to go before THAT type of swagger. Great video, thanks for sharing.

I haven't made full reports in awhile, but here is a chronicle of yesterday's drop-in: I have happened upon a highly organised and skilled group who plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If this rink were closer, it would be my go to group. I deal with non-stop breakaways and a singular dangler in my home rink, and a mixed bag who may or may not play defense on any given day at my home away from home rink (which I go to on Mondays). None the less, it is a downright pleasure to play with this group. Sure, there are a few breakaways and wrap arounds, but defense is actually played here with great passing and players who take short shifts. This would be a fun skate to do if I were skating out, had I not lost the skills as a result of a twenty five year absence. I let in a few soft goals five hole (more than I would like to count), incidentally kicked one in (grrrrr!), and still get beat top shelf often. But there were a few times I showed some progress, and even stole a couple by flashing the leather. I can even get a shooter to rush their shot by smacking my stick on the ice; sometimes it results in a poor shot, sometimes it results in a goal against. Am I going to steal games at this point? No. Am I getting a bit more confidence and swagger in net? Yes. I gotta get myself into the butterfly more often, I gotta learn better angles, and I need to be in better aerobic shape. I am going to be quitting my current band in May, so some time will open up for me to work on things.

@Thinkingjack That sucks. I hope your rehab goes quickly and you're right as rain in no time. When someone jumps on your knee, it is scary stuff- ESPECIALLY when they are HEAVY. Glad to hear nothing major happened. I think the fat hero deserves a knee-capping with your goal stick the next time you play against him.