bunnyman666

Drop in report: Donny McDangles was back and dangling- I did stop him a couple of times, but he lit me up pretty well. Had some weird stops and found one more place on the CA that needs bolstering. Used the new glove today- it does close; however, it needs to break in a bit more. It was much better than the first game I used my Warrior for certain. No stingers, and would swallow pucks better than my Warrior. Now if I could just upgrade me...

Tomorrow is the first game with my new Factory Mad glove. I can close it pretty well and I have only been messing with it on my couch whilst tele. MUCH better than the Warrior that never could close or open until I spent nearly two C notes to get it reworked. I wouldn't play a championship game with this glove until it has seen some ice time, but it closes good enough for shinny :) Hoping that the twerps are sleeping in tomorrow morning. It ain't fun getting lit up by college players :( However- the skate is at 9:30 a.m. and I think we will be in a twerp-free zone. No offense to any of you under 25, please note. Report tomorrow.

Opti- that game could have come unhinged much worse than it had; YOU kept it from being a 15 goal game.

Yesterday was another interesting drop in game: 1) Donny Mc Dangles was up to his old tricks again. I did trip him with the goalie stick (not quite on purpose) but saved the goal. 2) I challenged a few near the hash marks, either making the glove save or getting burnt. 3) Since I switched from my heavily modded Vortek (that went from a 34+2" to a 34-2") to my 33+1" Vaughns, I have let in more in the 5 hole when down in the butterfly. 4) Need to work on positioning and speed, as I was caught in weird places and gave away big, open nets. 5) But the weird saves keep coming. 6) Even weirder goals just squirt in from nowhere, which leads me to number seven: 7) By the time I will feel fully competent in goal, I will probably be too bloody old to play goal.

One of my favourite rinks to play in is about 20' shorter and 5' narrower than an NHL spec rink. The only spots for spectators is above the rinks (one side roller, the other side ice) in the upstairs bar. Weirdly enough, the pic of your rink @magnets reminds me of the rink I describe, especially with the lack of spectator space at the goal ends. The main exception is that the silly rink I describe has clear plexiglass. It would make more sense if they used opaque plastic, as the boards nearly butt up against the walls like in your rink.

^ Time to quit the team ;) Bloody emoticon didn't work. No, I said that with tongue in cheek. But it sounds HIGHLY frustrating to say the least.

There you go.

Okay. It's the old man uncle in me that wants to keep my goalie bretheren from being sick. Carry on, young man. Just be safe :)

@ badger_14, I spent most of my 20's ill, as I was trying to make my mark in the ranks of cycling and multisport (duathlon) overtraining. I was ALWAYS sick with some sort of respiratory illness. When someone actually talked some sense into me, I was *this* close to having some REAL bad stuff going on. When I stopped going so hard (work/play/partying), I wasn't getting ill like that anymore. I am off of my soap box. I just read these things and think of where I was when I was younger. Just try hard to rest more. If you feel ill, take a good rest. I know it's hard, but overworking AND overplaying comes back to haunt you. That was your bunnyman666 sermon about ample rest. ;)

I am saying this with love and respect; however- wtf, matey?!? Seriously- I don't want you hurting yourself! I want to read more stories. Be careful.

Opti- I find your specs fascinating. That is one CRAZY curve on those pads!!!!! I know that so many people do some downright WEIRD stuff to get their pads to curve like that. At least you're not going to have to do anything to cut the life of your pads shorter by bending them yourself. I can't wait to read your impressions of these pads, especially a few months into owning them.

Opti- Passau makes some nice, nice stuff. It is highly rumoured (by more believable sources) that they actually manufactured my Warrior Messiah (pre-Smith) glove. They just do great stuff and since they don't have to pay the high NHL fee, they pass that savings on to you. Nice looking bit of kit.

When I was at an all-age stick and puck, there was one kid who would shoot at my cage, and there was another who would shoot at my crotch area. Needless to say, that got old. Cage shots are noisy, and your cup only prevents injury, not stingers. I warned both kids that if they were to get the puck anywhere near those areas again, I would leave the crease when they would come up to shoot. Cage aimer didn't believe me until the time AFTER he dinged me in the cage AGAIN. Needless to say the next time he was up, I skated to the bench. He complained to the manager on duty, who then asked him,"What did bunnyman tell you about aiming at the cage?" Crotch shooter stopped aiming there as soon as I left the crease on Cage Aimer. Now having been a tendy, I know what I like in a warm up. Shoot at my glove, shoot at my blocker, shoot at my stick. Don't deke me until I have had a few shots on those areas. Don't go threefer (as in three guys shooting at once), or I will leave the crease. And if I skate out again, I will not deke the goalie and will keep the shots low in warm up.

I have had the distinction of skating in the old St. Louis Arena, the old Maple Leaf Garden, and the old Molson Centre. St. Louis Arena had the softest ice ever. All three places were done as a "sell tickets and you get the ice" deals in the late '80s and I was in high school and Junior hockey. The closest I get to playing on NHL ice these days is stick and puck at the Blues practise facility. Opti- does Honda Center tear down their ice in the summer?

Played pickup versus college and ex-college players along with high level high schoolers. Got lit up like a Christmas tree with the first few plays. Donny McDangles, Wheely VonSniper and Celly O' Shooter all were there. Three goalies. We never figured out a system, but I let the better goalies stay on longer. Didn't have a good warm up, felt out of sorts until the third time I got out in the crease. Not depressing, but there were a few I'd like to have back. I was firmly the third best goalie dressed out.

You looked like you were in pain, Opti. Good onya for staying in.

Heh heh- being 50% English and 50% American, I see both sides of Thanksgiving. How can I be 100% behind a holiday thanking G'd that they got away from Ol' Blighty? But I loves me a good roast dinner. My mum embraced the whole Thanksgiving dinner thing okay. After all- I am a U.S. citizen. Black Friday is the only adult drop in this next week. Bummer!!!!

Did drop in yesterday. It ended up being 4-on-4, one goalie (me) and shooter tutor. Got scored on with my back turned (drinking water). Yeah- that took skill. Dealt with Donnie McDangles. With the team I had playing against him (roller guys who played ice the first time and a couple were on rental skates), McDangles scored 8/10x against me. Oh, well. When three guys left, it became 3-on-3 half ice. I didn't do too terribly, but nobody in the NHL has to worry about their jobs for certain. People who haven't seen my "Screw U" sweater (pic on Instagram @bunnydevildude #sillyhockeysweaters ) got a giggle. I let in a couple of weird ones that I probably should have had. But I haven't started playing goal until this past year and have had zero coaching. I don't beat myself up as that is pointless.

^^^ Good onya!!!!!

I have found that I am more vocal as a goalie than as a skater. Usually, I am shouting positive reinforcement, such as "Good Defense!" or "Great play!". I haven't found myself needing to tell the people I have been playing with lately to clear my vision or anything like that; but I will yell "coming in hot" or "feet!" Especially in pick up, there is no place for screaming at people, but as I have said before- there are always those guys who think that there is an off chance that a scout is in the stands and also thinks that he's gonna get laid by a hot rink bunny who is otherwise invisible at the rink. Weirdly enough, I have been enjoying playing goal a LOT more than trying to learn D (I was a third/fourth line winger who tried to draw penalties back in the day) and trying to play like I did 25+ years ago. Digging pucks off of the boards was fun enough, but having Paul Bunyan trying to chop me down or some smelly, ring worm infested, Mersa-carrying jerk pawing me like his prison lover on the boards kinda got old. I haven't been run into the net (yet), but feel amply protected against that possibility. The best thing I have learnt, however, is that goalie is a VERY difficult position to learn and play. Now I also understand why the goalies let in seemingly "soft" goals.

G'd knows- maybe he is realises how poorly he plays and needs to take a break. Sure- he is going to publicly blame EVERYBODY but himself, but inside he knows that he is getting worse and worse. I know that I would rather play against a shooter tutor than a whiner.

Let him not come back. Games will be a LOT more enjoyable without him.

Remember this, badger_14 : Some people treat pick up like it's game 7. That attitude has made me want to paint a 5 gallon paint bucket gold, and award it once per week to those types.

Yesterday was a pressure test. First of all, I was to face a rival for the first time since last December. Second of all, since it was Veteran's Day, varsity high school and a few college and former college players were off of work/school and were chomping at the bit to play a little pick up. Defense was better than normal at pick up considering the level of players I was playing with. However, many had let the hockey sense get a case of Alzheimer's when it came to defense, as several 1 on 0, 2 on 0 and 3 on 1 breakaways would develop. I made some interesting saves, but so many times I would let out a juicy rebound or the D would not pick up the three forwards around the net. The worst part was that play hammered on and on so I could never grab a sip of water. It's better than some of the snore fests that happen with slow, lumbering players. I had to leave early and that was a bummer. The best part? The fact that nobody would pass to my rival and my D would not let him get a quality shot off when he would get the puck. While I will always say that I suck so badly in goal that Dyson has offered to build a signature vacuum sweeper to emulate how much I suck in goal, I have made some improvements and have learnt how to better anticipate some plays. But I still over commit and get burnt on occasion, but sometimes a lucky bounce happens and the puck doesn't cross the line.

You have learnt a lot. Charm them with your Russian. I charm (or repel) them with my English accent and sayings. Just have fun and take the piss, matey!!!!!