bunnyman666

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!!!!!

Today was 2-on-2 shinny, half ice. I was the only goalie. Since I have been watching the puck better, I have figured out how to make saves. In fact- I made some downright IMPOSSIBLE saves and let in some SERIOUSLY STUPID ones!!!! I even did a few '80s style, near the hash marks type of saves by challenging the shooter near the circles. Would I say I did well? I did okay, but the rudimentary saves were the ones I should have had. I just had LOTS AND LOTS of LUCK today.

Did a little 2-on-2 that ended as a 3-on-3 half ice yesterday. Made a few cage saves, let in a few dumb ones, even robbed a couple of people with a couple of poke cheques, skate saves and stick saves. Overall not terrible, but nobody in the NHL has to worry about their jobs for certain.

I write "WARNING: The user of this bottle has Hepatitis C. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK". Sure, it made people scoot down from me on the bench, but NOBODY uses my bottle.Seriously, though- my wife has a condition where she has a limited immune system (not AIDS), so me bringing someone's lurgee home could be very, very bad.

Well done, Opti! You look good in goal. Your hard work is paying off. Seeing how you "click" your heels, I probably do the same thing. I have tried to drive my knees, but this set of pads I have aren't rotating worth a toss. I see that we do the same thing for low shots through the five hole. The front of my pads end up flat on the ice half of the time. But they feel better, feel more durable and safer than what I started with. I am saving for a set of Factory Mad pads. When I did find myself immoble, probably my feet were too close together. As soon as I am cleared for regular exercise and skating, I'm joining you on the Mountain Butterfly programme. I saw the hint of a Hasek roll in this video. Again- you are progressing well. I have seen Crawford and Bishop let in the same types of shots that you had let in. Hand position is something all of us newbies need to work on. Your D was definitely better this time. Don't be afraid to give a gentle nudge if a winger gets in your grille. Not a whack, not even a shove, but a gentle nudge with your trap. After all, he's trying to make certain that you don't see the puck and to tie you up for the empty net. This was something I was infamous as a winger for doing when I was playing competitive hockey 10,000 years ago.

Then get to the rink as early as possible, get on the ice, then practise. You could improve your game by leaps and bounds. You have great positioning and instincts.

I practise mine at open skates. Of course since I have switched pads, my butterfly slides BLOW and I have sucked wind ever since. In preparation for my surgery, I haven't had as much time to work with this stuff, and it shows. Once I am healed from surgery, I will get back to work on that stuff. Practising getting around net, whether it be slides, T-pushes, or shuffles. You can at least practise T-pushes and shuffles with no pads.

You weren't nearly as bad as you say you were. Your D-men need to wear orange- there was a fair bit of standing around and allowing breakaways. Sure their first names weren't "Traffic" and last names "Pylon"? You weren't napping, you looked square to the puck at all times. You had so crazy and weird bounces, none were helped by nobody taking the guy or guys in front of the net. That game could have been a lot uglier. You kept it from being a lot higher scoring, and the weird bounces should have been negated by your pylons, er, um D men. Don't be so hard on yourself, that's how it goes from being fun to being torture.