bunnyman666

My SK2000 clone has a crack in the corner of the sideburn and forehead. I had discovered this yesterday. I do not call it a flaw in the design or build but a sign that the helmet has done it's job. I have taken a LOT of head shots in this helmet. Fun sized goalies who play butterfly should expect to take a few head shots because of their lack of height. I am fun sized. I should probably play stand up like most fun sized goalies, but I have become a competent butterfly goalie. Guess I am in that silly Mage until one of my helmets comes back. My favourite SK2000 clone was to get a wax mould so that I could get a Kevlar version of it made. My current one was a bit small, but I learnt to really like it as I padded it to fit my head. It is more form-fitting (think small CCM HT2 with "pro" padding) than the spare that I am having cast in wax. Stay tuned...

Yesterday was a SHIT SHOW. I played the WORST I have played in a long time. Horrible defense. The dark team felt sorry for me and asked if I wanted to switch ends and I took them up on it. But the damage was done- I played like shit the entire session. I registered my first hit as a goalie on a break away, but I ended up on the worse side of it, as I was trying for a poke check and his head was down. We collided, AND he scored, anyway. Frustrating, frustrating day, and I let it get inside my head. Of course it was just two goalies AND I was skating in new skates. I was in hell.

Will a pending bank holiday and slightly cooler weather net a better turnout at my late Sunday afternoon skate? I hope so. But I really, really like this group. It's mostly ex-Junior, ex-college and maybe a few ex-pros. I have improved IMMENSELY with these guys. Noobies are actually treated well here. I just hope the ones staying away and eventually coming out to this skate will be the same quality of players both with skill AND character. With my insane work schedule, I have not gotten to skate in my new skates. Hopefully, four goalies show up so that these skates won't hurt too badly and I can sit for ten minutes. New, new skates plain SUCK!!!!

Drop In Hockey Report: Great group of fellows I play with. They keep me razor sharp. High level, tough players. Another lesson from Uncle bunnyman: Do not, DO NOT play in new skates!!! I of course broke this rule today thinking that two bakes and sitting in front of the tele with these one was going to be sufficient to break them in; I was DEAD wrong. But I played well. I stopped the best player a few times tonight. Hot damn! My ankle was killing me!!!! But playing in new skates is NOTHING compared to THIS STORY: Here is a real distraction: a bloke had SUPER old equipment. Red Cooper pads with NO knee flaps, an old Vaughn blocker, an even older Ferland glove, minimalistic chest/arm armour, and a STREET HOCKEY MASQUE!!!! He took a few shots to the arm pit and was clearly wincing. I winced every time I saw a puck going ANYWHERE near his head!!!!! He is either BRAVE or STUPID with a HUGE pair!!!! I was AFRAID for him. He definitely knew how to play the old style with this crazy gear, but head shots could have killed him!!!! He definitely knew the position. But I could not wrap me head around what he wore on HIS head!!!

Only six years younger than I when I first strapped on the pads. It is a rewarding AND frustrating position. But I have a funny feeling that you will become ADDICTED. Welcome to the brotherhood.

Lesson #666- Make Certain You Have a GREAT Dangler: I have learnt a LOT whilst being a goalie- get out in front of the crease, try to get in line with the shot, keep your stick on the ice, etc., etc. Well, I learnt something the HARD way: Get a GREAT dangler, and highly padded neck protection. I took a wrister from an ex-Junior player. I thought he hit my throat, but it was the deflection. My clavicle ended up taking most of the brunt. But it was scary, and I started playing again WAAAAAAAAAAAY too soon. The tip of my clavicle was raspberried (which must be bad as my swarthy skin tone usually hides bruises). I got a headache like crazy for the first twenty minutes AFTER getting hit there; of course I also was dinged in the cage not ten minutes BEFORE this shot. I used a repro Itech duck bill. That is NOT a good choice. I am using a repro of a Cooper TP dangler from now on. My neck guard will have a gel-like foam, as well. Learn from Uncle Bunnyman this: broken wind pipes are a scary, scary deal. Proceed with caution, as that freak accident can occur ANY time it feels like happening.

Sunday Drop-in: Four goalies showed up. Fack me!!!! I let in some clunkers. My poke check could have led to a couple of penalties, as I got three people flying with my poke check. My intention was to not trip, but the basketball-style layups got old really, really fast. One poke check was outside of the crease. One tried skating through and he ended up pushing me into the net from my stick hitting his Tuuk when he tried sliding the puck around. The other one was negligible. Again- I just wanted to get the puck away from the shooter. I think I may have gotten four minutes at worst. I did apologise, as I am not trying to be Billy or Ron (even though my sweater number is 27). The worst part was that no Zamboni driver was available to clean from the skate before. I tripped in a rut and ended up giving up a goal. But I was also challenging a shooter WAAAAAAAAY out of my crease. It sucks only playing once per week these days, but I am at least not wasting my time in a skill-free stick and puck with fifteen people shooting at once.

I only say blocker before pads because I have had a rough time getting a blocker I like. I would say skates before leg pads OR blocker, myself.

For me- better Glove, then Blocker, then leg pads.

@Hills Only recommend Warrior because you can buy some good-quality pads CHEAP. Do I love them? No. But I like them. I rip on Bauer because they are trying to kill user serviceability, that's all. I think their pad should be CHEAPER, but that is my opinion on 9/10 makes.

Yes- I got my information about Bauer pads from not one, but two people that repair gear, so it is BIASED. But I stand by my assertion that Bauer does not innovate as far as in favour of the customer as far as consumer repairability or even expert repairability. But the pads are light and fit a fair few users with the adjustability; just don't know about things like boot length trims and such. But performing a boot trim on an OD1N pad is pretty difficult. Many love Bauer's OD1N, which is why I say many don't share my opinion. Maybe I will feel differently when Bauer OD1N wins a few Cups. Vaughn won the last Cup. No- I don't judge solely on whether a brand has won a Cup, though Factory Mad had his fingerprints on Thomas' pads when the Bruins won with him in net. Vaughn makes good stuff, just slightly outdated. I found for myself that 34" pads fit a longer boot than a 7.5; tedpenguins may have a bigger boot. As far as Warrior stuff goes: I love it 'cos I got well-functioning, Pro-level pads for $400 when I bought my G1 on clearance. Would I pay full price for WARRIOR?!? HELL no. Factory or Jeff Salvi are the only two I would pay full freight to buy. Dave Wilcox is third, btw. And lastly: I am no expert except for what has (so far) worked for me. However, it may change with the next builder who works with me.

You probably could make a 34+1" work, but you have to see where in the ILP your knee lands. If wearing a GOOD knee guard, it wouldn't matter about the knee landing in the ILP. The boot can be long in a 34" pad, as well. +2 is almost ALWAYS custom unless you are buying some that have plus 2" sizing (which is almost ALWAYS a pro pad). I would try Warrior, as they are plus 1.5" and sometimes you can find a plus 2" stock. One last thing: if you have the $$$, Bauer Reactors have very liberal sizing. I take a 33" in almost everything else, but in Bauers, due to the adjustability, I can do a 34+1" comfortably. Those are old tech, but you may be very happy with them, and they are about to be blown out. 2000, 4000, and 6000 are already being blown out, btw. Beware- the boot in the 34" pad is LONG, made for a size 9-11 skate.

Sunday Drop In Report: The tale of two mis-matched teams- one with a great player, two okay and two noobies versus two pretty good with two okay players. I played against the latter in my first twenty minutes, and I was made to look silly. Bad angles, poor sightlines and bad tracking was making me cranky. I played with the latter in my last twenty minutes and looked like a Vezina trophy candidate. My tactic of goading players into making bad shots by smacking the stick on the ice paid off in spades. It's kinda like in boxing trying to get your opponent to take a big left hook and you find that they open up and you can connect solidly on the chin with no defense- they go for it ALMOST every time! Clean, open shots when challenging straight on almost ALWAYS get saved, yet they tend to get pissy and aim for the body or head when you give the shooter a DIRECT challenge. If they got one in, it was on me; but unless I am playing against a highly experienced player, they take the bait almost every time! Good group in this new skate; guess I won't piss Sunday afternoons away and will make my way to my new Sunday afternoon skate.

@tedpenguins Vaughn really is not an innovator. V6 just got into the 'teens with V6, and the "carbon" on the V7 is just that- a "carbon" print on plastic. It's silly. Their evolution is slow and steady. Whilst a decent offering overall, just not innovative in the least. But Vaughn has stayed relevant because they make good stuff. Bauer has become a joke in my opinion (one that is not shared by a lot of people), and a friend in the know has told me that they have all but abandoned the foam that was supposed to be revolutionary due to warranty problems (permanent dents). But with the construction of the pad, they are not at all user-serviceable and start to look weird after awhile. Yes, they are light, no argument there. The skin of the pad would allow graphics that were impossible with traditional construction, and for some reason has not exploited that attribute (?). If you want an expensive pad that is disposable, buy the new Supreme series. IPv6Freely pretty well has said what I would have said, except I have experience with Warrior products, gloves, then pads and chesty in particular. Warrior is a good place to go for pads. I hate their gloves, but love their pads and chesty. I have the G1 Ritual pads and love them. My rebounds go far. I was playing no fewer than two times per week right up until the 1st of September from the end of April, so they have had enough time to break in and break down a bit. The table top boot has somewhat settled to the shape of the toe cap on my cowling, but not enough to affect rotation. The size of the pad has not adjusted from the foam settling, and my rebounds fly away from me. You will have to pull your binding cord a bit tighter because of the way they are constructed carefully and with even tension. Pete Smith WAS the man who pushed Vaughn out of the '80s, and his innovations continue. If you weren't on a budget, I would send you to Factory Mad; but if you could scrape together around 600 bones, you could get a GREAT set of pads that will last you a long while. You will tire of them before they become mush. I have never played with a Brian's pad, but the construction looks to be of high quality. Blindfolded, I couldn't feel the difference between a low senior Brian's and some pro level offerings from other mass-produced brands. I may scrape together 500 bones to try a set of NetZeros. Custom is the way to go, but watching sales and scraping together some funds could net you some nice gear.

Labour Day Stick and Puck Report: Debuted new sweater (can be seen on Instagram @bunnydevildude) and it was a hit. On to the play: twelve people showed up. Did a half-ice, four on four. No defense. Got ran into the net once. Made decent plays, otherwise. But I was GASSED.

Drop-In Report: Lacklustre turnout leads to lacklustre play with the exception of today, which is why no reports until now. 2 on 2 that turned into 3 on 2 was interesting, to say the least. My bitter rival whom we nearly had a dust up a year and a half ago was there. Our rivalry was from when I used to skate out, and he would do crap like headlock me in the corners. I was in touch with my inner Doug Gilmour when I played against him, I admit. I still could dig the puck out of a scrum and it perpetually pissed him off. We nearly came to blows when I ran him whilst winding up at the point after all 250# of him accidentally on purpose fell nearly direct upon my knees. Needless to say I was amped to play against that jerk... I stopped almost every one of his shots. I did a nifty two pad stack that turned into a toe save; of course I also ended up getting a goal in on a bank off of my arse from someone else on the next play. I only let in one goal against him, and it was a play that spread me everywhere with no defense to be found. If he would not have gotten that goal in, I would have laughed out loud at him. Schmuck. My bitter rival tried buzzing one by my ear, which turned into a shoulder save. I caught many in my elbow floater and on the shaft of my stick (my signature save, it seems). In the end, I frustrated my bitter rival. I smiled like the Cheshire Cat. Not a bad end to my regular weekday drop-in play.

I read body language for a living, so I read people who like you a whole bunch!!!!

@badger_14 Your boys LOVE. you. I can see by the pic. No mystery there. NEVER question that- I can see it from the pix. Matey- you have a group that has your back! That is gurt lush!!!!! Hang onto them as long as possible!!!! You are blessed, matey!!!!!!!

I'm not. I clap my stick onto the ice to goad a shooter into making a crappy shot, but that's about it. This kid WAS super aggressive in this pick up game. He ran me a few times and ran into my head, which knocked him down. "Head checked" was a bit in jest (sometimes deadpan humour doesn't come through on written posts), but he would have knocked a kid into the net with how he was going. He skated through the crease regularly. I did not give him the "ol' nine o' hearts*", but a few others were tempted and told me so. He also kept poking the puck in my glove or under my pad. No respect for the goalie from this kid. Again- I see why his play was not welcome on his team. Lots of penalties are in his future. Ugh. * "Nine o' hearts" is a Darren Pang-ism that seems to entail a hook, a trip, a deke against a goalie, or anything that ends poorly for the opposing player.

He ran into my head. My head checked him. Idiot.

@badger_14 Something told me you have heart. Heart is what impresses your teammates, heart gets you noticed. I have nothing but love for the rest of y'all- but our buddy badger_14 has heart in spades! I know the rest of y'all have it, too! Just keep on keepin' on, matey!

Cat Herding Report: A bunch of youngin's with their stupid parents were shooting one after the next after the next. Then I was comandeered into playing no-defense shinny. It was a nightmare. One kid with wheels kept going through my crease and I incidentally head checked him (I say this in jest; I did not head butt him or anything like that) as he buzzed me in the crease. My fibreglass SK2000 that he ran into knocked him on his bum. I was not surprised when I had heard that he was kicked off of his team for the way he was playing. He's a little bastard in training. Ugh.

@badger_14 Good onya!

Thursday Drop In, a.k.a. Exit Out of Benderville: Bad turnout the last two days. Yesterday was crummy, as in not worth reporting. The last week was not worth reporting. Today was. I stopped a lot of shots in a 2 vs. 2. Of course I was tired, DEAD tired. But I finally figured out one guy had the same move all of the time. Of course there is NO defense in 2 vs. 2. My crease movement is slow when there is no D. I actually felt better, as a whole month with benders doing 85 dekes taking five minutes on a penalty shot took it's toll on my ability. I was offered the new job. I accepted. I should start 1 September. Looking for a league as we speak.

Monday Stick and Puck: Play was meh. My warm ups were mainly groin-pulling dekes. Could not track the puck AT ALL. I have decided that I absolutely freakin' HATE when people scrimmage wearing t-shirts and shorts. First of all, I have no freakin' clue who is on what team. Second, I feel a bit hand-cuffed, as if you go through my crease, normally you end up on your bottom, or you're hooked or slashed. I'm not going to do that with kids in T-shirts and shorts. Maybe I'm not on my game with the upcoming changes. After all, I am going so far outside of my comfort zone with the possible new job. Wednesday should be better, I hope.