Starting in Goal as an Adult

[ktang 34]

On May 9, 2016 at 3:50 PM, OptimusReim said:

Another stinker. Lost 7-2. Other goalie had a 7-0 shutout going until the last 5 mins or so. I just don't know what to do at this point. I don't feel like I'm doing anything different, they just all seem to go in. I've had 5-6 goals in the last two games that went between the torso and the arm. I'm starting to wonder if my confidence has gone so far into the crapper that instead of squeezing like I should be, I'm leaving my hands out trying to be as wide as I can to try to stop a deflection that never ends up happening. I don't know. It used to be that shots from the point made me happy because they meant easy saves. Now, I have no idea anymore. 

 

The first goal... well... that sucked. Shouldn't have turned my head. I was fine, I just needed a minute to let the ringing go down a bit. 

 

 

Are you at the edge of your crease?

[IPv6Freely 2092]

10 hours ago, ktang said:

Are you at the edge of your crease?

Usually, or slightly further. I kept being told in this thread and on the other site I post these that I need to come out further. Ever since I started trying that I've been getting lit up. I'm going back to where I'm comfortable. 

[tedpenguins 93]

Didn't have a bad game last night. Score was a 5-3 loss but for the amount of people that can hardly skate on the team I thought I did pretty well. First goal was a result of no one deciding to go after the opponent behind the net. He had all day to sit there and make me slide from post-to-post. He went back and forth about 3-4 times finally to the point that I lost sight of the puck and he tucked it in on a wrap around. I stopped a few breakaways and also let one in (guy did some fancy stick work and got me leaning too far to one side). Another was off a nice deflection and another was from a feed from behind the net to about a foot in front of me where they banged it in. The last goal was a cross ice feed that I couldn't quite get across to stop. Finally used the poke check a few times though which was a huge help on the breakaways (normally they shoot before they get close enough).

 

This team was one of the worst last season so we're pretty sure a few ringers were called in. Normally I would be frustrated by this during the game and not care afterwards but when you're playing in a beginners league that is literally called Never-Ever the whole point should be for players to be getting better and not someone else winning the game for you. Sure it's nice to win but I would rather get my moneys worth of ice time and lose instead. 

 

Having the ice all to myself yesterday morning was a huge help too. The 45 minutes or so that I spent working on slides helped tremendously. All I have to do now is get those muscles up to speed so I'm not practically falling over after a long shift in our zone. 

 

We also decided on new jerseys! We're going with the New York Rangers alternates with our own spinoff of the Rangers logo. Our team is called the Rangers so we might as well go all out and fit the bill. I've gotta go to TH anyway tomorrow to get new knee pads (don't buy the Vaughn LT80's, they start off decent but the padding wears out extremely fast) so I'll also be getting some pad wrap so I can channel my inner Lundqvist.  Expect some pictures sometime tomorrow or Monday morning!

[bunnyman666 445]

@tedpenguins I have found that on knee guards, you have to go spendy to get good ones. That being said, I spent plenty on my Factory Mad knee guards and they are fantastic.I have had them for well over six months. Dennis does not show them on his website nor is he keen on pix being shown of them, but I have only had one shot that was a real stinger (as in go to the bench for a minute from a MacInnis-style clapper), but the only thing that is wearing thus far is the elastics. I think I would have ended up off of the ice and work for a few weeks had I been wearing my Bauer Supreme knee guards when I faced that shooter. I didn't even get a raspberry on that shot! The only drawback? It will cost as much as a pro blocker for these. But you will see how good they really are if you buy them.

 

 I would suggest nearly any of the major SMALL manufacturers (like Brown, PAW, Passau, Maltese or Factory Mad are who I have in mind) OVER the big five manufacturers for knee guards,as the ones from the small guys seem to be built better and some are much lower profile (Brown probably isn't) than offerings from Bauer, CCM, Brian's, Vaughn, or Warrior. The drawback is that they are built one at a time, so you have to wait. This is my opinion, but a growing number share it. 

 

What is with beginner league teams bringing in a ringer or two? That kills the spirit of the opposing teams. I always think that ringers that are brought in are not that good when they are in an appropriate league. I am going to keep my trap shut and not comment further...

 

I never thought all of the slides across would hurt that much after a game or for days after. One would think all of that energy expenditure would make me thin, but I am still big as a bloody house. I guess I need to trim back on the beer. Maria Mountain is your friend in regards to exercises to get your muscles up to speed.

 

The poke check is your friend, as so many people don't expect it these days.  I hope Corey Hirsch doesn't get his way and have the stick shrunk (I am thinking it's breezers and chesties that get the trimming in the off-season), as the stick saves so many goals. The poke check would be so much harder if the stick were smaller.

 

[tedpenguins 93]

@bunnyman666 I agree with potential rule changes with gear. The stick doesn't do near as much or take up as much room as the rest of the gear. It would be absolutely stupid to shrink the stick. The poke check is most effective when a player's head is down so if the stick is shrunk the most effective thing for a tendy to do is just charge the player on a breakaway when their head is down.  Even though I enjoy goals being scored a charging tendy would be pretty entertaining too!

 

Ended up getting the CCM pro's (haven't had a single problem with CCM gear so I figured I'd give them a try before going custom). In pictures they look kind of bulky but in person they aren't that bad (just a little bit of length added to them compared to my Vaughns). They definitely have a softer fall and they actually stay up on my legs without tape. Also picked up the pad wrap so it's time to start on the gear! 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

+1 for Passau, especially the model with the Maltese gel

[tedpenguins 93]

 

4 hrs later and the pads are finally done. I still have to do the glove and the blocker but so far so good. It's not absolutely perfect but I'll touch the rest of it up later.

[bunnyman666 445]

@tedpenguins all they have to do is pass the ten footer test, and it looks like they pass the ten footer test to me! Looking good, matey! ??

[magnets 98]

After a year of work behind the scenes to make it happen, on Sunday night, the first new club in my state in fifty years had our first game on the ice.  We're playing at B Grade (in Australia, that's still a fair way off North American standards), and our opponents obviously were worried about being the first team to play us, so stacked their team with 5 players that had been playing at A Grade level for the past 5+ years.

 

Not a fantastic result for us, going down 7-0, but I'm only disappointed about two of them.  40 shots on goal to 14 tells me we had other issues in our game, but there was a consistent improvement from one period to the next.  Since it's the first time we've played together as a team, against an experienced opponent, we're happy to move forward.

 

Honestly, just standing in my crease just before the opening puck drop, looking forward at five other players wearing our jersey, I couldn't have been prouder of the work we've done to get to that point.  On our opponent's bench was one of the founding members of our state's hockey league (just hit 50 years) in tears that he was there to witness the birth of another club.

 

Edited May 17, 2016 by magnets

[bunnyman666 445]

Princess goalies, full drop-ins, and other annoyances/grievances report:

 

Monday was a weird drop-in, because this princess goalie who would go to the bench and mess about with his phone would demand that ONLY his friend shoots against him. This was grinding my reliable, funny, and overall good guy sidekick, Dwayne. Princess only would let his buddy shoot on him, talks to nobody, and generally thinks he is ALL THAT. If he wanted a private session, he should pony the $$$ and rent the sheet for himself and his buddies. 

 

Monday drop-in was just WEIRD, FACKING WEIRD!!!!! I ended up in a useless scrimmage that had zero emphasis on defense. You can only defend against three on zeros for so long before you want to bash your stick on the goal and hang yourself by your toe ties. I think I understand why some goalies HATE drop-in and stick and puck...

 

Ended up in another 3-on-3 scrimmage that wasn't as bad and I played somewhat better. But the vibe was weird on Monday. 

 

Fast forward to today- my favourite drop-in was full, meaning four goalies. Guess who's car I see? Princess goalie. Good thing I wasn't there playing opposite that tosser...

 

I was directed to a different rink. I kinda couldn't follow the vague directions given to me, so I plugged it into my phone. DENIED!!!! There are THREE bloody rinks in this particular town, and my phone lead me to the WRONG BLOODY RINK!!!! Arrrrrrrgh!!!!!

 

I finally find it- not a bad little drop in. I was half an hour into the session by the time I got dressed. It took me ten minutes to get my first bit in goal. I let in a couple softies, but found my groove. The great thing is that whilst having a frustrating morning, I found another nice group to play with. Good defense? Check. Good passing? Check. Skill? In spades. 

 

Hopefully, Friday is better than the sh** show of the last couple of days. But the silver lining is the new drop in group for an off Tuesday.

Edited May 18, 2016 by bunnyman666

[badger_14 601]

Hooray!  Hockey with the Russian Embassy returns at last!  At 8am on Saturday, oof.  Still looking forward to it. 

[bunnyman666 445]

1 hour ago, badger_14 said:

Hooray!  Hockey with the Russian Embassy returns at last!  At 8am on Saturday, oof.  Still looking forward to it. 

 

Sounds like a cracking time!!!!! 

[magnets 98]

Second game with my club last night, still not where we want to be, but improving.  Lost 3 (31 SOG) to 0 (16 SOG).

 

The other team's coach came to our room after the game to let me know that they were talking about some of my better saves - including a stop on a 2 on 0 late cross crease pass, that I stopped off the one timer.  Mood within the group is still great, and we're all feeling the improvement every period.  Our first goal isn't far away!  I just hope it happens before the regular goalie comes back...

[JSK81 400]

On 17. toukokuuta 2016 at 3:01 AM, magnets said:

After a year of work behind the scenes to make it happen, on Sunday night, the first new club in my state in fifty years had our first game on the ice.  We're playing at B Grade (in Australia, that's still a fair way off North American standards), and our opponents obviously were worried about being the first team to play us, so stacked their team with 5 players that had been playing at A Grade level for the past 5+ years.

 

Not a fantastic result for us, going down 7-0, but I'm only disappointed about two of them.  40 shots on goal to 14 tells me we had other issues in our game, but there was a consistent improvement from one period to the next.  Since it's the first time we've played together as a team, against an experienced opponent, we're happy to move forward.

 

Honestly, just standing in my crease just before the opening puck drop, looking forward at five other players wearing our jersey, I couldn't have been prouder of the work we've done to get to that point.  On our opponent's bench was one of the founding members of our state's hockey league (just hit 50 years) in tears that he was there to witness the birth of another club.

 

 

Interesting choice of jerseys. How did you guys end up with Jokerit winter classic ones?

[magnets 98]

13 hours ago, JSK81 said:

 

Interesting choice of jerseys. How did you guys end up with Jokerit winter classic ones?

Our coach played for the Jokerit as a junior, and still has a strong connection there, so we were always going with it (permission was granted by them).  Our league refused to let us use any blue/red/yellow options, as it's the state colours, and the red/yellow option was out as there's one club already wearing red, and another with yellow...  Left us with the white, green or purple options, and the green won the vote.

 

Our league isn't big enough to warrant alternate jerseys, so this one covers all the bases for us, and it grows on you really quickly.

Edited May 20, 2016 by magnets

[magnets 98]

Had a painful game 3 last night...  So bad I'm too embarrassed to even put the score up here, but I know the vast majority of goals against were not my fault.  Several goals got in on fourth shots with no defence in sight.  One breakaway even included a 4 on 0.

 

On the positive, my club finally put a few goals on the board, so that monkey is finally off our back.  

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Sadly no more updates or videos from me as I'm out for a few months with a broken ankle :(

[tedpenguins 93]

@OptimusReim that sucks man, I hope you have a speedy recovery. I'm on the lookout for a GoPro at the moment so hopefully in a month or so we'll have another with some videos to add.

[tedpenguins 93]

Scratch that last post, just bought one! Walmart has the original Hero's on sale for $95 if anyone is looking to pickone up. 

[GreatestAmericanBeardo 258]

7 hours ago, OptimusReim said:

Sadly no more updates or videos from me as I'm out for a few months with a broken ankle :(

 

oh man, that does suck!  i saw you other posts in the venting spot, and came here to see the actual footage... how is it, the one week you could REALLY use the video you don't have it??

good luck speedy recovery. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

1 hour ago, GreatestAmericanBeardo said:

 

oh man, that does suck!  i saw you other posts in the venting spot, and came here to see the actual footage... how is it, the one week you could REALLY use the video you don't have it??

good luck speedy recovery. 

I was skating out so I didn't bother. Yea, video would have been a good thing.

[magnets 98]

17 hours ago, OptimusReim said:

Sadly no more updates or videos from me as I'm out for a few months with a broken ankle :(

Oh No!

 

All the best with the recovery.

[bunnyman666 445]

On May 23, 2016 at 1:05 AM, OptimusReim said:

Sadly no more updates or videos from me as I'm out for a few months with a broken ankle :(

 

Crumbs!

 

Keep your pecker up and have a speedy recovery.

[bunnyman666 445]

There was not a Friday drop-in (as I had other pressing matters), nor was there a Monday drop-in (needed to make money whilst possible). But I have decided to work on my temple. Right now, my body is more like a house trailer. So I am trying something new. With my wife's ongoing medical problems, it was about time we try something new. I gained about forty unanswered pounds because of my foot problems, and it just isn't coming off like it used to. 

 

I have surmised that my goaltending would improve IMMENSELY if I were a little less fluffy.

 

So, we're trying smoothies. I spend a crap load of money on fruit and veg on Sunday. So far, not having that starving feeling like I used to about fifteen minutes after eating fruit or veg, mainly because of adding yoghurt or protein powder to the mix. Trying to get more stuff into my smoothies.

 

If anyone has suggested mixes, please give them.

Edited May 24, 2016 by bunnyman666

[tedpenguins 93]

I've heard good things about Herbalife shakes and they do taste awesome. After watching my mom and brother go through a couple of different tries at losing weight my biggest piece of advice would be that even though you are trying to lose weight don't forget that a cheat day every now and then could be the difference of continuing the weight loss program for a longer period of time. Too much change all at once normally leads to an abrupt halt of the program. Slow and steady wins the race!